How to Paint a Laughing Pomeranian in Watercolor

This laughing Pomeranian seems to be saying “Paint Me!”

This tutorial presents an overview of the steps I used to paint this realistic dog in watercolor. The painting is a lot of fun, and only a few colors are needed.

And now, for the tutorial…

STEP 1: BEGIN WITH THE EYES AND NOSE

When you start with the eyes, the subject comes alive!

STEP 2: MAP COLORS UNDERNEATH THE FUR

Create a map of the colors found underneath the fur. This will serve as a helpful guide as you progress through the painting.

First, create the under painting – the lightest color that can be seen.

Then create a map of the browns, layer by layer going darker in value.

Finally, create a map of colors in the mouth, using grey where it will eventually be black and pale pink in the tongue.

Further Refine the Tongue and Mouth

Take the black parts of the mouth darker. Apply another layer of pink to the tongue and gums, focusing on the darker shapes, working around the lightest parts.

Apply a glaze of pink over the gums. Layer by layer, areas will be unified and taken darker in value.

STEP 3: CREATE THE FUR

Create the fur layer by layer. Use brown to create a pale map of the contour and direction of the hairs.

Create the darkest hairs, followed by the mid tones (in between darkest and lightest values.) Reinforce dark hairs where needed. Things are appearing rough and disjointed, but there is a glaze coming that will smooth textures and unify everything.

STEP 4: GLAZE AND FINAL DETAILS

Apply glazes of thin color to smooth textures and unify everything. If you want to do some smoothing but not go any darker, use plain water. After the glazes have dried, make final refinements, such as taking areas darker, lifting out color, and refining the eyes, mouth, and tongue.