Step Two For this stage I then changed to acrylic paint and, after making some colour tests on scrap paper, I began to block in the darker areas of the tiger's face with Payne's grey and a touch of burnt umber. Once these were complete I went on to add progressively lighter areas using burnt sienna, raw sienna , Naples yellow and white, blending at the edges where necessary and always working in the direction of the fur growth. I completed this quite loosely as this layer is really under-painting in preparation for the fine detail which is added next, using coloured pencils once the acrylic is thoroughly dry. Working this way allowed me to establish a solid background of colour on to which high and low lights could be added next; perhaps not a conventional approach but it seems to work for me when I want to depict fur or feathers. Step Three The texture of the hair and the eyes were worked last using sharp coloured pencils in burnt umber, brown ochre, gunmetal and white. The irises were sap green and sunset gold with the highlights added in white with just the lightest touch of cerulean. Finally I added the whiskers, fine white hairs and the all-important highlight on the eye pupils, in designer's gouache. I learned a lot from tackling this departure from my usual subject matter; working slightly out of your comfort zone is often a good way to move on with your painting and can also be very satisfying. You can see the complete image on my personal page. Happy painting from Rosemary