Eyes

Outline the eye with sepia. 

Apply a layer of light flesh for the eye itself and a base of Payne’s grey for the pupil, leaving the catch lights in the white of the paper. 

You can either wet the pencils or put the pencil down and add water later which is the way I like to do it. 

After the layers have dried add some raw sienna to the eye and add a layer of burnt umber over the Payne's grey and then add black to thepupil, leaving the catch lights white. 

'I like to use several colours for the pupil rather than going in with black, as just black can appear very flat. Using some burnt umber over the paynes grey before adding black gives more depth.' 

When the eye is the colour you like put a light blue wash over the catch lights.

Ears

Work around the eyes with a light wash of yellow ochre, working out towards the ears, and give the ears a light wash too. 

Add in a watery wash of raspberry red for the inner ear.

Leave to dry thoroughly.

The details of the ears are now be put in using the watercolour pencils.

Be sure to follow the line of the fur at all times whilst putting in the hairs of the ears. 

Add some feathery lines for the hairs on the outer edges of the ears, again following the direction of the fur.

Mouth and nose

Use a blue undertone on the nose, Payne’s grey, then black making sure to leave the lighter areas at the top of the nose lighter as that is where the light is catching

Outline the mouth with Payne’s grey using the pencil and making sure to outline the teeth; these are not prominent but need to be recognised. 

For the shadow at the back of the mouth use Payne’s grey as a light wash then, when dry, layer over with a wash of raspberry red.

Body

Use a watery wash of yellow ochre for the body, leaving the white areas as the paper. 

Make sure each wash is touch dry before adding another, gradually building up the colour until it reaches the colour that you want. 

When completely dry use the watercolour pencils for the detail in the fur.

Add some warm grey 111 in the white areas of the fur where there are shadows and also indicating the way the fur lies. Building up the fur with subtle washes in a warm grey to outline the lay of the fur and give the impression of a thick fur.

Build up the darker areas of the body with burnt ochre and the darkest parts of the body with burnt sienna.

Then outline the paws and nails with a warm grey 111 adding further details to the paws with the watercolour pencils, using sepia for the pads and light flesh for the hint of the nails that are shown.

Final details

Add the whiskers using a touch of warm grey to ensure they stand out enough. 

Whiskers aren’t easy but use a very fine brush and a steady hand!

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