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  • January 23, 2006 at 3:43 am #985526
    Lee Wilde
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        Hi aminal people :clap:

        I am painting a family portrait (a commission) and they have asked if I can include their 2 pet Samoyeds. This is one of them below and as you can see, she is absolutely gorgeous…..and absolutely WHITE :eek:

        I tried to search for tips on white fur, but it seems the WC search facility is not working at present. Please, if anyone can provide a link to a thread or a website…ANYTHING which can offer some advice on painting white fur, I would be eternally grateful.

        Cheers, Lee

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        January 23, 2006 at 6:37 am #1066674
        sahara
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            Ah the painting white fur problem.

            You really want look at the shadows created by the depth of the fur and the shape of his/her body, this is where you look to add colour. For the shadows I would use purples and blues, not just greys. I have put some arrows pointing at some of the places where you can see that

            I am struggling to find an example to show you to try and back up my explanation – which isn’t very good anyway!!! But I’m sure the others will jump in and offer some better advice than I have

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            Sarah
            All C&C welcome

            January 23, 2006 at 8:37 am #1066680
            gouligann
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                Hi Lee, I had someone ask me to do a white pony a while back. It ended up that she broke up with the owner, so the commission was cancelled. I was kind of glad LOL
                Here is my link and the following advice given. This might help you a bit.
                https://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=259288
                Ann

                Class is not achieved by where you live, what your last name is, or how much wealth you have. It comes from within yourself. :angel:

                http://annsnaturepaintings.com
                January 23, 2006 at 8:46 am #1066669
                ironhorse

                    Here is a little watercolour I did to give you a visual example. Lost of blue and grey in this one.
                    I do see a lot of blue, grey and yellow in your photo. If you are changing the enviroment the dogs are in be sure to use some of those colour in the fur as well. White is very reflective.

                    Twyla :D

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                    January 23, 2006 at 8:52 am #1066676
                    LorraineG
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                        Hi Lee,

                        Lovely reference photo to work from. Gorgeous dog.

                        Here is a link to a demo I did on a white westie
                        https://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=302128&highlight=westie

                        January 23, 2006 at 9:26 am #1066671
                        Robin
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                            I see LOTS of pink, blue, lilacs….

                            Robin

                            January 23, 2006 at 9:40 am #1066692
                            jmp
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                                here are Terry Issac’s colors for painting white fur ( from Painting the Drama of Wildlife )
                                Highlighted areas: mix of titanium white and unbleached titanium white shadow areas: blend of cerulean blue,raw umber,paynes grey, and titanium white
                                transition areas:any pale warm pink

                                Remember that photos are not very acurate when depicting bright lights and shadows- i wouldn’t do that white halo of dog fur so bright, add some shadows in there too.

                                JMP

                                January 23, 2006 at 9:50 am #1066675
                                SMViolano
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                                    When painting white fur I take into account the surrounding colors and infiltrate them into the subject.
                                    White reflects it’s surroundings.

                                    Stella Violano~ Artist, Illustrator, Writer

                                    Life is good!
                                    Http://smvstudio.com

                                    January 23, 2006 at 9:56 am #1066677
                                    jody007
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                                        :wave: :wave:

                                        It looks like you are getting alot of very good advice!
                                        Here’s onemore of a white dogs fur!
                                        https://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=285782&highlight=white+dogs

                                        Jody

                                        January 23, 2006 at 10:03 am #1066678
                                        jody007
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                                            And onemore!

                                            https://www.wetcanvas.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=70480&d=1068676232

                                            Jody:D

                                            January 23, 2006 at 10:37 am #1066693
                                            jmp
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                                                that is one fluffy dog. Also, i hate painting dogs with their tongues hanging out. There is something undignified about it- and it usually means they are either hot or nervous/anxious.

                                                JMP

                                                January 23, 2006 at 11:58 am #1066679
                                                RCrook
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                                                    I think it is in the Acrylic forum that someone has done an article on painting a samoyed, so it might be worth checking that out.

                                                    January 23, 2006 at 2:15 pm #1066685
                                                    troutbum
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                                                        The reference is good but it looks like it was taken in a shaded area, so there is no clearly defined sinlge light source. If the references for the family have a strong light source, make sure to show that in the dogs. You have received some great advice regarding the shadows, especially with the blues and the purples. But don’t make the light areas pure white. Warm the light up with subtle touchs of yellow and orange. That will add drama in contrast to the cooler hues of the shadows. The advice of infiltrating surrounding colors is also very sound, but it all has to be very subtle. Also take notice of the paws; I see a slight hint of “brown” on the tops of the joints just above the paws. Hope this helps and good luck.
                                                        troutbum

                                                        [FONT=Times New Roman]troutbum

                                                        January 23, 2006 at 2:32 pm #1066670
                                                        Ceiliog
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                                                            Lee
                                                            I love your style – I think that the shadow that you throw in here depends much on the rest of the pic – you can shade white with blue, purple, green, pink anything you like (except grey I think which never looks as good as it does in your mind) bearing in mind that you arent afraid of colour I think that after you get going you will love paintiong white creatures as they allow your colour just toi flow – doesnt really make sense untill you do it – but it will

                                                            My ref library pics
                                                            January 23, 2006 at 4:14 pm #1066686
                                                            Lee Wilde
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                                                                Its official.
                                                                Aminal artists ROCK!!

                                                                13 replies so far. So much great advice. I have so much to learn.

                                                                Thank you so much :clap:

                                                                my eBay store - myspace/leewilde - redbubble
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