Painting realistic fur in acrylics

Regardless of the animal I am painting I always strive to achieve as much realism as I can. When painting fur this relies on a few things. Layers, contrast and pencil technique are three of the main factors.

Without enough layers we cannot build sufficient depth within the fur.

Without good contrast the portrait will be flat and two dimensional. The lights and darks play a huge role in the shape and form of the subject we are painting.

Without the correct pencil technique our details may create the wrong fur texture. This is determined by a few things – pressure on the pencil, sharpness of the point, where we hold the pencil etc all come in to play.

I have many tutorials on YouTube which show a huge range of animals and various fur textures. Each packed with tips and techniques to help you add more realism to your paintings. 

If these are of interest, click the tutorial thumbnail to the left to be taken to one of many of the free tutorials =).

The entire real time tutorial of this Rabbit painting is up on my Patreon. All real time. No parts sped up or cut out. The reference photo, line art and material list are provided =).