How to… paint a lemur

A niche market, I know. 

But I thought you might like to know how I did it!!

You will need:

• Paint: I used System 3 acrylic paint in the following colours.
  Mars Black, Titanium White, Flesh Tint, Buff Titanium,
  Velvet Purple, Cadminium Red, Burnt Sienna, Rich Gold, Copper.
• A variety of paintbrushes
• A couple of cocktail sticks (!)
• Masking tape
• Water
• Play mat

There is less of a defined way to do this.
But I will talk you through the steps I followed.

1. Start with the dark areas first: I created a colour wash of greys and purples over the lemurs head and down his shoulders.
   

   Here you can see a variety of greys and purples down the shoulders.

2. Pick out areas of dark and light: using a cocktail stick and a repetitive motion. This is great for adding texture and making the lemur really fluffy.
   

   Here you can see I am starting to pick out detail and texture on the lemurs head.

3. Block in key areas: First in a plain colour before adding detail.
   

   Here you can see I blocked out the eye area.

4. Use your cocktail stick to add detail and fine lines: Using copper paint in the eyes, and don’t forget to add a little white glint to bring them to life.
   

   Here you can see I have used a copper colour to paint in the eyes

5. Start capturing areas of shadow and light: Use your white paint to create fluffy legs and texture, scratch into the paint to create individual hairs.
   

   Here you can see I am starting to put the lighter areas in on its body

6. Continue to add detail: Using greys, purples, whites, flesh colours, capture areas of light and dark, build up layers to make it look more cuddly and fluffy .
   

   Here you can see I am starting to shade in purples and greys to add shadow.

7. start on the tummy: The tummy looks softer and smoother, so put down the cocktail stick, building up layers with your paintbrush instead.
   

   Here you can see I am continuing to shade and add detail

8. The feet: Block in the main shape in a pale colour before being tempted to add detail. I found the feet really difficult to do to make them look three dimensional and realistic.
   

   Here you can see I am starting to paint in the hands

9. Finish off the hand detail: Again, using your cocktail stick, draw on individual hairs on the feet, using greys and purples. 

10. Don’t be afraid to redo bits: I ended up repainting in the whole log, using more shading and toning to make it really stick out from the page. I then painted in the tail using black white and purple.
    

    Here you can see I have painted in the tail

11. Add texture and dimension to the tail: I felt the tail looked a bit flat so I added shades of blue and a lot more texture into it. VOILA!!
    

    Here you can see my finished painting!!

    So, after 2 weeks of painting and preparing every day after work…
    Mounting up to about 30 hours…
    It is finished!! 

    I give it to the girl at work next Monday when she is back from holiday and I am really excited.

    Stay tuned for reactions!! 

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