Pride Painting Walkthrough

Yes, I actually remembered to take progress pics this time! This is the walkthrough for the finished commissioned "Pride" which can be found here: http://www.sheezyart.com/art/view/2041234/

I decided to put this together because I get a lot of comments from people (in person, not really on here) saying things like "it must be easy for you because you are an artist" or "I bet that didn't take much time". Surprise, it takes A LOT of time! Before the painting even starts, my dad has to cut these out, sand them, and seal both sides a couple of times.

Description of steps:
1) The sketch. This is one of the most important steps, if it's off it's going to look really strange in the end! It usually takes me a long time before I get it to the point where I feel it looks right. I just sketch it right onto the panel with a pencil.

2) Next, I outline the entire thing with black acrylic. I will often go over the lines several times so it's solid black and not a gross gray. I'm very slow at this part because the lines need to turn out smooth.

3) Blocking in the base color. I essentially am painting each panel three times, because it almost always takes three coats of each color to come out solid and bright.

4) Blocking of the colors finished!

5) Time for the highlights and shading, the thing that gives all that hard work the "oomph" it needs.

6) The finished product! Well, almost. After that we put on three coats of lacquer finish on each side so it doesn't scratch. :)