68K views · 4.1K reactions | My latest wildlife acrylic tutorial was...

66K views · 258 reactions | Creating this tutorial has been one of my...

This little 5" x 7" acrylic painting was a great project to practice more control with the brushes. Working small can still achieve a good level of realism if the details aren't over done and the techniques are right. A smoother surface will make it much easier for these small paintings and tiny details. | Zara's Pet Portraits & Wildlife Art

When new to painting a specific element or using techniques that we was to improve on, smaller paintings can make this much easier and far less daunting. Painting water and anything that has a shine such as the wet skin here relies on good contrast. I waited until the last layers to add the brightest highlights and ensuring the layers underneath were dark enough meant that these lightest details appeared that much brighter. This would be the same for metal tags on a dog collar, or shine on a vas