Step-by-Step - making of an acrylic painting

Here is a step by step walk through of how I painted "the Kings stride" - acrylic on canvas.

First things first:  Find a picture worth painting
Inspiration is necessary to motivate you to paint/ sketch. So find good photos/ locations/ people that inspire you to draw. I found this picture in a colleagues photo gallery. 
Materials you need
Canvas - I bought a 2" * 3" stretched canvas on frame. 

Acrylic paints: My palette for this painting was

• Yellow Ochre
• Cadmium Yellow
• Titanium White
• Sap Green  (very little)
• Viridian green (very little)
• Prussian blue (very little)
• Cobalt Blue
• Burnt sienna
• Burnt Umber

Hog Hair flat brushes (Sizes 2, 4, 8). Soft round brushes (size 0, 2)

You will need containers for water, rag cloth etc etc

Step 1: Sketch the picture

Now there are many ways to do this. You can use the original picture and draw up grids on it. Then using the grid blocks as reference start transferring the image on to your canvas. You can use a 2h pencil or even a gray color pencil. Use your pencil very lightly - since canvas has grooves into which your pencil lead can get stuck and muddy your painting. While sketching pay attention to the absolute positions (how far right is the lions mane, how close to the bottom line is the feet etc) and also to the relative proportions (how big is the eye compared to the ear etc).

Verify your sketch by looking at its mirror reflection. Another way is to leave your sketch for a while, come back and look at it or take a picture with your camera and look at it. All this provides a different perspective of the image and helps you identify any errors/ missed proportions etc. 

Step 2 : Underpainting

Get the right tones and hues of color you need in your painting. I tried out some color combinations on a palette and tested some colors on a rough canvas. Once I was happy with the colors and tones, I used acrylic paints with a lot of water to block out areas in the painting and get the contrasts right. 

Step 3: Paint through

Start adding thicker layers of paint with some amount of detail. I started at the top and covered the grass

background at the top. and then moved on to the lion's face details. 

Step 4 : Adding the details

More detailing and progressive addition of features and color.

The dark brown mane now has burnt sienna, yellow ochre, titanium white, prussian blue, and burnt umber.

I also started glazing on the eyes – burnt sienna glaze first, and then followed up with yellow ochre and then finally cadmium yellow glaze. You can see the eyes getting more color and glassy as we proceed.

Once I finished the lion, I started to detail out the grass - initially by just blocking out the dark and light areas of grass. 

Step 5 : Checkpoint

Again at this point, verify the proportions using mirror reflection. Step back, have someone else look at it and give you comments on proportions,

Take a picture and compare with original picture and see whats missing. 

Make a note of all changes, and start subtly making those changes , before proceeding to next step.

Step 6 : Finishing

Add the finer details to the eye, highlights to the mane and skin, whiskers. Detail each strand of grass.

Final Work - Stop when you are happy. Don't obsess with finishing. It is tempting to keep adding finishing touches - don't overdo it !