A pen & wash study of an infant Gorilla. We begin with the pen work, and bring the painting to life with watercolour wash layers.
Gorillas share 98.3% of their genetic code with humans, so slightly less than chimpanzees and bonobos. They are the largest of the great apes, and they live in family groups of usually five to ten individuals. That said, groups can be as small as just two apes, or may contain more than fifty. Each group is led by a dominant adult male, known as a silverback, and the young in the group, are all offspring of silverbacks too.
This is a pen and wash study of an infant gorilla clinging to its Mother’s back. The majority of the detail is laid down with fine tipped permanent pens, and is then overlaid with various watercolour wash layers. Building the fur detail is completed in numerous layers, in much the same way as we paint fur. I have classed this project as suitable for someone with intermediate experience. There is a huge amount of pen work, which has to be completed meticulously, and in many layers, and a very light hand is needed for a lot of it.
This is an instant PDF download, you could start painting this Gorilla in a matter of minutes. You don’t even need to wait for the post to arrive! You will receive a 35-page PDF document. Set out in the same way as the tutorials I write for magazines. However, you get lots more large photos of the different stages.
Downloadable lessons enable you to work at your own speed, you can dip in and out of the content, you can spend time studying the fine details and practise the various techniques as often as you like.
Have fun with this lesson, take your time and let me know how you get on. Try printing off the last few pages which have the larger versions of the step-by-step photos for additional help.
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