Lesson No.21 - Strengthening the Background Hues

Now that our froggie is finished, I can see that my bark is too pale.  I need more contrast and colour for the frog to stand out.  So I am just going over my bark with a richer, darker hue.  Of course yours might be fine, so skip this step if that's the case.

Lesson No.20 - Adding the Last Details to the Frog

 With our dark green and a fine brush, we are just dabbing in the lines around the eyes and right side of his nose.  A few dabs into the darks (if needed) can be added to emphasise the darks.  The highlights can be added as well - a few dots around the nose and eye to indicate some shine on the frog's head.

We Paint the Nostrils and Ear in Lesson No. 19

The nostrils have to appear as an indent.  Put a bit of shadow colour under the top curve to push the hole back into the head.  The right one is obscured, so just a bit of shadow on the left side to push it behind the nose.  The ear is slightly indented as well, so paint in that dirty orangey colour first, then add a bit of shadow colour to the mix and brush it in around the inside curve.

Lesson No.18 - How to Paint Objects in the Shade

The back leg is in shadow, so colours are muted and there are no hard edges.  Add your shadow mix of Ultramarine Blue and Cadmium Red to the orange, dark greens and also the lighter greens that you will be using in this area.  Feather them off gently into each other for a soft, shadowy effect.

Lesson No.17 - Painting in the Shadow Areas.

   

Everything under the frog's head is in shadow.  Keeping that in mind, when we mix our colours, add a bit of shadow colour to the mix (Cadmium Red and Ultramarine Blue) to grey off the hue and darken the tone.

Make sure all the areas in your shadows are feathered off and dark enough to lift the head out for that 3D effect.

Lesson No.16 - Painting the Frog's Underbelly

We'll place our darks in first using Cadmium Red, Cadmium Yellow Deep with a dot of Ultramarine Blue for a dark orange shadow under the frog's head.  As you come out into the light we'll add some more Ultramarine and white to our mix for a lighter, greyer tone.

Paint in the folds of his skin with a middle grey colour and darken the creases as they go into the shadow area.  Using just your white, add this to the highlighted area in the centre of the creases to create the bulging effect.

How to Oil Paint the Frog's Eyes - Lesson No.15

We used Gold and Ivory Black for the eyes.  They are the focal point for the whole painting I think.  Dab in the gold first with a fine No.1 brush then the black.  Gently dab the black back into the wet gold, breaking it up and giving the eye some shadow in the corners.  With a clean brush, use the gold again to dab back through the areas you want highlighted.  A dot of white in her eye will give her sight.  Now she's looking at you!

Lesson No.14 - The Frog's Toes

All of our frog's toes are different shapes and colours!  Start by dabbing in the darks, then mixing in a bit of white and red as you go.  I would suggest you do all of her toes at the same time, as they are very small.  I'm using Ultramarine Blue, Cadmium Yellow Deep, Cadmium Red and Burnt Sienna with a No.1 round brush. 

Lesson No.13 - Filling in the Orange Tones

We'll start playing around with the orange tones now using Ultramarine Blue, Cadmium Yellow Deep and Cadmium Red.  Start with the darks, then add some white for a midtone orange.  I want to get rid of the white canvas now so we'll also brush in the toes.  Make the orange a little more green in colour for the toes.  This is just a light coat of paint before we start the real detail.

Lesson No.12 - Blending in the Different Tones

I used Cobalt and Lemon to blend into my midtones and darks with a dot of white.  Just dab gently into each tone to smooth out any hard lines.  Use plenty of paint on your brush for this as we could use some texture here. 

Lesson No.11 - How to Paint a Frog

We'll begin painting the frog starting with the darks.  I used Ultramarine Blue and Cadmium Yellow for this.  I will then dab in the mid-tones with a bit more yellow added to the mix.  Lastly I'll dab in the highlights with a Cobalt and Lemon mix.  This is all done with only a thin layer of paint, whilst we work out where our darks and highlights will go. 

Keeping the Same Colours Throughout your Painting - Lesson No.10

I had 7 colours picked out for this painting from the beginning.  I always use the same colours for the one painting, thus ensuring a uniform colour throughout.  Here I have mixed all of my colours to make some lovely brown and grey hues for the creamy patches on the tree.  Highlights will be the light blues and purples.

How To Paint Peeling Bark

 I mixed Cobalt, Burnt Sienna, Cadmium Red and a dot of Cadmium Yellow Deep for a dark red-brown colour.  Use a hard line for the cracks, and widen and lighten away from the bark for the peeling effect.  Remember there is colour in those shadows under the peeled bark as they bend away from the trunk.  Put in extra cracks in the bark as you go.  I did the shadows under the frog as well, while I had the bark colours.

Lesson No.8 - Using The Same Colours but Changing the Tone

We are putting detail into our creamy patches of bark.  I used Cobalt, Burnt Sienna, Lemon and Cadmium Red and mixed it with white to make a mid-blue grey.  Don't be too neat or precise - I just dabbed and rubbed and then made a lighter and darker tone to feather off into the original mix of grey.  I then mixed Cadmium Red and Lemon for an orange to give the patches some colour.  Do all the patches now while they are wet.

Are You Happy With Your Background Colours?

As I explained in the previous lesson, I have completed washing in my background with a bit of a reddish/orange colour.  I think this will contrast with the bright green frog and help make it stand out from the tree.

Block out that White Canvas by Using a Turpsy Wash

Before we begin painting our frog, we'll get rid of that white canvas by washing in some tree colours. I used Cobalt, Burnt Sienna and Lemon with some turps and quickly painted in the creamy patches of the tree.  We'll do the same with the rest of the bark, which is a lovely dark red/orange.  I will add some Cadmium Red and more Lemon to my mix for that.

Lesson No.5 - Finishing off the Background

We've just added some extra highlights, darkened some of the foreground leaves and played around with the background to finish it off.  Now for the frog!

Lesson No.4 is on How to Give a Background Depth

We've just added some more leaves, which are a little bit more in focus.  This gives the background depth as well.  Make them a little greener, sharper and darker to add contrast.

Feathering Off The Background

It is easier to feather off the background with a soft, flat, dry brush.  Use a criss-cross technique over the entire wet background very lightly to merge the colours into each other.  The softer the better!

Our Second Lesson is How to Keep That Background Soft!

For the background, we are using Cobalt, Lemon, Ultramarine Blue and white.  On our palette we mixed up various hues and tones and splodged them onto the canvas.  We made it darker down the bottom then filled in the gaps with a light green.  As you feather the colours off into each other, you can make leaf shapes.  Whatever colour or style you choose for your background, the important thing to remember is to keep it soft and out-of-focus.  The frog will be our star and it will be sharp with lots of contrast.