How To Paint a Canvas of Your Pet With Abigail Cecile
Hi Everyone!
If you have yet to come across Abigail Cecile, you’re in for a real treat!
As soon as folks started asking about painting canvases, I jumped to the opportunity to learn from one of the best! Abby is an incredibly talented designer and Royal School of Needlework graduate! In the world that we live in today, our pets have brought so much joy. Whether you want to celebrate your furry child or that of a loved one, I hope you love this as much as we do. She has put together some incredibly helpful painting tips for painting your own pet canvas for us. Below you will also find a helpful video as well as some of her other lessons!
Enjoy!
xo,
Brooke
Learn To Paint with Abby!
I’m so excited to share this DIY with you! Painting a needlepoint canvas can seem intimidating but the process is quite simple. And what is better than stitching your own sweet pet, or one for a dog loving friend! This is the most exciting part of needlepoint - exercising your creativity and creating personal and meaningful pieces.
Supplies:
Smartphone or camera
Printer
Tracing paper
Pencil
Artist tape
Black marker
3 - 5 colors of acrylic paint that match your pet’s coloring
8” x 8” piece of 18 count mono canvas for needlepoint
A round fine tip paint brush
A small flat paint brush
Cleaning water jar and paper towel
Instructions:
1. Take a photo of your pet! Try to get it looking straight at the camera.
2. Print the photo so the size of your pet’s head is between 2.5 - 3 inches. You can do this by dropping the photo in Word, Photoshop, or anywhere you can manipulate the size of a photo.
3. Place a piece of tracing paper on top of the printed photo, and tape down to a hard surface.
4. Using a pencil, trace over the photo. Really try to simplify the lines, leaving out details that are not essential. In my example I focused on tracing around the light and dark areas of my cute model Jeb’s face. Squinting my eyes really helped!
If your pet is one color, you can focus on tracing around the different facial features such as…
- eyes
- nose
- muzzle
- mouth
- neck
- ears
- brow
Keep in mind we’ll only be painting with 3-5 colors so, again, simplify!
5. Once you’re happy with your tracing, go over all the lines again with a black pen. Now duplicate your sketch with a second piece of tracing paper.
Feel free to use a tablet and stylus if you have one available. Simply import your photo into a sketching app, then use your stylus to trace over the photo and print at the correct size.
I’ve created a few illustrations of popular dog breeds for you to use as a starting point! Just print the image and trace over the illustrations, adjusting color and details to match your own dog.
6. Before we start on the canvas, grab your paints and do a quick color study on the second sketch. This is to make sure all the colors you pick work together. Adjust as needed and you’re ready to start painting!
I can’t wait to see your painted and stitched pet portraits! Hashtag #ndlptpaintedpet to share your amazing work.
Downloadable Designs
Download the image below and print to trace for your painting or come up with your own! Please note that these are all under protection of Copyright under Abigail Cecile and are for personal use only.
Further Reading:
Thank you, Abby!
Be sure to visit her youtube channel for more!