
Ballerina Cats
Featuring Opal and Moo
Materials:
Acrylic and Acrili-Gouache on canvas and hot press Bristol paper.
Dimensions:
4.5x4.5in (11.4x11.4cm)
About:
Commission of pet kitties, Opal (left) and Moo (right), depicted as fluffy ballerina fairies.
Process:
Prior to the official Paintings, I made small quick gestural sketches of the cats in different poses. I referenced ballerina or ice skating poses that had a clear silhouette with a lot of movement.
I let my client chose poses that felt true to Opal and Moo’s personalities.
Once the poses were chosen for each cat, I drafted a more concise idea of each pose’s structure in a quick color study.
The studies were created with the intention of converting to a more semi-realistic style with bold lighting.
These were traced onto the canvas to maintain a consistent layout/placement on the page without sacrificing the movement within the minimal amount space.