Gray Wolf in ink -- Step by Step

I was out and about this afternoon and felt a *real* cold breeze. Being in Miami, one can experience the occasional "ocean breeze" which is a refreshing degree or two cooler than the current temperature, but a true 'cold breeze' is rather hard to find.

WELL I found one today :)

And as soon as it washed over me and encouraged me to bunch up my sweatshirt against my neck, my head was swimming with thoughts of cinnamon, cider, snow drifts and wet crunchy ice. So, as soon as I got in the door - I lit my 'winter' candle (from bath and body works!), put cider on the stove and started to draw out something from a colder climate.

It had been awhile since I've done a purely ink painting, so I got my trusty pen out and ready to go.

From there, I taped down my canson bristol board,lightly made a pencil sketch and went over it with my pen.

Adding the water!! I am using a #14 watercolor brush and not really paying a lot of attention to where I spread the inky water, just making sure I leave the highlights white. Here is a good place to put down some masking fluid - if I was ever good about keeping masking fluid. The goal on this pass is to complete the majority of the middle tones so everything is basically a light wash. I'll add the darker values next time.

I've started to darken a few areas, namely the mouth/nose and the area around the eyes.

Even darker! Here I am actively trying to shape the puddles of color to emphasize the volume in the skull and fur.

Woo finished.

I scanned it and did a test run of the print and it works out very well, I am very happy with this final product. Which, at the end of a run of several failed paintings is a very nice feeling.

Prints of the Gray Wolf are available on from my store!
Also, make sure to check back in a few days -- I am hoping to have some coupon codes for the upcoming weekend of shopping posted :)