The detail stage is the most exciting because painting the finite details of the animals really brings them to life. This includes painting the whiskers, ear hair and subtle nuances of the fur. The painting must be completely dry before this stage so I don't blend the paint as the final details are being applied. During this stage I also look closely at my reference to make sure my values and every other aspects of the painting are correct.
The very final step of the detail stage is to glaze in the shadows and highlights. I first determine the direction of the light source and once the painting is dry, I mix a painting medium with the paint to make it very thin and transparent. For the highlights I mix Yellow Ochre and White and for the shadow areas I use Gray with a touch of Alizarin Crimson. Painting the directional lighting brings a 'realistic' quality to the portrait.
