Transform Your Canvas by Painting Acrylic Wildlife Art with these Techniques
- Sophie Parkhill
- Oct 13
- 12 min read
Creating stunning wildlife art on canvas is a rewarding experience that combines creativity with technical skill. Acrylic paints offer vibrant colours, quick drying times, and versatility, making them ideal for capturing the beauty and spirit of animals. Whether you are a beginner or an experienced artist trying to make this a business, mastering acrylic wildlife art techniques can elevate your work and bring your animal subjects to life.
Painting Acrylic Wildlife Art : Materials and Basics
Before diving into painting, it is essential to understand the materials and foundational techniques that will set you up for success (something which I jumped into probably a little too quickly, when I first changed to acrylics from pastels!)
Choosing the Right Acrylic Paints: Opt for high-quality, professional-grade acrylics for richer pigments and better blending (if you're planning on selling in galleries or completing commissioned work). Brands like Golden, Liquitex Professional Range and Winsor and Newton Professional Range are all popular choices, which offer exceptional quality. They are far less likely to change in colour or texture over the years and are highly pigmented. However, if you're practicing for your own benefit, and aren't planning on selling to collectors or galleries, then I recommend starting out with studio-grade acrylics like Galeria by Winsor & Newton, or even the Liquitex Basics range, to progress your skills and techniques before spending that extra money (professional-grade can be costly, but so worth it when it comes to selling!)
Selecting Brushes: Use a variety of brushes including flat, round, and detail brushes. Synthetic brushes work well with acrylics, especially for realism, as you need that stiffness to the brush. Grab a few blending/mop brushes, if you plan to add some softly blended backgrounds. You'll need to use these dry, so having a few saves you needing to rinse when changing colours, and waiting for it to dry again. (Have a rag/cloth to get any excess paint off the brush whilst you're painting... acrylic is a very fast medium to use and you'll need to be cleaning them as you go!).
Filbert brushes are great for animal fur base layers, creating the directions, whilst swordliners/rigger/dagger brushes are great once you start to get into those details (hair flicks, whiskers etc). The key to realism is using a lot of different brushes for different layers, to get different textures and control. No fur or feather in any animal, is perfectly textured all over! Start with thicker/larger brushes for your under layers, to help create clumps of fur, and then define with smaller brushes as you get to the "surface" fur.
Canvas Preparation: Prime your canvas with gesso to create a smooth surface that holds paint better. If you're using wood panels, make sure you seal them first with a wood primer like Gac 100 (by Golden), to reduce the chances of Support Induced Discoloration and wood rot.
Acrylic paints and Gesso are water based, so without this protective coating beforehand, the surface will absorb that moisture, causing damage over time. Adding your Gesso layer, over the Gac-100, creates an even surface again, which will hold the acrylic without peeling. Lastly, be sure to tone your canvas/panel once it is prepared. Painting on white is very difficult to keep track of accurate values, which is the most important aspect of any painting.
Colour Mixing: Make sure to check our some colour mixing theory videos on Youtube or similar if you're a beginner, as common mistakes include simply adding white and black to lighten or darken paints, when in fact, these turn your paints to pastel or muddy colours. If darkening orange for example, you need to be adding a complimentary colour such as a blue or even paynes grey (depending on how dark you want to go). To add some vibrancy back in, you can then go in with a hint of cadmium red. So yeah... learn your colour theory first! (Again... something I jumped into with guessing games and could have saved a lot of time if I had spent some extra days learning this first!)
Layering Technique: Acrylics dry fast, allowing you to build layers quickly. Start with thin layers to block in your sections. Personally, I prefer to start with the darkest dark and the lightest lights. Gradually adding fur texture with a basic light layer to begin with, and then glazing (a thin semi-transparent layer of colour) to blending that fur texture together.
Repeat this multiple times, adding layer by layer, to create thick, dense fur. It will often feel like you're going back and forth with the layers, creating a texture and then pushing it back again, getting nowhere, but this is exactly what is needed to create the depth needed for a realistic painting.
Once you have maybe 6 layers, begin to add your more defined details and you will see this start to pop from the canvas. There is no right number for the amount of layers you need - only you will see once it's starting to take shape. Do not be afraid to glaze over your highlights if you feel the need to, and create yet another layer of detail on top! An artist once said to me "If you're not sure, you need at least another 4 layers" and I have always stood by this as a more "unofficial" guideline!
When you get towards your finished piece, start to become a little more sparing with the detail, only adding it to the areas which are "closest" to the viewer, like whiskers, and small sections of whispy hairs. Your final layer should not cover the entire canvas, but a few sections only.
By mastering these basics, you can confidently approach your wildlife subjects with the right tools and techniques.
Techniques to Bring Wildlife to Life in Acrylic Paint
Capturing the essence of animals requires specific techniques that highlight texture, colour, and form.
1. Underpainting for Depth
Begin with an underpainting in a neutral tone to establish shadows and highlights. This base layer adds depth and dimension to your final painting.
2. Dry Brushing for Fur and Feathers
Using a dry brush with minimal paint can help create the illusion of blended fur or feathers. This technique can blend without overwhelming the details or spreading the paint unevenly, but it needs to be done sparingly and definitely requires practicing on some spare surface first.
3. Glazing for Realistic Colour
Apply thin, transparent layers of colour (glazes) to build up rich, luminous tones. This is especially effective for eyes, building layer, glaze, layer, glaze, detail, glaze, detail, glaze. Eventually, you will know once that eye is complete, and looks glossy as ever! Again, there is no right answer to how many layers and glazes this will take - you will know if it is not looking right. You can also use this technique for fur, to blend the textures together, make it look less "sharp", or to simply adjust some areas which you want to push back a little again (like shadow areas.
4. Detailing with Fine Brushes
Use fine-tipped brushes to add intricate details such as whiskers, highlights on claws, and individual hairs. Patience here makes a big difference and it's important to take a step back before you begin your final details and avoid rushing it. Again, switch to rigger/dagger or sword-liner brushes for this step.
5. Blending for Smooth Transitions
Blend colours while still wet to create smooth gradients, ideal for animal skin and backgrounds. Glazing over a blended area is another option to blend the colours together seamlessly.
These techniques, combined with observation and practice, will help you create lifelike acrylic wildlife art.
What Animal Art Sells Best?
Understanding market preferences can guide your subject choices if you aim to sell your artwork more, but there is a fine balance needed when it comes to subject choice. Too much sales focus can leave you stressed with your work and begin to remove your love for painting, whilst too much "go with the flow" attitude, can leave you with a lack of sales and a bunch of subjects painted that no one really connects with (not enough to buy them anyway! It might be the most detailed painting you've ever done, but if it's a subject people don't connect with on a deep enough level... they ain't buying it!)
Take for example my painting "Crabtivated". It's actually won me several awards this painting, including a global first place amongst over 1300 participants, has been exhibited in the London Mall Galleries with the Royal Society of Marine Artists, and has always been my most talked about piece. Any time it is on show, it receives the most compliments on how real it looks, how stunning the colours are, and how it brings a smile to peoples faces when they see it. This was painted in 2021 and do you know why I still have it available? Everyone tells me they love it... but where would they put a crab on their wall?... and I accept that! It makes total sense... Would I put a crab on my wall? (No, for one because my friend is terrified of crabs and she would never enter my house again, haha!)
Is it one of my best pieces ever? - Yes.
Has it won me multiple awards and recognitions? - Yes
Did it kickstart my career? - Yes.
Does it always get compliments on how amazing it is? - Yes. Has anyone who loves it, expressed that they would want a crab on their own wall? - No.
Popular Animals: Wildlife such as big cats, birds, safari species, and birds of prey tend to attract buyers due to their majestic and symbolic nature and the memories people have from seeing them in the wild, whether on safari or overseas trips.
Local Fauna: Paintings featuring animals native to your region often resonate well with local buyers. Got a lot of tourists visiting to see a local seal or bird colony? Paint some of those... Whale watching trips local to you? Paint some! Well known woodland walks nearby? Paint some woodland species!
Whilst it might not be exactly what you want to paint in the moment, if you want to make a business from your art, you need to paint things that have a higher chance of selling in your specific area (especially in tourism seasons) and then balance that time with creating your own personal choices of subjects (which you can then announce in a newsletter as a surprise release for example). If you want the business to work - treat it like a job. It is your job. Paint what you know will sell, and the rest of the subjects are your hobby.
Pet Portraits: Custom animal paintings of pets are highly sought after for their personal value, BUT, since Covid changed our world, this market is now seriously saturated with thousands of pet portrait artists. Whilst a one point, there was definitely money to be made in the world of pet portraits, do not be mislead into believing that it is a viable business option as a stand alone subject for you. Especially if you're just starting out - those with mass waiting lists are well known people with large followings - even I don't focus too heavily on pet portraits anymore. It is incredibly difficult to get a rolling diary of commissions. Have it as an option, sure, but my advice is to really balance it with original paintings which you know can sell to anyone, anywhere, at any point.
A pet portrait of who grey hound dogs, painted by Sophie Parkhill in acrylic on canvas. Holly and Jet were commissioned. Endangered Species: Artworks highlighting endangered animals can appeal to conservation-minded collectors. These are possibly some of the most sought after paintings and are more likely to catch the attention of collectors who are happy to pay a higher price for some great art. Consider donating a portion of the profits to a related conservation charity to the subject too. After all - we are the only voice that endangered species have.
Sophie donated £2000 from the sale of her original 130 x 100cm African Elephant painting "A Long Road Home"
Focusing on these subjects can increase the appeal and marketability of your wildlife art and help you on the road to success as a wildlife artist.
Tips for Enhancing Your Acrylic Animal Paintings
To make your acrylic animal paintings stand out, consider these practical tips:
Use Reference Photos but don't focus too much on the detail: Working from high-quality images helps to capture accurate anatomy and expressions, but you can use them without having to "copy" them. You can work on compositions using Procreate, Photoshop, GIMP, Canva, lot's of places, to edit images together, remove backgrounds, add backgrounds, add branches, foliage, dust, anything that will create the image you're going for. When using images as a reference source, make sure you have permission to use them. Credit any photographers when you share your finished painting too!
You can purchase reference photos for artistic use on websites like Wildlife Reference Photos, RT Reference Photos, Jason Morgan's photography packs or even some Free Reference Photo groups on Facebook (but check the rules on each page and make sure you credit your reference photos)
Experiment with Backgrounds: Simple blended backgrounds or dark backgrounds with a touch of blended colour, can make your subject pop and create intense atmospheres, where as joyful paintings which you want to create a bright and airy feel to, might require more of a natural foliage blurred/bokeh backgrounds. If you want something more dramatic, experiment between using complimentary colours, a colour picked from your palette, or some simple negative space.
Incorporate Mixed Media: Don't be afraid to use whatever you feel necessary. Sea sponge torn up can create some great tree bark textures which you can then dab and define the details from. Speeding up your process of how you get your finished texture is never cheating and makes you no less of an artist than anyone else. Using pastel? Block darker fur spots in with some black gouache first, to avoid muddying. Want something to stand out from the croud? Stick some metal leaf down (just make sure to seal it with GAC-200 before painting over it again as the water content in acrylic paintings will tarnish imitation metal leaf). Want to create a broken earth texture to some ground? Try out some crackle paste. Experimenting is the only way you will discover new options! Have fun with your work!
Practice Regularly: Consistent practice is THE only way to improve your brush control and colour mixing. This really is the only way to get better with your realism techniques... there is no quick fix. So many artists ask me why their work doesn't turn out like mine...or like others they see online. The answer is always "You have only just started! Give it time!"
When my daughter first got on her bike, she could not ride it either... practice, practice, practice! Whilst the spread of art through social media is fantastic progress for the art world, in some way's it's also quite a negative thing, as it's so easy for us to compare ourselves to other artists now. Focus on yourself, your work and compare to your own older pieces to see how far you have come along. Never compare to other people, they are not at the same part of your journey and may have tens of years more experience than you.
Join Art Communities: Feedback from fellow artists can provide new insights and motivation. The Association of Animal Artists, The Wildlife Art Society International, Art North Wales, SAA, The Pastel Guild of Europe (for my pastel work of course), are just a few that I am a part of, and I can honestly say that whilst it doesn't necessarily fast track your skill level as a painter, it does fast track your confidence in yourself and your own work. It can also offer you exhibition opportunities that are guaranteed each year, which helps to get your name out into the crowd.
By applying these tips, you can refine your skills and create compelling wildlife art.
Bringing It All Together: Your Next Acrylic Wildlife Art Project
Now that you have a solid understanding of materials, techniques, market trends, and business insights, it’s time to start your next painting of acrylic wildlife art.
Remember to:
Decide what you're painting for - yourself or your audience.
Plan your composition carefully. Stand out from the crowd.
Use the layering, glazing and detailing techniques discussed. Step away for a little while if you feel it's getting nowhere.
Choose animals that inspire you if it's your own practice (if it sells its a bonus!)
Choose animals which are more likely to connect with your audience if your final goal IS the sale.
Explore different styles and experiment unapologetically.
For inspiration and to explore beautiful examples of acrylic animal paintings, visit my online gallery and check out some available wildlife art. Want an insight into what species sell more? The bottom of each gallery page has a sold section (Spoiler Alert!... it's big cats and birds!)
With dedication and creativity, your acrylic wildlife art can transform any canvas into a vivid celebration of nature’s wonders. Use the links below to head straight to buying some amazing quality acrylic paintings, papers, brushes and more through Jackson's Art.
Happy painting!
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