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Finished '' Roi de la Savanne ''
48 x 72 inches
Merci to Monique ( Rose Ange ) for the Title ........!!!
This is a very different style that I usually do.
Very simple.....basic stokes

This is a short demonstration of the steps I do while painting wildlife.
The airbrush paints used in this demo are Createx paints.
They range from Opaque , transparent, Pearlized, Iridescent ,and are available from 4 to 8 ounces.

I am self-taught with the technique of airbrushing, so this is years of trial and error and experiencing different approaches.
This is my way of painting with an airbrush.
I wish to share my experience with you..

What I had in mind was a close-up of a herd of Zebras.

I searched for some good reference photos.
I found only two of what I had in mind ,and then I altered them it in photoshop ( cropping and changing it to my taste )
Here are my reference photos.
I needed a large group of Zebras .with heads and rumps. going in different directions.

As you can see in the second photo, I found 2 other Zebra heads and added them within the photo, and added a yellow billed oxpecker, on one Zebras Rump.( you will see it later )

Then I did a sketch .of what I wanted to be the future painting.

I painted a 24 x 48 inch canvas with a mixture of light gray and white.
I sketched out the zebras on the Canvas. By using a 1 inch grid to keep the proportions.
I used an 8B Staedtler Lumograph very lightly…. just enough to see the lines.
( like we were taught in school )

Second step:
I painted all the black stripes on the canvas, I had made marks as to what was black by doing an ''x '' on the stripes. With all the stripes……..it would have been confusing to paint .and too easy to get confused.
I then washed out the grid lines, with a soft humid cloth., once the paint had dryed out.
If some lines still show you can go back and paint over them using the mixture of Gray & white used for the background.

Now is the time to airbrush.
I used the ''free hand '' technique.
This is without any Frisket or tapes.
I started with the transparent Createx Gray on the Zebras noses, the muscles ( head, rump) , and gave shadows between each Zebras. Also a line to separate the mane from the neck.
Did the ears, and added a light touch of black on the noses for depth and contour..
I painted with a normal no. 1 round brush. using the airbrush paints , the Zebra's manes. I used black gray and a touch of pure white.( this will be airbrushed with Createx Sunrise transparent yellow )

I then added highlights of transparent sunrise yellow…and transparent orange coming up from the bottom…for a sunset effect.
Light effects this way ↓
Sunset & shadow effects this way ↑

I airbrushed transparent gray on the black stripes to give out a ''rounded ''effect.

I finished painting the oxpecker..and highlighted the mane with a transparent orange to give some warm highlights.
There was some airbrush fumes ( paint) on the backs of the zebras.
I then painted them with the same mixture of gray & white used for the back ground to give a nice clean line to separate the zebras.

This is the finished painting.
Time : about 26 hours.

I hope this will demystify a bit working with an airbrush.
I think it is a powerful tool, it renders the highlights and shadows in a realistic way.
I used a dual action airbrush. But this could be executed with a simple single action airbrush.