The Making of the Cheshire Cat

I'm going to take you through the process of how I went about painting the Cheshire Cat.
I'll apologize ahead of time for the small amount of pictures I'll be showing, in the future I'll have more Work in progress shots, go more in depth of what I did, my techniques, etc. 


I started off with making a grid on the canvas and reference picture I used, so to make sure all my proportions would be accurate. (I've got no picture of that, sorry.)

My next step was to paint in a rough background, along with the main colors that are seen on the cheshire cat. So with around 45 minutes work in it looked like this-

Haha, do NOT be discouraged in the early stages of your artwork when it's not the prettiest thing to look at. I mean, look at that!! ^^

Next I worked on adding in detail slowly, I had started with the eyes and was working my way out from them. and than I added the teeth and started the markings. I didn't take enough in between shots so this jumps pretty far into the painting. I had probably put around 5-6 hours into it by now.

Now you have everything coming together, it's all finishing touches. getting those details in.
I finished up the fur, all the highlighting and also messed around with the background and added in the finishing touches.

This is the finished product!
It probably took me a good 9 hours to do this one.
Just remember to take lots of breaks between painting or you'll go mental and probably end up using hulk smash to rip a hole into the canvas before lighting it on fire so no one can see your failure. (;

I'd be more than happy to answer any questions and/or hear any tips or advice you have for me. I'm always looking to improve!

Check back soon. c: