Seeing spots part 3 - shading

I'd like to introduce you to a couple of concepts that you won't hear much about outside of artistic circles, namely scumbling and glazing. Most of the time when we work with an airbrush we are glazing: adding color in transparent layers so that the underpainting shows through. If you start with lighter colors and layer on the darker colors transparently, you'll end up with a lovely glowing color to your horse. There is, however, such a thing as too brilliant. Here is Scarlett shaded with a glaze of the same burnt sienna we used for the dappling.



Here she is with yet more glazing of her darker areas, this time with Golden brand raw umber (I wish they made a burnt umber in their airbrush line, but alas, they don't.)



Her color is now rich, glowing, lovely, and pretty unrealistic to be honest. So we scumble. A scumble is the polar opposite of a glaze. This time we layer on an opaque color, often lighter. The end result is dull and lifeless but much more realistic. Use a very light touch here or you'll make a hideous mess out of your horse!

Mix up an opaque light gray about the color of the sky on a drizzly day and apply it ever so lightly in a broad spray along the body just below an imaginary line that would divide the profile in half from chest to tail. Hold the airbrush way back from the horse, at least 6-8 inches away if not more and make it quick. Give another light brush to the high point of the neck muscles. While you have this color in the airbrush, go ahead and use it to paint the skin around the eyes and muzzle, inside the ears, and between the back legs.

Now add some black to that gray until it is more like the color of very ominous clouds preceding a major thunderstorm and just as lightly scumble this color onto the areas of deepest shadow or darkest color. This much darker gray will now be used on all the skin areas, leaving just a bit of the lighter gray showing where it blends into the coat color.

My flash has really picked up the gray on Scarlett. It isn't as prominent in person. Try not to let it look this obvious on your horse.



Our next step will be to add the black points that will make the horse into a bay, then on to the spots! (Yes, spots first, then blanket. Trust me.)