Wolf with Snow

My wife loves wolves, so I decided to put my dagger stroke skills to the test[cite: 1]. A billion dagger strokes, some pen, and a hand cramp later, I finished this "Wolf with Snow" piece[cite: 1]. The project took approximately 5-6 hours, working in 1-2 hour sessions[cite: 1].

The artwork is on an 11x14in canvas board, prepped with a high-build primer and a black base of AutoAir Sealer Dark[cite: 1]. I used AutoAir Colors, including semi-opaque white, transparent white, black, yellow, blue, red oxide, and candy blue for the eyes[cite: 1]. Fine hairs and whiskers were added using Micron Archival pens (sizes 005 and 02)[cite: 1].

I utilized a range of airbrushes, with most fine work performed using the Harder & Steenbeck Infinity and Iwata Hi-Line HP-CH, supplemented by the DeVilbiss Dagr and Master G44[cite: 1]. I began by isolating the wolf's head in Photoshop and printing cut-out stencils for the eyes, nose, and primary outlines[cite: 1]. From there, I built the image through layered dagger strokes, occasionally knocking back areas with black to establish depth[cite: 1].