Hi, I'm James Caro and I have a very exciting painting. We are going to be painting a charging elephant with ygritte flying out from the seat. I'm gonna walk you step by step through this painting. When I complete a step, just pause the video and do it yourself. And when you're ready to move on, just press play. Alright, let's begin.

To start. I'm gonna draw out my elephant. I'm gonna break it down into some simple shapes and lines and then allow you To do the same, we're gonna start with our pointy brush and our ultramarine blue. Now I want to start to visualize my elephant here on my canvas, and this space is going to occupy. So I wanted to fill up most of the canvas but not be too big and not too small. So, to start, I'm just gonna draw a line down the middle of my canvas.

Just like that. Now I'm going to locate where I want the top of my head to be. I'm gonna make a mark about there. And I'm gonna mark where am I might want my feet to land right about there. So the top of my head and the bottom of my feet. I'm gonna draw a circle going on either side of my middle line about the size of it, a tangerine.

That will be the head of my elephant. So now following this line down, I'm gonna take the same length number of Mark just below and then on either side equal distance from this line. I'm gonna draw a line down to that mark. A little bit of water on your brush can help make your lines flow more easily. And then just rounded off at the bottom. This is going to be my trunk.

Then off the side, just gonna come off the side of my circle a little bit and then curve it back in my trunk again on this side and then curved back in. My tusks will rest in there now we can paint the ears. Coming off the top of the head, just gonna come out halfway. make a mark here and round off my ear this year, come all the way down just below these shapes. Now the next year is just going to be a bit bigger. When I do the equal distance, the size of my circle here, make a mark following along the same line on top.

Come down and meet that mark and then again all the way back Just the same point where I just need the trunk inside the face. Just gonna cut out side of the face, continued the trunk line up this into the side of our circle just like that. So go ahead now and make these shapes in these lines. If you need to rewatch this section, please do and when you're ready to move on, press play. Okay, let's continue to draw out the rest of our elephant drawn the tusks Now, coming out from these lines here, just gonna angle out and then curve back in. Same thing on this side as well.

Okay. Now for the legs, I'm just gonna follow this line, straight down. I'm gonna put the first leg here. So for the measurements it's gonna be This length here from where our tusks meet the trunk or where the ears meet the trunk and from the bottom down, just gonna make a little mark and this lake will come up here and up into the body or the here and then this leg is going to come down, it's just going to follow the same line but extend just a little bit further here and about the same with starting just below the ear. kind of bend out Then come back in. This is the leg coming forward so it's taking a step and then about where our truck ends or Tuscans then do another little line here.

Curve up for the next leg. It's just gonna come a slight bow and straight down to our line. Same with coming up curving in the ear. It's also very faint muddy leg going behind here. You see just a little bit back in here. Most of that's just going to be in the midst.

So we don't have to draw too much of it. So yes, the back of course. Our elephant will be in the dust. But we will put a little tail off the back like that. Great. So go ahead now and complete the step, drawing out your elephant.

And when you're ready to move on to the next step, press play. Okay, great. So we just finished drawing up our elephant. And you can see how just breaking it down into some simple shapes, we can easily create the framework of our elephant. And now we're going to start to fill it in with some color and bring out the form. So it takes a medium sized brush and we're going to mix Grey by taking white and black get those a good mix.

Also gonna add some of my ultramarine blue. I'm gonna fill in the year with this color covering over my blue lines in this year as well I'm just gonna lighten this up slightly and add some more blue and paint just as half of the face. reason I'm lightening it so we can see it's separation from the ears. The just filling this half of the face here and all the way down the trunk add even more white That a little bit more blue. We're just gonna finish off the strip. Filling in these spaces.

Again, light enough so that we can see it's separation from the other shapes. Great. So go ahead now and complete the step, adding the gray into the ears and the face and then clean off your brush when you're finished. Okay, continuing to use our medium sized brush, we're going to mix a rusty Orange, taking yellow and red to first mix an orange. Then add just a little bit of black to that to make a nice burnt orange. I'm gonna fill in my body with this color covering over my blue lines.

Again I'm taking red and yellow mixing it together. Just a hint of black. This color goes on transparent, which is nice so I can still see my blue lines underneath. And then finally, up here on the other half of the face we won't need to make a lighter color because we can still see our blue lines delineating these two shapes. Okay, so complete this step and then take a moment to let these colors dry. Then we'll move in and start adding another layer of colors.

Great. Now that we have our elephant filled in, we can begin to add some details and highlights. So go ahead and take your pointy brush and we're going to mix the dark grey by taking her black and adding just a little bit of white With this dark gray. Let's start here at the base of my trunk. Just gonna work my way up in small little curved lines starting to bring out some of those wrinkles in the trunk. As they go up, they get lighter and separate and do some lines now across trunk.

Gonna change their arc 20 now up towards the top this across like that, just fine little lines. I'm gonna bisect those lines some further lines coming in. I didn't know a little bit more detail to those wrinkles. I'm going to take this gray up here at the top, following the curve of the head. Just gonna add in to it all dimples in the school. Just lightly putting these lines in and also blending the line between the gray and the orange.

Have very little paint on my brush. During this step. I'm going to take this color here on the side The face just retraced the blue. And to come up here just a little mark here to create a fold in the ear. A few folds here on the side leaving some space in between them painting in our darkest areas right now. And on this side Mark fold in the ear the darkness around the face and some flaps and folds in the ears.

Now I'm going to darken here on this side of the trunk. At some just shadow against the leg. front of this leg is going to have some shadow. I'm also going to bring out some of the wrinkles in the skin. So I'm leaving some separation between my lines and I'm just like painting in the folds of the skin. You'll want to match the direction and I'm going here with my brush strokes.

Shift right here at the kneecap giving up a more delicate lines bringing out the folds and wrinkles from the skin. All the way up to the top. Just bring a little bit of this color into this lake this darkening the front of it the back leg space right here and there's just a few little wrinkles right here that I just want to pull out like that. Great and so Those are the darkest parts of our elephant. We watch this part if you need to. and complete this step and then we'll move on when you're ready.

Wonderful. Let's continue adding some more texture and wrinkles into our elephant. Nice my small pointy brush and mixer, a lighter blue gray, picking my white and take a little bit of my brilliant blue. Just a small bit. This is a very bright color. You only need a little bit to tint your white and now I'm adding some black to my bluish whites just to do it down below I'm going to take this color here and highlight the top of my ear.

Add just a little bit of ultramarine blue to that as well. Just to balance it out with the other blues that I have. I'm gonna paint over much of this gray belief some of the gray showing for the wrinkles the faults in the skin Take this color now into the face. Just going around, the dark lines have painted in a highlight here with the brow, the eye down. No sweat just a little bit here. The Edge I'm gonna mark out a few of these squares that I've brought out with my dark lines highlighting a few of them going down my trunk.

Now you can see I'm bringing some of this blue over into my orange. Just blend the transition between the two colors across the top of the head into the top of this year. Filling in the space this year still leaving some lines of the grace showing. softening the edge. can also use your finger to help soften it. Okay, so I'm gonna let that dry and let you finish that step.

And then we'll move into some orange highlights. Okay, great. Continuing to use our pointing brush. Go ahead and clean it off if you haven't already. Gonna make some new color. Taking some white, some yellow and red mix, a bright, yellow highlight.

So you want it to be more on the yellowy side can see it compared to my yellow They're just the hinter Fred. No work this color here into the details. My wrinkles same thing I did with the blue. Yeah these little squares and wrinkles and the lines through my trunk all the way to the bottom. Find delicate lines course up into the face. Just a little bit before head, top of the head still leaking some of my orange showing.

Now I'm going to carefully draw out my I solidify, sketching with a glint of light right here and make a mark the top of my eyelid Mark below well added I inside for now want to fill in the rest of the space with the highlighted color. Hey, let's go ahead and take a little bit of this color. A couple of these folds in the year. Talk are some of this warm sunlight is hitting the ear. And now into the body. Start Here in the leg, pulling out these wrinkles In the skin, down the leg, catching a few of those wrinkles as well.

This interior legs just catching a little bit of light bring that out as well. Too much. Now for the back, fill in most of this area up here with this color. When I get in here, I'm gonna draw in some wrinkles going down the side of the body same thing On the hind leg, carefully bringing this color down into the leg. Perfect. So complete the step now with this bright, orange yellow color, and we'll move on to the next step.

Okay, rinse off your praline brush and we're going to add some highlights into the blue now taking my white, no revisit my blue but make it brighter. adding a little bit of black to my white, little bit of the ultramarine blue. This brighter highlights go right here on the top of the head. Next year Nick crossed, make some more of this color. Taking my white, a little bit of black, a little bit of Ultramarine Blue I'll put even less of it on the ear now. Just marking out the folds from the ear.

These highlights here on the top of the head as well. Now just a few highlights. Here hearing this here On the top and now while we have this color, let's make it just a little bit more white to it and painting artists Go ahead now and add these highlights. Perfect. Clean off your brush and while the paint still wet on the trunks, let's take a little bit of black. We're just gonna add some shadow here underneath them blending the black up into the white While we have the black as well, it's gonna bring out the eyes.

So, inside the eyelids and paint the eye there and then straight across, painting the other eye. I'm gonna add a little bit of highlight that I setting a little bit of glue to my highlights here bringing out an eyelid on me Perfect. So finish this step before we move on to adding the last final highlights to our elephant. Okay, clean off your pointy brush. Gonna take some white and then just add a little bit of yellow to that white. To create creamy off white.

These are gonna be a brightest highlights. I put just a little bit here on the back of my elephant. Bring out just a couple of these wrinkles in here. Also here on the hind leg on the back of this like not taking these highlights all the way in just on the very edge. Finally, just a little bit up here in the face in the very edge the sun hits the face I'm bringing out just a little portion of these wrinkles. It's my highlights here on the top of the year to add some pure white highlights on the trunk Maybe just a little bit of highlight in touch ups here in there before I finished my elephant.

Perfect. All right. So now my elephant is finished. And I can now start to paint in the background around it. So go ahead now and have fun adding the final little touches and highlights, and then we'll move on to the next step. Great, well done Peyton your elephant.

We're gonna make it a little more easy on you now and, and painted background. So go ahead and pick up your big brush and we're going to work dark to light. Smile, make a dark gray to start taking some black, mixing it with my wife. I'm gonna add just a little bit of my ultramarine blue to that. I'm gonna start up here in the corner and work this color down. Come right down here above the ear.

Stop, right about there. Right about at my midway point, I'm gonna bring some other nice colors into this dusty sky. This elephant's charging so he's kicking up a lot of dust. And you know, it's that beautiful time of day when the sun setting and everything's golden which are the colors we brought out in our elephant. Now we want to bring out some of these colors in the sky. Now as they come down, I'm just gonna feather these brushstrokes into my white and later I'll work in color up into it.

Same thing on this side, feather out that color. Great. Now, I might as well fill in this space since I have a similar color. I'm gonna just add more blue to that. A little bit more white to lighten it up. You see my ultramarine blue.

Now I have a more of a blue gray more fat color up in this corner. Since the colors are still both wet, blend them together to create a nice transition. They're gonna let those colors dry. So go ahead now and complete the step adding in these two colors, and then we'll work some color down below. Okay, while these colors dry, I'm gonna work some color down here. Let's go ahead and clean off your big brush really well.

And we're going to mix the dark brown, taking yellow, and red. An ad in black. I'm just adding some red and yellow back and forth. So I get a nice, rich chocolate brown. paint this all along my bottom here. In some of my brushstrokes visible, just letting it fade up into the white.

And then down in this corner, I'm just gonna take some of my pure black just bring in some darker areas. I like that. Great. I'm gonna read soft my brush and While that's drying I'm mixing your colors. Back to my orange kids yellow and red. mixing those together.

Add just a little bit of black to it. drill it down and take a little bit of this color. Just painted in here, over some of my brown up into the sky. Colors also gonna come up around the feet That's just gonna swirl up has been kicked up behind the elephant can even paint over the feet just a little bit because it's transparent. To kick up here add a little bit white to that to lighten it up. brighten it with some yellow filling this area Hear, not quite all the way up same on this side carefully going around my trunks and tusks broad brushstrokes just letting them fly creating the atmosphere.

Dust things kicked up my elephant And then just a little bit of this color here. Can this can just kind of fade up into my legs. dust flying up. Perfect. I love this color. I'm just gonna bring out some highlights in the dirt there.

Great. Oh, that's fun. I love playing with these colors and these press trips. So be playful now and just create this nice atmosphere of dust just swirling around the legs. And then we'll finish up with some color. Use the last little bits of light.

Okay, clean off your big brush really well. We're going to mix a variety of colors here just to add some variants in these white areas. I'm going to just take a little bit of my brilliant blue, mix it with some white and I add just a tint of black to that. Be a bit more white to lighten it up. I'm just gonna put in a hint of blue sky, right into here. It's just gonna Fade up into my gray.

Now I'm gonna take white now I'm just gonna add a little bit black to that. A little bit of ultramarine blue. Make a light gray. finish off this last little bit of white. This color holding it down into my orange maybe just a little few streets of white. Nice from the body Perfect.

Now I'm going to take this color and add some black to it for a medium gray, let's pull that color right into that slot. Lighten up the gray as they come down. Just adding a little bit of weight to it. Right up in that corner, they're coming behind. beautiful plant. Take a moment now to let this dry and then we can paint in our ygritte.

So have fun playing around finishing off your colors, and then I'll meet you in the next step. Fantastic. Let's paint in our secrets now. Money is my small pointy brush and just with some pure white put thinking eager right We're at ygritte flying up here. Don't worry, they're pretty easy to paint. We're just gonna start with the little head.

So elephants are really big as you know. So the secrets, they aren't going to be too big flying out from the feet. So I'm just gonna occupy about that much space. So I'm gonna start with the head here. Just like that. I'm gonna paint a little neck coming down and then the body like that.

So you can see how big that is. And now for the wing. Just gonna come off here. That then just slightly tear it out. And then for this swing, just coming around the back, curving down with a little lift at the end just like that. Now for the next secret appear again, we'll head the long neck curves down so it's just like painting us stretched out to or z And then the body there's gonna be a wing coming up another wing coming out.

Now, say I don't need to rinse off my brush. Just gonna Add a little bit of ultramarine to that white. Tiny pinpoint amount of black just to make shadow under the swing. Make that a little bit darker, more blue. Just a little bit more black shadow under that wing. Here into the body.

Little bit under the tail. Same thing with this grid, a little bit on the neck and then another link the body I'm gonna take a little bit of black. Just get a nice fine point on my brush. And it's gonna put a little.in for the eye. A little bit of shadow right here in the wing. just the tiniest, tiniest bit here.

A couple of little legs coming out and the tiniest dot for the eye. Lastly rinse off a brush. Take some red, just a little bit of yellow. Put in the tiniest mark here for the week. And as the swipe dries it's gonna add one more coat here on the top in the wings just make the white, even brighter. Beautiful That's a wrap.

Wow. I just love it. Oh, go ahead now and finish painting in your secrets. And then only two in the final closing. My goodness. I just love painting this painting.

I hope you enjoyed painting as well. And please share your beautiful artwork. I hope we can paint together again. Thank you so much