Paint Pet Portraits in Watercolor & Ink (A Beginner's Guide to Painting Cats & Dogs)

Learn to paint your own cat or dog with 10 beginner-friendly projects that make expressive watercolor and ink pet portraits easy, colorful, and fun.

In Paint Pet Portraits in Watercolor & Ink, artist Tori Ratcliffe shares her approachable technique for combining loose, colorful watercolor washes with ink details to create lively portraits of cats and dogs. Designed with beginners in mind, this book takes the pressure out of both watercolor and drawing, helping you build the skills and confidence you need to paint your own pet.

Start with the fundamentals, including tools and materials, sketching, watercolor basics, color, and mark-making with fineliner pens. You’ll also learn techniques for painting the features that bring a pet portrait to life, from expressive eyes and shiny noses to whiskers and different fur textures.

Then put your new skills into practice with 10 step-by-step cat and dog portraits featuring a variety of breeds, coat colors, markings, and fur types. Along the way, you’ll discover how to:

• Create an outline from a reference photo
• Build color, value, and texture with watercolor
• Use ink to add definition and expressive details
• Paint curly, smooth, fluffy, and scruffy fur
• Give black coats depth and dimension
• Capture white fur in unique ways 
• Paint convincing eyes, noses, and whiskers
• Apply what you’ve learned to a portrait of your own pet

Downloadable guides help take the worry out of drawing, while QR codes link to video instruction for extra help with key techniques.

With Tori Ratcliffe’s loose, forgiving approach, there’s no need to make every brushstroke perfect. Let the watercolor flow, add the finishing details in ink, and discover how much fun it can be to paint a portrait of a pet you love.