Boris Medallion- how I did it

Today I will be showing you all how I painted my latest medallion, Boris!

Step 1: Wash it off!
This is a super important step to make sure that the horse has no more mold release when you prime it. If you do not wash the horse the primer will either not dry, or will peel off later in life.

Step 2: Prime!
Use a light, thin layer. I recommend letting this first layer dry and coming back to it, and doing like 3 thin layers of primer.

Step 3: The first layer of pastels!
Once your medallion is primed, it’s time to paint! I use a pan pastels on my medallions most of the time. I used burnt sienna, raw umber, and yellow ochre tint for the first layer. Dust these on, and try to get as many debris off as possible.

Step 4: First layer of matte spray!
Spray a thick even coat of matte spray for this layer. You want to make it as smooth as possible! After you spray, the color will come off extremely diluted. This is why we use multiple layers of pastels!

Step 5: Repeat step 3 and 4 till you get the color you want!

Step 6: Paint background, halter, and silver hardware!
This will require many thin layers of watered-down acrylics, and about three layers of silver paint for the hardware, depending on the brand of paint. (I also put a layer of white down to start the eye)

Step 7: Painting the Eye
I first started out with a layer of white acrylic (as seen above), and let it dry. I then use black acrylic as the base of the pupil. I then go over it with three or four shades of brown, making the highlights/shadows of the eye.

Step 8: Painting the Mane/Forelock
We’re almost done! The next step will be to get a base layer down on the mane by using a light acrylic layer. I used a yellow ochre for the base. I then added burnt sienna, white, and yellow ochre tint to create shading.

Step 9: All the details!
This includes making all the highlights/shadows on the halter, eyelashes, and just general refining.

Step 10: Final Matte Spray! (We’re almost done!)
To seal all all of the work we just did in, we need to do a final coat of Matte Spray. Apply it in a smooth, even layer. I do this two times to make sure that the layer is hardy and will stand up to anything.

Step 11: Gloss Time!
Our final step is to gloss the eye, nose, and background. I use either gloss varnish or glossy clear (emphasis on CLEAR) nail polish. I gloss the nose once, I usually use about two layers of gloss on the eyes, and multiple layers of gloss on the background. After this all dries, you’re done!