Looking for tips and suggestions on painting a black cat

[bif]

A friend has commissioned me to paint his daughters two cats. One is solid black. He sent me a photo of them and I lightened it up in Photoshop by boosting the shadows & highlights. Pets in general are a relatively new subject for me. Any tips on painting the black cat? I plan on mixing colors to achieve the black instead of using black out of the tube. (I work in acrylics). Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Girard442]

1. Wear heavy gloves so you don't get scratched?

Seriously, I'm thinking that to create the impression of blackness without just having a black void in the middle of your canvas, you're going to have to pay a lot of attention to your background. Also, highlights, since the black cats I've seen seem to have glossy fur.

[FoxNewsSucks]

3. My first thought before clicking the thread

was "sedate the cat!!"

[mopinko]

2. you need a lot of white to paint a black cat.

go heavy on the highlights.

me, i would run it through ps, and lighten up the whole thing. pump up the contrast. see the structure.

[bif]

5. Thanks!

I did just that with Photoshop.

[MLAA]

4. I like how the artist of one of my paintings used blues to highlight black hair

[femmedem]

6. Congratulations on the commission!

I'd study some paintings of black pets but also of portraits of people with black hair.

I like how this painting of a black cat has enough value contrast to define the form, and I also like how the painter made conscious choices about each distinct value rather than blending them all together seamlessly: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/115475177919056881/

[bif]

7. Thanks!

Good point. I'll have to look at how other artists have approached it. Thanks for the link.

[RockCreek]

8. Black cats often have other colors in their fur.

Henna highlights, shades of blue, faint stripes. And, as they get older, even pure black ones often gain white hairs and whiskers.

[leighbythesea2]

9. Good call

On mixing your black, instead of out of a tube!

When i have done dark skin tones (with black hair) in past i generally do a triad scheme, and orange green purple with black, seems to work nicely.
You can use purple in the hair highlights, muted orange as dark tones in any light value areas (with peach and cream) and greens in clothing.
The triads can be subtle of course. Could be reds & blues too with touch of cream (instead of yellow). It could depend on the color of the kids hair? Like start with the non-negotiables and go from there?

I did this o/g/p with a pastel portrait of Naomi Campbell from a Rolling Stone magazine, or Interview (b&w) once. And my friend who is Venezuelan. Her hair is very dark but 100% stunning and needed good capturing.
Like you i stretched the values (on a photocopier).

How exciting! Love portraits. And kitties.

[lunatica]

10. Lots of great advice here!

I’ll add to just be fearless. With acrylics you can fix all your mistakes.

Maybe you’ll find yet another interesting subject you want to paint.

[bif]

11. Thanks all for the great tips!

One of the only downsides to this is I'm working from a photograph that was supplied to me. But using Photoshop, I've managed to bring out some of the subtleties of his fur. Onward ho!