As an artist and animal lover, there's nothing better than painting pets.
But staring at a blank paper and a palette full of paint can feel overwhelming on where to even begin the painting. I too remember thinking …
What paint colors do I need to color mix for this dog?
How do I paint the curly hair texture?
What part should I paint first?
Many times I thought I just wasn't capable of painting a dog portrait.
Painting pets in watercolor doesn’t have to be intimidating and can actually be easier than you think! With guided practice and the right supplies, you’ll quickly learn the fundamentals of color mixing and hair stroke painting techniques that can be applied for a wide array of dog breeds to leave you feeling more confident when it comes to pet portraits.
That's why I created the course, Master Watercolor Dog Breeds.
A step-by-step course with videos to walk you through how to successfully watercolor more than 30 different dog breeds
Master Watercolor Dog Breeds shares my watercolor process, supplies and techniques with you through 31 different dog breed lessons. This is a go at your own pace course, perfect for watercolor artists & hobbyists who may have little experience with watercolor, but you're looking to get started in pet portraiture with guidance. We start by covering the basics from supplies, hair strokes & color mixing, and then I walk you through how to paint the cutest dogs in bite size parts so you can gain confidence to get started in pet portraiture.
This course includes:
Lifetime access
You will receive instant and lifetime access to this course. This is a go at your own pace course, so you can take as long or as little to work through each dog breed as you need. You'll also receive any updates made to the course.
31 step-by-step painting lessons
Each dog breed is broken down into bite size video parts. The videos can be slowed down or sped up, allowing you to find the perfect pace for your skill level. Each dog lesson comes with a sketch outline ready to print or trace onto your watercolor paper.
Introduction to watercolor
If you are new to watercolor, there's a module dedicated to teaching essential brush strokes, color mixing and a supplies guide for watercolor pet portraits.
Bonuses
As a bonus, you'll receive a module covering my top tips on getting started and running a pet portrait business (if that is your goal!).
Private community
There's also a private Facebook community to get additional guidance and meet other artists!
Take a look inside the course curriculum:
- Welcome! Get started here (6:44)
- Download This: Course Reference Guide
- Join the Facebook group!
- My favorite watercolor supplies for pet portraits (2:37)
- Tips on color mixing (4:43)
- Important strokes & techniques for hair textures (6:37)
- Additional Resources on YouTube
- Join the annual Dog a Day Challenge! Details here (9:42)
- Additional Courses for your Pet Portrait Journey
- GoldenRetriever_Outline_5x7
- Golden Retriever Reference Guide
- Golden Retriever - Part 1 (7:17)
- Golden Retriever - Part 2 (6:55)
- Golden Retriever - Part 3 (3:24)
- Golden Retriever - Part 4 (3:51)
- Golden Retriever - Part 5 (4:40)
- Golden Retriever - Part 6 (3:21)
- Golden Retriever - Part 7 (4:46)
- Golden Retriever - Part 8 (5:44)
- Golden Retriever - Part 9 (4:37)
- Golden Retriever - Part 10 (8:47)
- Golden Retriever - Part 11 (3:52)
- YellowLab_Outline_5x7
- Yellow Lab Reference Guide
- Yellow Lab - Part 1 (2:48)
- Yellow Lab - Part 2 (5:38)
- Yellow Lab - Part 3 (3:45)
- Yellow Lab - Part 4 (2:31)
- Yellow Lab - Part 5 (2:31)
- Yellow Lab - Part 6 (2:05)
- Yellow Lab - Part 7 (4:41)
- Yellow Lab - Part 8 (7:15)
- Yellow Lab - Part 9 (5:51)
- Yellow Lab - Part 10 (4:33)
- Yellow Lab - Part 11 (4:58)
- GermanShepherd_Outline_5x7
- German Shepherd Reference Guide
- German Shepherd - Part 1 (4:02)
- German Shepherd - Part 2 (4:26)
- German Shepherd - Part 3 (4:21)
- German Shepherd - Part 4 (7:09)
- German Shepherd - Part 5 (7:01)
- German Shepherd - Part 6 (3:47)
- German Shepherd - Part 7 (5:34)
- German Shepherd - Part 8 (11:29)
- German Shepherd - Part 9 (0:39)
- German Shepherd - Part 10 (4:48)
- German Shepherd - Part 11 (0:54)
- BlackLab_Outline_5x7
- Black Lab Reference Guide
- Black Lab - Part 1 (5:06)
- Black Lab - Part 2 (3:13)
- Black Lab - Part 3 (3:26)
- Black Lab - Part 4 (0:51)
- Black Lab - Part 5 (3:51)
- Black Lab - Part 6 (4:59)
- Black Lab - Part 7 (10:21)
- Black Lab - Part 8 (4:04)
- Black Lab - Part 9 (0:32)
- Black Lab - Part 10 (9:27)
- Black Lab - Part 11 (4:02)
- Black Lab - Part 12 (4:02)
- ChocolateLab_Outline_5x7
- Chocolate Lab Reference Guide
- Chocolate Lab - Part 1 (3:27)
- Chocolate Lab - Part 2 (4:35)
- Chocolate Lab - Part 3 (3:07)
- Chocolate Lab - Part 4 (7:39)
- Chocolate Lab - Part 5 (5:01)
- Chocolate Lab - Part 6 (6:22)
- Chocolate Lab - Part 7 (5:23)
- Chocolate Lab - Part 8 (5:14)
- Chocolate Lab - Part 9 (4:25)
- GSP_Outline_5x7
- German Shorthaired Pointer Reference Guide
- German Shorthaired Pointer - Part 1 (2:13)
- German Shorthaired Pointer - Part 2 (1:17)
- German Shorthaired Pointer - Part 3 (4:50)
- German Shorthaired Pointer - Part 4 (7:33)
- German Shorthaired Pointer - Part 5 (4:42)
- German Shorthaired Pointer - Part 6 (4:15)
- German Shorthaired Pointer - Part 7 (5:24)
- German Shorthaired Pointer - Part 8 (2:43)
- German Shorthaired Pointer - Part 9 (5:14)
- CKCS_Outline_5x7
- CKCS Reference Guide
- Cavalier King Charles Spaniel - Part 1 (6:41)
- Cavalier King Charles Spaniel - Part 2 (5:09)
- Cavalier King Charles Spaniel - Part 3 (2:17)
- Cavalier King Charles Spaniel - Part 4 (5:13)
- Cavalier King Charles Spaniel - Part 5 (3:21)
- Cavalier King Charles Spaniel - Part 6 (5:43)
- Cavalier King Charles Spaniel - Part 7 (2:55)
- BerneseMountainDog_Outline_5x7
- Bernese Mountain Dog Reference Guide
- Bernese Mountain Dog - Part 1 (5:52)
- Bernese Mountain Dog - Part 2 (4:36)
- Bernese Mountain Dog - Part 3 (4:26)
- Bernese Mountain Dog - Part 4 (3:17)
- Bernese Mountain Dog - Part 5 (5:31)
- Bernese Mountain Dog - Part 6 (4:28)
- Bernese Mountain Dog - Part 7 (5:54)
- Bernese Mountain Dog - Part 8 (3:24)
- SpringerSpaniel_Outline_5x7
- English Springer Spaniel Reference Guide
- English Springer Spaniel - Part 1 (5:50)
- English Springer Spaniel - Part 2 (5:58)
- English Springer Spaniel - Part 3 (5:36)
- English Springer Spaniel - Part 4 (6:44)
- English Springer Spaniel - Part 5 (8:33)
- English Springer Spaniel - Part 6 (3:07)
- Create your business plan & process
- Make sure to get good reference photos
- Setting up a purchase listing on your website (Squarespace) (5:20)
- The customer ordering experience (5:15)
- Setting up a purchase listing on Etsy (6:35)
- Tips on marketing your business and finding leads
- You're Finished! Packaging and shipping custom portraits (1:23)
Meet your teacher:
HI, I'M ALLIE!
A watercolor, dog loving girl who is passionate about teaching pet portraiture
I've been a dog lover my whole life and have painted nearly a hundred of the sweetest watercolor pet portraits for people all over the world. Painting custom portraits has brought me immense joy and played a big role in my business. Whether you're ready to pursue your own custom pet portrait business or want to watercolor dogs for a hobby, I want to share what I've learned with you so you too can experience joy and success with watercolor!
Reviews from students
"Using what I learned from the Master Watercolor Dog Breeds course, I was able to paint these two family dogs. I could never have done it without taking Allie’s course, that’s for sure! Thanks, Allie!!"
"Allie, thank you for creating this course. It gave me so much confidence. I started posting my completed dogs from the challenge on my private FB page and the request to paint other people's dogs came."
"This is a terrific class!"
"If you’ve ever wanted to learn to paint pet portraits, this is a terrific class! Allie takes you through some basic watercolor techniques at the beginning so this class is good even for those newer to watercolor and breaks down the process for each dog in easy steps. It was so much a fun seeing each dog come together and I was really amazed at what I accomplished. I can’t wait to take another class!"
-Denise Roof
"Helped my confidence and skills grow..."
"I began this course with very minimal watercolor experience, but Allie’s step-by-step approach helped my confidence and skills grow with each progressive lesson. The variety of breeds covered provides students with exposure to a wide variety of fur types, coat colors and spotted patterns…knowledge which can definitely be applied to future animal portraits. I came away from this class better prepared to handle watercolor itself and paint animals that I might have shied away from at first!"
-Penny Marz
"It really felt like I was taking a class along side her in person."
"Allie truly has a gift and wishes for all her "students" to succeed! She broke down each step flawlessly within the course. On the Facebook page, she was actively commenting words of encouragement, providing tips, and sharing more of her knowledge. It really felt like I was taking a class along side her in person. This course is highly recommended for anyone interested in watercolor dog portraits- from beginner to expert!"
-Nicole Goble
Frequently Asked Questions
How long will I have access to the course?
Forever! This is a go at your own pace course. You get to keep the course content forever and will receive updates if changes are made.
What level of artist is this course for?
This course is made for beginner to intermediate artists. You don't need to have watercolor experience. The course will cover basics such as supplies, color mixing, stroke techniques and more to help you gain the confidence to get started in watercolor pet portraits!
What supplies do I need for this course?
Inside of the course I include a supplies guide that I recommend which includes my favorite paper, 8 paint colors, 3 brushes, paint palette, water and paper towel. Watercolor has a very minimal and easy to clean set up!
Do I need to work in order of the course lessons?
While I recommend starting with the first module and working through the course in order, it is not required and you can skip around as you wish! You will want to work through a full dog portrait in one sitting. Each dog portrait takes 1-1.5 hours.
I'd love to start a pet portrait business but I'm not sure where to begin. Will this course cover how to get started?
Yes! This course is an amazing way to kickstart a pet portrait business. There is a module that covers my top tips on how to start a pet portrait business such as setting up a purchase listing online, marketing tips, how to package and ship your portraits and more! One of the biggest parts to launching a new pet portrait business is curating a portfolio of work to share on your website and social media accounts. By sharing the paintings you complete in this course, you will have a great foundation of work to showcase in your portfolio and start attracting customers.
What if I find this course isn't for me?
That's ok! If you give the course a try and find it's just not for you, you'll have up to 7 days to contact me for a refund on the course.