The Making Of The Lot #19 Prototype: The Silver Dapple Croi Damsha

Introduction

When Breyer asked me to design a colorway on my Croi Damsha sculpture for their 2026 Breyerfest Auction, I about squealed with delight! Whoop whoop! Absolutely yes! I so enjoyed painting her up for that Premier Collection version years ago so to have another opportunity to interpret her just tickled my toes! And I knew in an instant she had to be classic Silver Dapple. I mean...c'mon. Croi. Pony. Silver Dapple. Three fun things that go better together! So I couldn't wait to get my plastic whiteware Croi from Breyer so I could just jump into Silver Dapple goodness headfirst! Creative cannonball!

Now I did briefly ponder what shade of Silver Dapple to do. The more red kind? The more brown kind? The dark kind? The pale kind? Que?! But then it hit me like a flash...of course, the classic pony kind! That oh-so time-honored "dead grass" variety — just like Merrylegs. I would make my very own Merrylegs out of plucky Croi! (Now I know that Merrylegs was grey, but I always envisioned Silver Dapple.) Black Beauty was one of my favorite books as a child, but also a deeply moving one that has stuck with me into adulthood. Living life from the horse's POV just really left a lasting impression on my soul, as a person and an artist. Indeed, I think you can probably see the influence of that book in all my work. And I've always loved little Merrylegs, so well...with Croi, it was just meant to be, I guess. What a lovely feeling!

So the whiteware Croi arrived in December 2025 and I got right to work in January 2026! So yes — I've been sitting on this top secret little mare for quite some time. Gah! Not an easy thing to do! Especially since I just fell in love with her as I worked, and couldn't wait to see Breyer's amazing translation and then, of course, to share her with you! It was so hard staying mum! But mum I stayed though Breyer did give me permission to give you this play-by-play of her making as I did for my Cosimo auction lot last year. I'm very grateful for this because I think it adds interest to her Croi history as ephemera, which is cool. And honestly, I just like talking shop because maybe it'll help someone out there with their own painting adventures.

Now as for her dead-grass color, that's actually an excruciatingly difficult color to ping. It's this strange neutral tannish-greige that will radically shift warm or cool if you aren't super careful. Like the slightest touch of Burnt Umber shifts it pink (warm) while the teeniest touch of Ivory Black shifts it grey (cool). So I leaned heavily into Raw Umber, a cool brown, neutralizing it with snidges of Burnt Umber as needed to create a neutral base-color brown, and from that, I was able to build her curious dead-grass hues. So these are the colors I used:

• Liquitex Soft Body Raw Umber
• Liquitex Soft Body Burnt Umber
• Liquitex Soft Body Burnt Sienna
• Liquitex Soft Body Ivory Black
• Golden Fluid Acrylics Carbon Black 
• Golden Fluid Acrylics Titanium White
• Golden Fluid Acrylics Light Ultramarine Blue

Note that I didn't go bananas with non-horse colors as I usually do — that was on purpose. Why? Because while I typically paint with color theory concepts using blues, purples, yellows, violets, oranges, greens, and reds, the Breyer paint is quite different and I didn't know how it would behave in that regard. Like I had no idea how it would react to a blue being mixed with the Burnt Umber for a black. It just felt like that was asking for trouble. Instead then I opted to stay with standard colors that I thought would give Breyer the best shot at nailing her color without inadvertently creating a wonky result. I was pretty confident that Breyer had the equivalent "horse colors" in their paint stores so if I could stick with those, I hoped not to hair out the Breyer painting team too much.

For extra pop though, I requested a pearlescent mane and tail (yes, again...hey, I'm just bonko over pearly manes and tails!), a glossy finish (to pop the color), and for spice, I put a blue eye on her left side (hence the Light Ultramarine Blue), painted in the Vintage Custom style that I thought Breyer could pull off perfectly. I decided to keep her markings to a minimum though, largely because I loved how her color came out so much, I just couldn't obliterate so much of it with markings. See, I toyed with making her a pinto but, well...nah, she didn't want to be pinto, and I'm a big believer in listening to the piece. It knows what it needs. 

You see, when it comes to your art, you're the only pathway, the only conduit in all space and time for your art to come into the world. That original Vision is yours, and yours alone in all existence, and it's your privilege, your joy, and your duty to manifest it into reality. So when your piece speaks to you — listen. No no no...stop imposing. Listen. So follow your gut instincts — not your head, not your heart, your guts — because that's how your piece communicates with you. As Martha Graham observed so wisely...

There is a vitality, a life force, an energy, a quickening that is translated through you into action, and because there is only one of you in all of time, this expression is unique. And if you block it, it will never exist through any other medium and it will be lost. The world will not have it. It is not your business to determine how good it is nor how valuable nor how it compares with other expressions. It is your business to keep it yours clearly and directly, to keep the channel open. You do not even have to believe in yourself or your work. You have to keep yourself open and aware to the urges that motivate you. Keep the channel open.

So artist, that's your whole, entire job gifted to you by the Universe: To use your authentic, original Voice boldly and joyfully, and to always keep that channel open. So listen. Stop comparing your work to that of others, create for yourself rather than for the kudos, dive in despite that self-doubt, work through that insecurity, ditch that perfection paralysis, dig deep into your moxie, then keep that channel open. In that spirit then, here's the journey into the creation of the prototype for Lot #19 in the prestigious 2026 Breyerfest Auction! Off we go!...

Ajaxing

Before I primer, I always use a toothbrush and an Ajax paste to duly scrub scrub scrub an OF, resin, or custom clean of any residue that inevitably gets onto the piece from production and handling. It also gives the surface some tooth which is important for the primer to really stick. This is a really important step by the way so don't skip it! Then I washed her off really well to get all that Ajax off, using the toothbrush again to scrub it all out of the nooks n' crannies. But when washing, be sure to use cold or room temperature water rather than hot water because you don't want to create bent distortions and wonkiness. Then I let her air dry in a dust-free area. Don't use a towel or whatnot to dry your piece as debris will inevitably stick to it — let it air dry.

The whiteware Croi before primer

Primer

For primer, I used Dupli-color Sandable Primer in White in two light coats. Just one thing: This is a more transparent primer, it's not opaque, so don't load it on trying to get it opaque, you'll just make a mess. Trust me, it'll get the job done with two to three light coats even if it looks patchy and transparent. It's also a "tight" primer that'll preserve your fiddly details really well plus it has a grippy-chalky finish that accepts paint wonderfully. So yeah, I love this stuff! (Just shake the can really well before you use it.) So then I let that primer dry for a good week. Why so long? Welp, that primer needs to fully process and de-gas, or become "cold and hard," before I lay down the basecoat. I find that allowing things to fully settle down before jumping into the next step lends itself a lot more in the durability department in the long run. Besides, if anything weird is going to happen, I want it to happen during this time so I have the best shot at fixing it because I'm just dealing with primer and not a laborious paintjob.

Note: I started this mare in bitter cold December so I had to wait until it warmed up a snidge in the afternoon to primer-spray her. If I'm quick and I keep the can indoors at room temperature, and bring her indoors to dry, I don't have a problem. It's when the can and the model get cold (or when it's left to dry outside in the cold) that I start to have problems. Primers are designed to be stored, sprayed, and dry at room temperature, so I'm really pushing it with the 28˚ temps outside. The risks we take for enthusiasm! All the more reason to really let that primer process for a week.

Note 2: Nope, I didn't prep her as I would a repaint. She still has the seamlines and all that as I primed her exactly as I got her from Breyer. Remember, she's a prototype, not a repaint — big difference.

Basecoat

After that long wait, I basecoated her using unthinned "soft body" acrylics and a beveled, triangular make-up sponges to create a sturdy first layer that has enough tooth to help the following layers really stick. Indeedy, I find that a sponged basecoat is tougher and "stickier" to the primer than a fully-airbrushed one, so I do the sponge application first. Now I do dampen my sponge just a snidge to soften its texture, but not too much otherwise you'll just create pesky bubbles (if you do, just blow on them to pop them and continue).

Anyway, so after that first layer is applied and dry to the touch, I used my airbrush to apply another coat to make it opaque and even all over, getting into all the crevices the sponge missed. Then I set her aside and let that basecoat dry for another week before I started painting in earnest. This allows the paint to fully dry and process with the primer, helping to stabilize it all before I lay down the actual paintjob. Because, again, if anything weird happens, it's better to attend to that now.

Basecoat

Objective: Opaque, even coverage that really sticks to the primer

So to paint her, I approached her with the same philosophy I did with my 2025 Cosimo prototype: Use methods that best match Breyer's processes so they'd have the best shot at duplicating her faithfully. Put another way, I would paint her “factory style.” For that then, I used my airbrush almost exclusively because that's what they'd used in the factory. The only thing I handpainted then were her markings, eyes, and her mane and tail, everything else was airbrushed.

Colors used:

• Liquitex Burnt Umber
• Liquitex Raw Umber
• Golden Fluid Acrylics Carbon Black
• Golden Fluid Acrylics Titanium White

Note: I started on the dark side rather than the mid-tone side. I tend to start my paintjobs on the dark side because I like how this gives it a bit of depth and dimension with the way I paint. I dunno...it just seems to have more pop right out of the gate, and I want this Silver Dapple coat to really catch your eye with some contrasting tones.

Note 2: I laid on the basecoat (lightly) onto the mane and tail for tooth. I think it creates a more consistent "skin" for durability plus I think it creates a unifying underlying tone.

Note 3: The airbrush I use is an Iwata Eclipse HP-BCS. I love this thing! I've used this puppy for years and years, and it's such a great workhorse! And yeah, I abuse the heck out of it but it still works great! And I use the bottom-feeder model so I have a whole slew of little ready-to-use bottles of color I can just pop on and go!

First Layer

Now I knew that the Croi silver dapple run, Sparrow, was already out there so I had to make mine markedly different and punched up a few notches since, well, I wanted to, plus she was an auction horse and warranted the extra flair. Even more though, I wanted to make her quintessentially "Silver Dapple pony" as well. You know...a dream pony! So what did that mean? Dapples! Lots and lots and lots of big, bright silver dapples! 

But I had to be careful — Silver Dapple has a rather distinct dappling pattern. You can't just use a dapple grey pattern, sooty dapple pattern, seasonal dapple pattern, or any ol' dapple pattern and just throw it on there with dead-grass colors and have it read convincingly as "Silver Dapple." You also can't just throw dapples on willy nilly. It doesn't work that way! That's like using an overo pattern on a Barock horse and calling it a tobiano. Indeed, the Silver Dapple dappling pattern can be so distinct that it becomes its own thing so I had to pay close attention to that. And in this, it can have a kind of randomness to it that's odd, unlike many other dappling patterns which can often align to more order. So, for example, there can be patches of big bright dapples right next to very subtle, small dapples, and much more happenstance over the body. In essence, at times it can kinda look like a dapple pattern put into a blender!

But just as much, the pattern can morph between breeds a bit. That's to say, the pattern on a Shetland Pony or Miniature Horse can look quite a bit different than on a Rocky Mountain Horse, feathered cob, or other big breed. I don't know why that is, but it can just look quite different on ponies and minis. So since I wanted her to read "pony" in big flashing lights, I picked a pony version of the pattern off a Shetland. I could just see it on her and I knew it was perfect! So I paid careful attention to plot out the dapples as closely as I could flavor-wise, leaning into the peculiar configurations of the pattern to get it to read "Silver Dapple" while also keeping in mind that Breyer had to duplicate it. In other words, I couldn't go all bananas with the detailed "jigsaw" dapples I was seeing in my reference but had to veer more towards amoebic dots, splotches, and streaks only because Breyer had to translate it all well enough on their end. See, here's my reasoning: It's better to have a 1:1 translation that's been simplified rather than a fancy prototype and a very different auction interpretation. It just makes more sense. Really, a prototype is pointless if the factory can't do a 1:1 translation, so that was my aim. And I really wanted Breyer to nail the coloration I achieved on her, so that was a prime directive.

So to get this party started, I started with a super light color, keeping things pretty tight. Then I went berserk with dappling! Wheee! I followed the flavor of my references to capture "pony Silver Dapple" best I could even at this preliminary stage. Then I had to match that on the other side...oof! That took some doing. But keep in mind that this is just the template, the first stage of the dappling. Next I'll go in with some other colors to tint and mute key dapples to make the overall effect far more rich, subtle, and realistic. It's all done in layers when it comes to airbrushing, much like Photoshop layers. You just keep building and you gotta trust that process.

But speaking of dapples, here's the thing: When it comes to heavily dappled coats like dapple grey, dapple sooties, seasonal dapples, champagne reverse dapples, etc., I like to ease up on the muscling highlighting and shading to focus mostly on hitting the dappling pattern and correct coat tones. I find that too much muscle-work with heavily dappled coats can confuse the pattern and things can end up looking odd and messy when I want that pattern front and center. So that's why I didn't go hard into muscle-work as I did with the 2025 Cosimo prototype, but you did see me agonize over getting the dappling pattern as right as I could with a factory-style approach.

Colors used: 

• Liquitex Raw Umber
• Liquitex Burnt Umber
• Golden Fluid Acrylics Titanium White

First layer

Objective: Inputting the basic idea of the dapple pattern.

Second Layer

Now I use the basecoat color, but lightened with White into a medium greige color, and went lightly over most of her (not all) to add dimension, tonal shifts, muting power, and to steer her color towards the dead-grass Silver Dapple tone. Now imagine her mane and tail all pale, and maybe now you can start to see the vision.

Colors used: 

• Liquitex Raw Umber
• Liquitex Burnt Umber
• Golden Fluid Acrylics Carbon Black
• Golden Fluid Acrylics Titanium White

Second layer

Objective: Add a muting medium color for some depth and richness, and establishing a more Silver Dapple tone.

Third Layer

Now I lay in brighter strategic dapples, but mostly areas of "blowout" that can be typical on a pony Silver Dapple. Like note the blowout along the barrel, the neck, and up around the topline, in particular. It's important not to do this as a grey pattern of white, but as a Silver Dapple white pattern which is different. A lot of people confuse Silver Dapple with dapple grey, which is understandable. They can look similar in some respects. If you know your stuff though, you can usually tell the difference simply by studying the dappling pattern.

Colors used: 

• Golden Fluid Acrylics Titanium White
• Liquitex Raw Umber
• Liquitex Ivory Black

Third layer

Objective: Add some key lighter areas and lighten the dapples

Fourth Layer

Now I lay in the darkest darks like on the legs, face mask, sternum and bottom line, and key areas around the body. This really helps to drive home the idea of Silver Dapple even more. Also note the dark ears? On my references, the Silver Dapple ponies had dark ears despite the very light surrounding areas. Curious.

As for the darkening agent, I used Ivory Black because of its very "cool" blueish tone. The references I'm using seem to be on the "cool" side of the color, more greigy than tan, so I didn't want to use a "warm" black like Mars Black or even a neutral black like Carbon Black. I wanted that "cool" cast that Ivory Black gives.

Anyway, as I painted, I imagined her with her pearly pale mane and tail, the glossy coating, and her exotic blue eye, and I swooned! Where's my fainting couch?! What a pony! In many ways, I realized I was actually painting up my dream pony, and I sure hoped you all would love her as much as I did! I crossed my toes for good luck as I painted away!

Colors used: 

• Liquitex Ivory Black
• Liquitex Burnt Umber
• Liquitex Raw Umber
• Golden Fluid Acrylics Titanium White

Fourth layer

Objective: Add in the darkest dark to complete the colorway and to add dimension

Fifth Layer

So now that the darks are in, I can re-instate that dead-grass tone a little better and tint some dapples. Do you see how it's all starting to make more sense? I kinda have to make a mess before I can finesse it. A mess I can work with! See, the trick is to be a bit messy and chaotic so when I start to set things back or tint portions, they "sit back" in a way that forwards the color as subtle details and tonal shifts. Like in person, she has a ton of subtleties and nuanced colorations that I hope the Breyer Team can duplicate. If they can't, I totally understand. The way I paint is a bit weird, I know. But if they even get halfway there, they're going to do a stunning job!

Colors used: 

• Liquitex Burnt Umber
• Liquitex Raw Umber
• Liquitex Ivory Black
• Golden Fluid Acrylics Titanium White

Fifth layer

Objective: Turn the tone back to the dead-grass Silver Dapple hue

Sixth Layer

This is an adjustment layer to tweak and refine though, to be honest, there wasn't that much to do as I really kinda liked her as-is. But as you can see, I brightened up some dapples quite a bit and accentuated some blowout around her withers and barrel — she is a Silver Dapple after all. I also highlighted her face a bit more and did her ear fuzz and hooves. Now Silver Dappled horses typically have striped hooves, which is more pronounced with foals to fade somewhat into adulthood. So that's why she's got some subtle striping on her footsies even without ermine spots. I also painted the undersides of her hooves, but only in a generalized way with an airbrush for a better chance at a 1:1 translation by the Breyer team. 

Then I did her chestnuts, eyes, and eyelashes. As for her right eye, I painted it as just a big liquid black eye with eyewhites. I didn't want to complicate things with a shaded iris that could get lost in translation. Besides, with the cyclovergence of the equine eye, some folks don't care for the look of that horizontal pupil with the head in this position so I just wanted to avoid that all together. But any which way, look at her all awake with that playful expression! Isn't she fun?! And I painted her left blue eye Vintage Custom style, and though not actually realistic, I think with OFs, the VCM style creates an easier goal and a more flattering result. Blue eyes are excruciatingly difficult to paint without looking possessed and staring, and that Breyer paint is super tricky for handpainting. So I just thought I'd make everyone's life easier with a simple swipe of a blue iris and call it a day. That just saves all of our hair and makes for a prettier OF eye with that difficult Breyer paint. Oh, and Silvers have pale eyelashes, which is why hers are so obviously pale.

Colors used:

• Liquitex Burnt Sienna
• Golden Fluid Acrylics Carbon Black
• Golden Fluid Acrylics Titanium White
• Golden Fluid Acrylics Light Ultramarine Blue

Sixth layer

Objective: Make adjustments and paint the details

Seventh Layer

It's marking time! As I mentioned, I didn't go bananas with markings only because I liked her coloration so much, I couldn't bear to destroy so much of it with extensive white. So I gave her an odd little sock then a star and snip, and called it a day. I think it's super cute. As for my paint, I used a muted White for a more natural look, but on the OF counterpart, those white markings will be bare plastic — and that makes me happy. See, I love the look of the bare plastic! It has a translucency that's just so appealing. It kinda reminds me a bit of parian (whiteware) porcelain, and I'm a slobbering fan of parian porcelain. 

Then it was time to tackle the mane and tail! The tail wasn't so bad as it stuck out from the body. But I did that last because it's such a great hand-hold. Almost like I planned that! wink So I started with the mane, using a paintbrush to get a nice sharp line and then using an airbrush to add striations and shadings. For the tail then, I used a brush around the dock for a sharp, crisp line, then easily painted the rest of it with the airbrush. After that, I also shaded it with striations and shadings. Now I made her mane and tail on the darker side since she is an older silver dapple and that super-pale tone is age-related: Young horses have that super-pale tone which then darkens with age. I also gave her dark roots which is typical, too, of an older Silver Dapple. Lesli Kathman calls them "bottle blondes"! Ha ha ha! But I envision Croi to be a more mature mare so that means her mane and tail needed to be a bit darker.

Colors used:

• Golden Fluid Acrylics Titanium White
• Liquitex Raw Umber
• Liquitex Burnt Umber
• Golden Fluid Acrylics Carbon Black

Note: I've been washing my hands with soap and water regularly while I paint her. I want to keep my hand oils to a bare minimum because I don't wear gloves as I paint nor do I glue her onto a ground to hold her. I dunno...I just can't wear the gloves as I work. Maybe that's a bad idea, but well...it is what it is so I just wash my hands a lot. And I think she's too big and heavy for a supportive ground, so I'm just using her tail as a handhold, as you can see from the wear and tear on that basecoat which got fixed when I painted her tail.

Painting Finito!

And phew! Finito! I then signed her with paint and a small round brush with my signature, the year, and "2026 Auction Prototype" on her belly. Don't use pens, gang, as they fade or discolor over time — use paint. It's more inert. But whatever you do, never ever forget to sign and date your work! I'm a big Vintage Custom collector and I can tell you undeniably that signing and dating your work is far more important than you can possibly imagine. And it's so important to make your mark in our arts. Hey, you created something that didn't exist before, right? Own it! You earned that happy distinction! You did something that many other people just can't or won't do, but you did it! How cool is that?! Sign your work!

Ninth Layer

Now I let my paintjob dry for a week (I draped a piece of unbleached muslin loosely over her to keep the dust off) then it was finally time for the finishing spray. For that, I used Testor’s Dullcote then afterward, I let that dry for three days before handling her again. Now I know she'll be glossed in the Breyer version, but regardless, I still glossed her eyes with DecoArt Americana Triple Thick Gloss Glaze and then let that dry for a day. That gloss may take a while to dry, but it does give the most glossy "wet" finish which really pops so nicely. But even better, that gloss glaze doesn’t dissolve and buckle the underlying paint like clear nail polish can, which is a real bother. Anyway, to apply the gloss glaze, I used a small #2 round brush with a good point and cleaned up with water. Yahtzee! 

Now you may be wondering why I didn't gloss spray the prototype here, and that's a good question. It has three answers. First, I needed the Breyer team to see her color and effects clearly, not obscured by strong glossy reflections. Second, I've never used gloss sprays and I don't trust them, especially for wrapping up for shipment. The last thing I wanted was to completely ruin what I'd achieved here simply for a gloss finish. Nope. And third, I wanted her to be distinctive from the actual auction version so that auction piece would be truly and completely unique. I wanted there to be no question between the two. So matte finish it was, and I had to imagine her in my mind's eye how the Breyer interpretation would look for months. I was so eager to see it! Any which way, here she is all completely done!...

Voilá!

Spunky Croi all gussied up as the acrylic-painted prototype!

January, 2026

I'm just so happy with how she turned out! She looks so soft and dreamy, reading almost exactly as I wanted her to read and super close to my reference! Woot! Most importantly though, I'm confident that the Breyer painting team can duplicate this paintjob pretty closely for a darned good 1:1 translation. So yeah...when I finally saw the Breyer version on their blog, I bet you could hear my squeal all the way in your neck of the woods! Eeeeeee! ZOMG! So cool! I mean, just look at her official Breyer OF counterpart destined for the auction!...

Lot #19

Just look at how brilliantly they translated her color! Wowie wow wow!

Image courtesy Breyer Horses

I squealed, I was so happy to see how well they translated the color, and just as much, I knew I had done my job well enough. That made me quite chuffed n' puffed! A factory paintjob is only as good as its prototype, but a prototype is only as useful as it's designed with production in mind. So to know that I helped them the best I could by delivering something they could duplicate so closely was really quite satisfying.

Trivia: Do you know that if this Croi were real, she'd technically be a black pony with the Silver gene? Yup! Black! The Silver gene dilutes black pigment into a muted, muddy color while leaving red pigment alone. This is the reason why Silver Bays, for example, tend to be a vibrant red bay with the flaxen mane and tail and mottled legs whereas blacks get the treatment all over.

Insights

All the limelight needs to shine on Raw Umber, Burnt Umber, Ivory Black, and Titanium White, the four core colors that produced this tone. Take a bow, you guys! Whoo hoo! Raw Umber delivered the "cool" not-red brown component, Burnt Umber offered the "warm" red element as needed, Ivory Black provided the "cool" black factor, and Titanium White was perfect for blowouts and dappling. Great job, gang!

As such, the entire trick to painting Croi here was understanding the nature of "warm" and "cool" colors, and how to use them as needed. Why is that? For two reasons. First, I needed to make mud. Yup. Silver Dapple is really just a series of specialized muddy colors. I know I know I know...we always hear, "Don't make mud!" with our paints. But the fact of the matter is this: A pretty large proportion of horse color actually is mud! Champagne, grulla, and many other dilutes, even some liver chestnuts, are really just a specialized form of mud. But the thing is, you can't mix targeted muds if you don't know how "warm" and "cool" colors work. For instance, I mixed cool Raw Umber with warm Burnt Umber to create a neutral brown which I used as my base brown. Then I could shift that more warm for certain patches with red-based Burnt Umber (carefully, to avoid pinks) or more cool with blue-based Ivory Black (with a touch more Raw Umber or Burnt Umber to keep it from turning grey). You see, when you mix type-to-type, or cool-with-cool or warm-with-warm, your colors stay vibrant and glow-y. But when you mix the types together, warm-with-cool, you get muddy colors...but those muddy colors were exactly what I needed for Croi here. So don't be afraid of mud! And second, the Silver Dapple color is really sensitive to color shifting, much like grulla. One teensy touch of this and now it's too warm, one itty bitty dollop of that and now it's too grey, one little splash of that and now it's too brown. If you don't know how to compensate with "warm" or "cool" colors then, you aren't going to ping it. So understanding "color theory" is key to targeting a lot of horse colors, so study up on that and you'll open up whole new horizons for your palette! And then there's this: Artists, know your blacks!

Now as pale as portions her mane and tail look, they aren't stark white, but an off-white with some shading touches here and there. I think the off-white balanced her better but even more, I thought it would look prettier and have more dimension with that pearlescent finish Breyer was going to pop on, on their end. Plus, I think it gave her a more charming, old-timey look, rather than the more artificial-looking stark white. I dunno...it just looked better and less contrived. Less fake-y looking, more natural, if that makes sense. Besides, like I mentioned, Silver Dapple manes and tails darken with age.

Conclusion

Bringing this little Croi to life was such a hoot! Despite some of her tight places and hard angles — and painting that tendril-y mane (what was I thinking?!) — she really does paint herself so nicely. The only really tricky bit was that dappling pattern, but I think I pulled it off okay. I like how it turned out. And I particularly like her little striped hooves and her funny little sock — they came out pretty cool, I think. Wrap it all up, and this Croi here is very much like a dream pony for me. How did that happen?! I guess that was just my inner little girl coming out to paint her, that same little girl who clutched her Black Beauty book and her jam-packed sketchbook, her head and heart full of horsey wishes. The same little girl who begged for a pony every Christmas and Birthday for years and years (my poor parents). So I suppose I finally got my pony! And what a thrill for it to be on Croi here, for Breyer, and for the 2026 Auction to boot! What a full-circle moment!

So thank you a thousand times, Breyer, for this wonderful opportunity to play with Croi again! She was tricky to conjure up, sure, but always a blast every minute! And that's the fun part with challenges — proving to yourself you really can do it is a delightful affirmation and inspiring revelation. And little Croi here guided me every step of the way with her pluck and pep, playfully encouraging me to push the envelope on her coloration a little bit more. She believed in me 100% and that inspiration really punched up this paintjob to hopefully whisk you away into wistful Silver Dapple pony daydreams! Croi, you remain one of my favorites, and it was such a delight and an honor to bring you to life! May your Breyer counterpart bring years of joy and inspiration to the lucky high bidder and may the dosh she brings in serve goodness well. And, of course, kudos to Breyer for yet another triumphant treat for the legendary Breyerfest Auction!

“It is good to love many things, for therein lies the true strength, and whosoever loves much performs much, and can accomplish much, and what is done in love is well done.” 

― Vincent Van Gogh

The Making Of The Lot #19 Prototype: The Silver Dapple Croi Damsha

Put Through Your Paces: My Top Five Artistic Exercises

Introduction

I often speak of “artistic exercises” when I write how-tos, but what do I mean? Well, every realistic equine artist should have an arsenal of basic tactics they can use to check themselves or better prepare themselves for the job at hand. I refer to these tactics as “exercises” because that’s what they really are: Putting us through our paces to get us back on track. And we should be applying them liberally in preparation to and during our process to stay on point. In this way, they also happen to make tremendous problem-solving strategies to find our way out of the weeds whether it be in sculpture or painting.

The thing is, it’s alarmingly quick and easy to get off kilter as we sculpt or paint. It often happens right under our nose, too, as our perception skews things off alignment or out of scale. For instance, this can be typical with very complicated areas or areas demanding of intense attention making them vulnerable to regimentation such as dappling, ticking, and pinto patterns. But if we can apply these exercises throughout our process, chances are we’ll ping our goals much more accurately.

So to help beef up your own exercises, here are my top five that I find particularly helpful beforehand to prepare and during the process to stay accurate. So letsa go! (said like Mario!)…

Top Five Exercises

#1 Tracing: Digitally on your computer in a photo editing program, make a tracing of a reference photo, like say, of a head, from the side. You want that photo to be as perfectly on-the-side as possible. Use the paintbrush tool with red “paint” to make your tracing so it really pops out, and do it on another layer so you can pop images underneath it. Then use that reference photo and sketch it out. The sketch doesn’t have to be fancy, simply focusing on the structure and placements and proportions will do. Now take a photo of that with your phone (making sure it’s a quality full-on flat view and not at an angle), get that into your computer (I usually text the photo to my computer) and pop it underneath your red tracing. Now scale and align things the best you can. Wherever they align is where you nailed it, but wherever they're off is where you went askew. Make note. 

Do this enough times and you begin to see patterns in your perception skews that you can then work to correct. Like maybe you have a propensity to place your eyes too low and make them too large, or maybe the nostrils are often too sloping off the end of the schnoz and too angled, or maybe your mouth and teardrop bones are misaligned a lot. Well, doing this exercise many times over will make all those unwanted tendencies pop out. And that’s just it, you want to ferret out your habitual skews to bomp them back into alignment.

In fact, you can use a variation of this tactic to keep your sculpture in check, too. Simply snap photos of your piece with your phone, and pop it under your tracing. This is especially useful for heads which can skew out of alignment or proportion very quickly.

#2 Window: For painting something complicated like a dapple grey, ticking, sooties, pinto patterns (especially lacy ones), or just any coat color typified by complex aspects, try this tactic. Print your reference out on photo paper in the scale of your piece. And use photo paper, not printer paper as you want to preserve as much detail, crispness, and color saturation as possible (even better, use a tablet). Now take a piece of printer paper, and cut out in the middle of it a little square. For a 1:9 scale, that square can be about 1”, for smaller scales scale it down and for larger, you can scale it up a bit. Now lay that little window onto your printout and go over areas of the body, making mental note of where you are on the body. 

What this method does is to remove distraction of The Big Picture for the actual effects and textures and tonal shifts by making you focus on a very specific area on the reference. Do this enough times and your Eye will train on the very complicated color shifts and details quickly so when you lift that printer paper off, your Eye will be more sensitive to hyper-focus on an area better. Indeed, this really makes roan and dapple grey “grain” pop out, the complicated color play on sooties more obvious, and the complex interlay of ticking or lacy effects much more readable. In short, it’s a tremendous translation tool for scale, lay, and accuracy. And now that your Eye is thusly trained, often times you won’t need to lean into this tactic so much because it’ll already apply that “window” to its processing and you’ll just see all this much more naturally.

#3 Comparison: For sculpture, make a very specific pile of references, of say “Arabian mares,” or “Marwari stallions,” “Warmblood gelding,” or “Clydesdale foals,” all of them full side-view as possible, no angles or odd perspectives. Now take your set of sliding calipers (something like this) and start making proportional comparisons all based on the head. That’s to say, take the head measurement from right behind the ears to tip of the (unpooked) muzzle and use that measurement to make comparisons of that head length to areas of the body and legs. What this does is train a mental library of the intrinsic individual variation within each breed or type and between breeds or types. And being able to See individual or breed variations is incredibly important to not only ping breed type, but to do so in a respectful, individualistic way. The thing is, all our Arabians, Quarter Horses, Thoroughbreds, Lipizzaners, etc. should all look breedy, but they should also be individuals with their own unique characteristics and proportions. That’s to say, they should portray unique, individual souls and not cookie-cutters in our portfolio. Not only does this explore equidom better, and really inject more interest and challenge into your work, but it’s also more thoughtful to the dignity of this fine creature. When we stop objectifying them based on a “perfect” ideal and really start seeing them as individuals, it’s amazing how a paradigm shift happens for the better!

Now for painting, make a very specific pile of references of, for example, “frame overo,” or “wild ticked sabino,” or “sooty dappled palomino,” or “medium dapple grey,” or “classic silver dapple.” And sometimes you have to separate them into breed piles, too, as genetic pools can skew these colors into their own characteristics. For instance, Shetlands and minis often have a very different expression of silver dapple than say, a hairy cob or Rocky Mountain Horse. So stay sensitive to breed/gene pool variations. So now take one pile and lay those photos out and start making your comparisons between them. What makes them similar? What makes them different? What specific characteristics about each one make them distinctly in that “family” of color or pattern? How does each one diverge? Where is your fudge factor? Where is it not? Creating a mental library of the key characteristics of each color family or pattern family while at the same time understanding where you can bend these characteristics is key to pinging it all more accurately in our paintwork. Do this enough times and you can often then paint a color or pattern without being so dependent on a reference, giving you a lot more autonomy for doing the other side. Sure we can flip over our reference for the other side, but that doesn’t always work so well all the time, does it? But if we already knew where to go, we have a lot more agency for getting it right “blind.”

#4 Invert: For coat effects like dappling and complicated pinto or appaloosa patterns, consider this approach — invert the colors of your reference. To do this, take your reference and pop it into a photo editing program then find the “invert colors” option and there ya go! The lights become dark and the darks become light and — bam — does that stereotypical pattern pop out a lot more! And being in such a fresh new visual, it can really knock your habitual perception for a loop, which is exactly what you want when painting these effects to help avoid formula or regimentation. In other words, by coming at the problem from a different angle, you gain a better shot at hitting your mark. This is an especially powerful tool for pinging dappling patterns such as on greys, roans, sooties, champagnes, and even seasonal dappling. Now yes, it’s a bit of a shock and takes some getting used to, but it can be a very useful tool for getting those dappling patterns on point better.

#5 Scaling: Take your reference photo(s) and use a photo editing program to scale them to the exact size, or as close as you can get, to the actual piece you’re going to paint or sculpt. Then print it out on photo paper to that scaled size and work from that, in addition to your normally sized references (to see detail better). Or consider this kind of scaling on a tablet for new view. See, what this does is automatically scale things down or up for you, giving you something far more objective and tangible to work from than having to scale up or down in your mind which can inadvertently skew things out of proportion. Make your references do the work for you!

This is a super powerful tool for painting, such as for dappling, roaning, sabinos, complex pintos or appaloosas, and for sculpting, such as for heads, legs, muscling, and detailing. It just gives you a more accurate key to work by to keep things in scale. Because that’s the big deal with realistic equine sculpture — scale. Get that right in as many aspects as possible, and you’re almost guaranteed to create a realistic piece. So anything we can do to helps us target it better will be a super handy ability in our skillset!

Bonus tip: Sketch! Do lots and lots and lots of sketches! Seriously — lots. And they don’t have to fully fleshed out sketches either, but just those that work on proportion, placement, planes, and articulations mostly. In essence, think of approaching these exercise sketches as a kind of practice for blocking-in the initial structures on an armature more than fully realized pieces. What you’re doing is practicing over and over these key qualities so you develop more of an Eye for it on your sculptures.

Conclusion

The more we put ourselves through our paces, the better for our art, and this means one thing: Doing something over and over and over again. That’s what most of this boils down to — volume. Because make no mistake, volume counts! Excellence isn’t achieved by a potter focusing on one pot fanatically, but on making a bajillion bad pots before learning how to make them well. That’s how learning art works. So think of these exercises as a kind of shorthand to do that without having to make sculptures or paintjobs by the metric ton. They can help you get to where you want to go developmentally faster and often more effectively than most anything else.

So spend some time for this kind of R&D in your busy schedule, and make it a regular habit before and during each sculpture or paintjob, and sooner than you think, you might find your work improving in good measure, faster and more targeted than before. This is because these techniques tend to target another things besides scale: Our blindspots. And it’s in our blindspots where our errors reside. So the more we can dredge them up to the surface for scrutiny, the faster our work is going to progress and in more technically accurate ways. And discovering our blindspots isn’t only often surprising, it’s exciting! It’s kinda like a treasure hunt of sorts because you not only see where you’re off, but how to fix it all in one go! Because there’s nothing like a problem seen than a problem solved, right? So put on your proverbial artistic running shoes and hit the track to discover just how much potential is still brewing inside of you!

“Success is a worn down pencil.”

— Robert Rauschenberg

Put Through Your Paces: My Top Five Artistic Exercises

Jeepers Creepers: How To Paint Equine Peepers

Introduction

Painting equines realistically is certainly a challenge! So many facets to balance and juggle and account for! Like realistic effects and patterns, color theory, smooth surfaces, shading and highlighting, flattering the sculpture and on and on…it’s a lot to deal with.

But perhaps one of the most tricky features to paint are the eyes. Ooof! So much expression, detail, precision, and color use in such a small area — it can be a serious tiny mountain to climb. It’s no surprise then why so many beginners really struggle with painting eyes, finding them sometimes frustrating and sometimes even confusing. Yet eyes are both critical for expression and popping the sculpture to life, and in doing so, they can truly make-or-break a piece.

The good news is though, all this is fixable given we know two things: Eye anatomy and a reliable process we can apply across the board. So let’s talk about both in the hopes of making your eye adventures not only easier, but maybe even more fun to boot! Because if we know our stuff, eyes can instead be a real blast to paint! It’s so cool to see the sculpture just come alive right in your hands as you get them on there! So let’s go!…

Before or After?

There is no right or wrong time to paint eyes, as long as you account for your painting process. Like I know some artists who paint the eyes first because they like to have the sculpture come alive early in their painting game — and that’s perfectly okay! On the other hand, many others leave the eyes for one of the last steps, in part perhaps because their painting process has to blast on the facial shading first, or any number of other reasons. But all that is perfectly fine as well. So you paint on your eyes whenever you feel like it — your best time is the right time.

Basic Eye Anatomy

Before we start painting, we should know the general structure of the equine eye so we recognize what we’re looking at in our references to translate it accurately in our pigment. For that then, the structures of the equine eye are:

• Cornea and Aqueous Chamber: Together, they form the obvious round shape of the eye. The cornea is the clear, dome-shaped structure that sits in front of the iris and pupil, acting as a light-focusing element for the eye. Then the Aqueous Chamber is the fluid-filled space in front of the cornea containing the Aqueous Humor (the gel-like fluid). If you see these structures in a certain light from the front, you can kinda see right through them.
• Sclera: Comprising approximately 75% of the globe, it’s the white portion that comes into view when the horse rotates the eye, the “eyewhites.” All muscles responsible for moving the eyeball within the socket attach to the sclera. It has a blood supply so it often has vascular details, and sometimes a mottled pigmentation around the iris. You can see the sclera when the horse moves his eye or even at rest on some breeds, like the Appaloosa, in particular, and some Tekes and Arabians.
• Iris: The colored tissue surrounding the pupil that constricts or dilates the pupil to to control the amount of light that enters the pupil, accommodating light intensities. 
• Lens and Pupil: The pupil is the hole for light to penetrate that’s controlled by the sphincter muscle of the iris. It appears clear, dark, or “mirrory” in normal light, and is a rectangular-ish oval in the horse, in normal lighting, to extend the horizontal field of vision. The lens has tiny muscles to change its shape to alter focusing abilities at different distances. And depending on the light intensity, this pupil can close to be more of a slit in bright light or open to become rounder in low light.
• Central pupillary zone: Often obvious on the iris on blue eyes, a central ring of more intense color on the iris.
• Peripheral ciliary zone: The larger portion of the iris, often a lighter color than the Central portion.
• Collarette: On the iris, the intersection between the Central pupillary zone and the Peripheral ciliary zone, sometimes prominent in humans, but usually not in the equine.
• Trabeculae, corneal limbus, or limbal ring: The rim of grey running around a portion of the iris, visible on most horses. This line denotes where the iris joins the peripheral cornea and connects to the sclera, forming grey crescent-shaped lines on either side of the iris (front and back). In fact, the grey is created by the tiny ligaments bridging the iris and cornea. This zone also serves as drainage pathways for the aqueous humour to drain from the eye. Just within and behind this grey line area are tiny radially-oriented fibrovascular ridges known as the Palisades of Vogt that contain limbal stem cells which maintain the corneal surface.
• Nigra Bodies (or corpora nigra or granula iridica): Normal and unique in horses, these small dark folds or bundles of tissue lay on the iris. They’re usually found on the upper part of the pupil, but sometimes on the lower part as well. They’re believed to be sunshades for the eye, guarding the lower portion of the retina from overhead sunlight glare while grazing.
• Tapetum lucidum: Showing through the pupil, this is a reflective structure at the back of the eye that increases the light capturing ability of the retina’s photoreceptors. Visually, it glows in headlights at night, or creates what we call the “blue glint” in certain angles in daylight.
• Nictitans membrane or nictitating membrane (third eyelid): A triangle pink or brown mass of soft tissue with a T-shaped shield of cartilage embedded within it. When the lids blink, the membrane sweeps across the orb, removing debris from the eyeball and distributing more tears. This structure is unique to the horse and only a few other animals.
• Lacrimal caruncle: A small dark pad in the anterior corner of the eye that drains the excess fluids from the eye through the nasolacrimal ducts to a small opening just inside the nostril (so that’s not really snot coming out of the nose, but tears).
• Upper and Lower Lids: Protecting the eye with reactionary closure, these lids shut fast and firmly. The upper lid tends to have a straighter curve while the lower lid tends to have a deeper curve.
• Eyelashes: Being sensitive, they can trigger a blink reflex protecting the eye.
• Whiskers: Surrounding the eye are a few long whiskers used as feelers for eye protection.
• Medial Canthus: Front corner of the eye.
• Lateral Canthus: Back corner of the eye.

Things To Keep In Mind

Similarly, there are some key points to remember as we paint in order to render a more realistic result. As such, these factoids are:

• The pupil isn’t round, but a long oval, usually rectangularish. Though it can dilate to become a bit more oval, it shouldn’t resemble a human pupil or dog pupil.
• The pupil is set on a horizontal plane, always remaining more or less horizontal, approximately parallel to the ground regardless of head position. This is because horses have cyclovergence, or the ability to spin their orbs to keep the pupil approximately parallel to the ground to best spy potential predators. So study your references to find this nifty ability horses have — it’s cool!
• The iris is more ovalish in shape in the horse, not perfectly round so study eyewhites in your references to replicate its shape correctly.
• Note any blotches or other discolorations, or even vascular capillaries on the sclera, all useful details. Likewise, the sclera around the iris isn’t always white. Notice how sometimes it can be various shades of pink, brown, or salmon.
• The iris has striations radiating out from the pupil like bicycle spokes, like the human eye, which are especially apparent on blue eyes. On the other hand, the amber eyes of some champagne horses don’t always exhibit these striations, appearing more monochromatic, even a bit metallic. Similarly, on many blue eyes, we can see some concentric rings of color radiating from around the pupil as well as the spokes, which can be a nifty (albeit difficult) detail to add due to scale.
• Note the darker concentric rim of color sometimes around the pupil, often present on blue eyes, in particular. This makes the pupil look bigger than it actually is from a distance, so be sure to account for that in your paintwork. Anatomically, this is usually the coloration of the Central pupillary zone.
• The horse’s third eyelid, located at the front corner of the eye and usually seen as a thin membrane, is often colored brown, mottled brown, or dark pink. 
• The little bulb at the front canthus, the lacrimal caruncle, is often pink of various shades but sometimes a pinkish-brown, too. 
• There's the corpora nigra (black bodies) or granula iridica (iris granules) above and sometimes below the pupil. If you can swing it, it can be a neat detail to add if the eye is big enough because scale is often a problem when trying to include it.
• Horse eyes can be many shades of tan or brown, from yellowish to amber to chocolate. They can also be various shades of blue from a pale silver grey to mottled cobalt. Greenish eyes also occur as a transition color during the lightening process of the iris with champagnes. What’s more, horses can have marbled eyes in which the blue and brown pigments are jumbled together. However, equines cannot have red eyes as true albinos like rats, rabbits, and such. This is genetically lethal in the womb for horses, so no…no red-eyed horses.
• The horse is remarkably expressive with their eyes and many tiny muscles govern its motion. As such, the eyes can move up and down, front and back, and can move symmetrically in unison or even side-to-side like a “cat clock.”

General Eye Painting Tips

What’s more there are specific tips you can employ for the painting of all colors of eyes, in all situations, as such:

• Be very precise and tidy when painting the eye and surrounding areas, everything here should be clear, tight, and decisive, not careless, wobbly, messy, or hurried. Absolute precision is your friend here. Indeed, the eye structures are very precise and so should your painting of them. Like we shouldn’t have lid color dipping onto the orb or eye color creeping up onto the lids and pupils shouldn’t be misshapen and blobby. Keep things tidy.
• Don’t be married to a preconceived notion of an expression because, often, the piece will dictate what looks best despite your original intentions.
• Use a set of tiny quality brushes with very good points and longish bristles to hold a good reservoir of paint. But don’t soak your brush with pigment as this will suck paint into the ferrule then dry, spreading apart the bristles. In fact, having a dedicated set of eye-painting brushes is a good idea for this reason. Take good care of them.
• It’s important that your painted eyes “glow," like glass illuminated from behind. This is only achieved through a skilled use of tone and color, so keep practicing until you’ve gotten the knack of it. 
• You can add metallics to the eye colors for extra punch and are particularly effective when painting the eyes of champagnes.
• Shrink down your reference to the size of the eyeball you’re painting to get a better one-to-one comparison for guidance. This is especially helpful for painting blue eyes. (Use photo paper for your print out, not printer paper to preserve color and crispness in the details, or if you can shrink the image on a tablet, that's even better.)
• Your paint mixtures should be on the thin side, about a 1% milk consistency. This will prevent a bumpy, lumpy, “braille” result. You want to slowly build up the layers of color and detail rather than bang it out in one go. That’s to say, you want the paint wet enough to flow well and stay put, but still be a bit blendable while not gumming up the works. Again, there’s a Goldilocks Zone of consistency so practice at it first on a junker model.
• If you want to paint in that blue glint in the pupil, simply thin down some dark blue metallic paint or Interference Blue and paint a smear of that on there. This’ll produce that “now you see it, now you don’t” blue sheen you want.
• For extra points, you can paint the “eyeliner” along the rim of the lower eyelid which is sometimes there as a subtle dark charcoal for dark skin and subtle medium salmon for pink skin.
• Avoid creating a “braille” eyeball with lots of brush strokes and big dollops of color. Keep your paint thin enough to be smooth on the eyeball. 
• Try using drying retardants for your acrylic paint if you want. They can often make your job easier when it comes to painting complicated eyes with acrylics.
• Keep the details on your eyeball clear and distinct so you don’t end up with a confusing mess. Precision and clean lines are your friends when painting eyes.
• Know when to edit out to maintain clarity and avoid a messy, confusing result. 
• Don’t veer off-tone with your eyes, but stay true to your reference. It’s easy to get caught up in the business of painting an eye, but keep yourself on target by checking against your reference regularly.
• Don’t go out of scale. Keep things as teensy tiny as they need to be.
• The brush you use is everything! One with a tiny, hyperfine point with a nice belly to hold pigment is your best friend with painting eyes. So if you’re struggling, try a better brush. Also, don’t use this brush to mix paint as that’ll ruin it. Mix up your paint with a palette knife or a junker brush.

Basic Colors To Use

Equine eyes come on a variety of colors and tones so stay sensitive to that diversity. In other words, don't necessarily paint the same type of eye on different pieces but instead try to express this variety found in life, consistent to a reliable reference. Even so, we can lean into some standard colors that can produce the wide spectrum of colors we'll need. (These colors are in Liquitex Soft Body and Golden Fluid Acrylics, but there are equivalents in oils as well.)

For brown, hazel, tiger, yellow, or amber eyes, think about using these kinds of colors:

• Blacks (warm Mars Black, cool Ivory Black, or neutral Carbon Black)
• Burnt Umber
• Raw Umber
• Burnt Sienna
• Van Dyke Brown Hue
• Raw Sienna
• Red Oxide
• Yellow Oxide
• Taupe
• Turner's Yellow
• Titanium White

For blue eyes or wall eyes think about leaning into some of these types of hues:

• Titanium White
• Raw Umber
• Blacks
• French Grey
• Navy
• French Ultramarine Blue
• Light Ultramarine Blue
• Light Blue, Permanent
• Brilliant Blue
• Cerulean Blue
• Whatever blue matches your reference best

For green eyes, think about grabbing some of these colors:

• Titanium White
• Blacks
• Burnt Umber
• Raw Umber
• Raw Sienna
• French Ultramarine Blue
• Cerulean Blue
• Naples Yellow
• Turner's Yellow
• Diarylide Yellow
• Brilliant Yellow Green
• Parchment

For grey eyes on foals, consider these colors:

• Blacks
• Titanium White
• French Grey
• Raw Umber
• Burnt Umber

For sclera, think about using these hues:

• Titanium White
• Burnt Sienna
• Burnt Umber
• Raw Umber
• Blacks (warm, cool, or neutral)
• Taupe
• Yellow Oxide

For the "blue glint" inside the pupil (optional), think about using one of these:

• Interference Blue
• FolkArt Metallic Midnight Blue
• FolkArt Metallic Blue Sapphire

Which Approach?

There are four basic schools of thought when it comes to painting eyes: 

• To paint them like a cabochon jewel
• To paint them literally
• To paint the iris as a colored crescent
• To paint the eyes all black

Whichever approach is up to you and your tastes, there’s no real right or wrong answer here. And you can mix them up! For example, brown eyes often do better with the cabochon approach while blue eyes usually do better with a literal approach. On the other hand, painting an eye all black will produce a beautiful “liquid eye” or “doe-eyed” softer expression. Then if you want a more Vintage Custom look, try the crescent technique. And you don’t have to stick with just one forever — mix them up depending on the needs of your piece and narrative.

But for the cabochon jewel approach, we paint the iris like it reflects light like a jewel. In this, when light hits the eyeball, it passes through and hits the iris on the opposite side. Therefore, based on a light path that enters at the front and top of the eye, a standard placement for light, use the darkest shadings at this point of entry then use the lightest shadings directly opposite this point on the iris, just below the pupil. It really makes the eye come to life and “pop” with interest, luster, and glow. It also dampens down a possessed look often caused by a timid use of shadow and highlight. Just take care to blend the colors to achieve this gem-like quality.

As for the literal approach, you simply paint the eye exactly as you see it in your reference, using little to no shading and highlight to denote light’s passage through the eye. This is actually ideal for blue eyes due to all their details where shading and highlight could just confuse the result. Even so, if you can use the cabochon method on a less detailed blue eye, try it as it makes for a lovely effect.

For the crescent method, create a pointed half-circle of brown color (for a brown eye) or blue color (for a blue eye) along the back and bottom of the iris, producing a hint of the iris in a very simplified approach. This technique was common in the past and as such, is often seen on Vintage Customs. However, today, it's fallen out of favor.

Then for the all-black approach, usually a solid, opaque black like Mars Black or Carbon Black will do. You can still paint in the third eyelid and lacrimal caruncle, too, if you like, or not. It’s up to your aesthetics. This is another good beginner method.

Omlats are sometimes included by some artists, that dot of white paint at the top front corner of the eye to denote light reflection on the orb. This was rather common in the past and is often seen on Vintage Customs, but the practice has largely fallen out of favor today.

Painting A Brown Eye

To paint brown eyes, adjusting some of those recommended colors will create pretty much all the hues and tones you’ll ever need, from yellow eyes to dark brown eyes. As for the actual sequence, you can proceed as follows:

• Paint the whole eye black. 
• Paint in your basic sclera or expression, so you know where to place the pupil and other bits of anatomy.
• Next, paint over the black portion with a dark brown of your choice, leaving an encircling thin black rim against the sclera. 
• Then lay in the pupil with black, being mindful to keep it parallel to the ground consistent with cyclovergence. Also be mindful of the orb’s rotation and subsequent pupil position so it’s consistent with the sclera's exposure.
• Next highlight that lower back portion of the iris, opposite the point of light entry, often with Burnt Sienna mixed with some Raw Sienna for more punch, then blend. 
• Then at the point of light entry, darken the area with darker shadings for more punch.
• Then blend the three color areas together, careful not to muddy them and staying mindful not to distort your pupil too much (you can clean it up later so don't fret this too much).
• Add in the grey line if you can see it, like if your reference tells you so.
• Add in tiny striations for added detail if you wish, depending on what your reference is showing you and if scale permits. Also be mindful of the concentric oval of darker color around the pupil if present in your reference, the Central pupillary zone.
• Make adjustments so it’s all just right, and done! If you wish, you can now add in the pupil's "blue glint" to denote the reflective qualities of the tapetum lucidum. Just keep it a light wash because you want just a kiss of shimmer here. 

Things To Keep In Mind With Blue Eyes

Blue eyes are indeed arresting, but if done improperly, are notorious for a staring, possessed look. To that end, some important tips to remember about blue eyes are:

• Blue eyes aren’t dependent on face markings or pinto patterns. In fact, they can occur with little to no face markings or pinto pattern whatsoever. In turn, bald face markings can have brown eyes or even marbled eyes. So it all depends on an individual’s genetics so work from a good, reliable reference. 
• Blue eyes come in a wide variety of tones in from blue-grey to silver blue-grey to a slate blue to navy blue to denim blue to even a brilliant turquoise. There’s so much variation! So always — always — use good reference photos when painting a blue eye. A great reference is your best friend in this! To that end, follow that reference religiously in terms of tone and structures otherwise your blue eye won’t be so convincing. 
• Observe the details of variation. Like note that the bluer the eye, what tends to happen is that the blue patches become more pronounced and numerous as do the mottling and streaking. In other words, notice how the iris usually doesn’t become bluer by monochromatic intensity, but by the bolder mottling, striations, streaks or patches? One of the biggest mistakes in creating a very blue eye is to make it a homogenous strong blue color which usually contributes to that staring, possessed look. An exception to this are the blue eyes on champagne foals which can be a rather vivid "creamy" blue more monochromatically until they change into green then finally into amber.
• Blue eyes just have a lot of stuff going on in a tight space, but it’s important to catch as many of these details as feasibly possible, keeping scale in mind. For example, iris striations are easy to see on blue eyes, becoming very important details to reproduce is scale allows it. Also notice the blue line running along the circumference of the iris where it borders the sclera? Then next to this, towards the iris, is the grey line, then often inside that is a lighter grey band, then we get to the blue on the iris. It’s details like this that will take your blue eye to the next level if scale allows it.
• Notice how blue eyes often have patchiness of darker blues in zones above and below the pupil. Patchiness and mottling can happen all over, of course, but there is a tendency for it to concentrate above and below the pupil on many eyes.
• Know your eye structure when painting a blue eye because they all become rather obvious with those pretty blues.
• Be sure to match your blue tones to the blues in your reference. This is very important to create a truly believable result. Like consider using the color sampler tool in a photo-editing program to pinpoint the color families as the results can actually be a bit surprising. For example, some blues eyes don't really lean blue, but into bluish grey and grieges whereas others can be really blue or turquoise. Some hues can even lean into purples, reds, greens, oranges, and yellows! The point is, keep an open mind when interpreting tones, and using that sampling tool helps to guide us pretty well.

Painting A Blue Eye

To paint blue eyes, consider using those recommended colors. In particular, I find that a bluish French Grey can come in very useful at times for those eyes that lean into greys rather than blues. Also consider Burnt Umber or Raw Umber to add a griege component as needed.

• To start, find the darkest blueish tone in your reference and mix that color then paint the entire eye with it.
• Paint in your basic sclera or expression, so you know where to place the pupil and other bits of anatomy.
• Then take your black and boop on your pupil as precisely as you can, being mindful of its placement as consistent to the sclera and with cyclovergence as per the head position. Now you have you basic canvas. 
• You can approach painting a blue eye in two ways — literally or jewel-like, your choice. Literally is simply following your reference to the letter, and that works beautifully. Jewel-like is shading and highlighting the iris in that cabochon manner to add dimension. I recommend painting literally when you paint your first blue eyes to get a feel for the process. Then as you gain confidence you can add some artistic touches like shading and highlight if you wish — or not, it’s not necessary. Just a matter of taste. And sometimes a literal approach for highly detailed blue eyes is the only feasible option to avoid a confusing result, so it's very much a "your best judgment" kinda situation.
• Don’t overlook the splotches, mottling, and streaks many blue eyes have, for detail. Like, capture as many details as you can such as the striations radiating out from the pupil on the iris to any striations that encircle the pupil as well, if scale permits. Also pay attention to the concentric oval of darker blue color around the pupil that's often present on blue eyes (the Central pupillary zone), making the pupil look bigger than it actually is from a distance.
• Expect to do a lot of back-and-forth work with painting a blue eye to get it just right, but try not to compromise the tidiness or the position of your pupil too much. If you do though, no big whoop. You can finesse it up later.
• Make adjustments until it's just right, and done! If you want, now you can add in the pupil's "blue glint." Keep it a subtle wash because you want just a hint of shimmer.
• Or you can simply use the crescent method and finish up quicker, your choice.

Eye Color Variations

We can apply either or both of these painting approaches to all the color and effect variations we see in equine eyes. For example:

• If you wish to paint a glass eye or wall eye, simply use more white in your blue mixes and lean more into silvery grey rather than blue. If you need darker blues, ease up on the whites and lean more into your blue pigment and bluish greys. If you need to mute the blue a little bit, think about adding a teensy dab of black (preferably a cool-tone black such as Ivory Black, but a neutral black such as Carbon Black works well, too) to create more of a blue-grey. If you need more of a greige, think about adding a smidgeon of Raw Umber or Burnt Umber. There’s a lot of options so play around with the possibilities and follow your reference as closely as you can, using that color sampler tool for guidance.
• To paint a tiger eye, amber eye, or yellow eye, use less brown (the Umbers) and lean more into the yellows, golds, and tans (such as Raw Sienna and Taupe) and white. Also think about using not-red Raw Umber more as a darkening agent rather than Burnt Umber, which is a warm red-tone that can confuse the look if used too much. Or you can mix together Raw Umber and Burnt Umber to create a neutral brown which you can then use to build these types of eye colors, too. The point is, you want to accentuate the not-red golds and downplay the reds for the best result here.
• To paint the green eyes on young champagnes, instead of using just blues, mix in a bit of golds or yellows to green up those blues a smidge, or even just use muted greens if you like, leaning into sages and greyed-up green tones. Experiment to see what works with your reference. An important thing to notice though is that a champagne’s green eyes tend not to have the patchiness on the iris blue eyes often have since the green is a transition color. Also when painting green eyes, be mindful of the age depicted in the sculpture as green is typically an age-dependent transition stage in champagnes. For instance, at around 4-5 months they're a blueish or green color then at around 10-12 months they start to turn from green to Amber, very generally speaking. It all depends on the individual genetics of the animal as some of these timelines can be longer.
• A marbled eye is achieved by combining the brown and blue techniques onto one eye. It’s a bit tricky, but once you get the hang of it, it’s a wonderful touch of novelty.
• If you study eyes closely, you'll see that some of them have a sort of metallic sheen to them in a certain light. Adult champagnes can have this effect, for instance. You can mimic this by adding metallics into your eye colors. Don't go overboard though as we want just a sheen, not a carnival paint effect.
• Newborns and young foals tend to have eyes with a greyish-bluish cast to them as their eye color comes through as they mature and more melanin develops. This can extend to the first few months of their lives, to about six months of age. It all depends on when that melanin develops. However, champagne foals can have "creamy" blue eyes or blue-green eyes, so pay attention to color genetics when painting foal eyes.

Sclera

Eyewhites are created by the sclera when the orb is moved, and which lends so much expressive power in our paintwork. However, sclera isn’t always white but can be riddled with a spectrum of reds, pinks, browns, salmons, mochas to even some greys. This is due to the blood supply to the eye, the colors of the membranes, and how the iris blends into the sclera. Also note that some sclera can be flat-out chocolate-colored and not pale at all, so be mindful of that kind of variation, too. Also, the border between the iris and sclera isn’t always crisp, clean and perfectly oval. Sometimes it can indeed be mottled, blended, irregular or patchy in places. Closely study eyes on living horses and in photos to get a better idea of these details. 

Tips For Painting Sclera

• Be sure that grey line is present as it’s usually obvious when the eye is rolled forwards or backwards, upwards or downwards. So pay attention to it in your reference.
• Study how eyewhites vary in position and degree, depending on the horse’s different head positions and expressions.
• Sclera should be consistently “shaped” with the pupil/orb's cyclovergence due to the head position; they have to marry together.
• The less white you lean into when painting sclera, the more realistic the eye will appear whereas the more you lean into white, the more cartoony the eye will appear. So try not to to use straight white for sclera as it’s too stark but instead mute it into more of a fleshy griege so it reads more flesh-like. However, if you want a more Vintage Custom look, use the straight white as that was the practice back then.
• Sclera can really change the expression of a piece so give it some thought and think about the narrative of the sculpture as well.
• I like to paint my sclera completely first then paint the rest of the eye. I just find this works best for me, but approach it in any way that works best for you.

Painting Sclera

You can paint your sclera before painting the eye proper or afterwards, your choice. However, I recommend painting it first so you can better place your pupil. 

• To start, mix Titanium White and Burnt Sienna with just a scooch of Burnt Umber together, producing a medium pale muted pink; this is your basic mix. Paint this onto the orb in the location you wish to create your target expression, staying mindful of the iris’ oval shape, the intended position of the pupil, and cyclovergence.
• Take a small portion of this mixture and deepen it by adding a bit more Burnt Sienna. Add this darkened color to either “tail” of the eyewhite to lend dimension. You can also add in a teensy bit more of Burnt Umber or Raw Umber to this mix as well for variation.
• Take a small portion of the standard mix and lighten it by adding more Titanium White. Thin this mixture a little bit with water and paint tiny blotches or streaks in the middle, between the deeply pinked “tails.”
• If your reference calls for it, mix up some Titanium White and black to make a soft grey and add in some grey splotches…or salmon colored or brown, depending on your reference.
• Then neatly dab in the lacrimal caruncle with the appropriate color.
• If you wish and if scale permits, use the thinned deep pink mixture and mix in a bit of Burnt Umber and use this brown-pinkish mix to delicately line the outer rim of the third eyelid, defining it. Just be careful not to create Appaloosa-like sclera on a non-appy as this might be off-type. Also, be sure to avoid making the third eyelid too exposed or large since this would indicate injury or disease. Keep it subtle and small.
• You can take a small portion of the standard mix and mix in Burnt Sienna or Burnt Umber or some such color to create a burgundy-red to create little capillaries criss-crossing your sclera. Don’t go overboard, just two or three teensy ones will do. This isn’t a necessary detail as it’s not always apparent, but it’s a fun one if scale permits.

Glossing

After your painted eyeballs are thoroughly dry, many folks like to coat theirs in a gloss of some kind to make them appear alive, shiny, twinkly, and wet. Really, it adds a perfect touch! Everyone seems to have their own way to gloss eyeballs, but there seems to be three basic ways to do this, as follows:

• Liquitex Gloss Medium: Apply this straight out of the bottle with a fine-pointed small round brush. Be tidy! And don't pile it on in one go! One medium coat will do. Let dry completely (at least one hour) before handling. Clean your brush with water.
• Clear nail polish: Don’t use the provided cap brush to apply, but use a fine-pointed small round brush. But before you apply to your eyeball, coat that eyeball first in Liquitex Gloss Medium to create a barrier. You see, nail polish is full of solvents that’ll dissolve and buckle all your paintwork if you apply it directly on. To avoid that, apply the Gloss Medium first and let it dry completely (a good hour) before applying the nail polish. One layer will do. Don’t gob it on either, one thinnish coat is fine. Let dry completely (two good hours) before proceeding with the whatever else you want to do like hairing. Clean your brush with nail polish remover then rinse in water.
• DecoArt Americana Triple Thick Brilliant Brush On Gloss Glaze: Apply with a fine-pointed small round brush and be careful as this stuff is super thick and takes some getting used to. So don’t gob it on, but keep it as thin a layer as you can. Let dry overnight before proceeding. Clean your brush with water.

Conclusion

Painting eyes well takes a lot of practice to develop an ability to ping the proper tones, a steady hand for a tidy, precise result, and an Eye to home in on all the details. It’s simply a numbers game. So paint up a lot of junker eyes over and over and over again to perfect your skills before painting your fine piece. And just remember, if you hose it up, no big deal! Simply paint over it in the base color and start again.

Above all though, be patient with yourself. Painting eyes is difficult, even for the seasoned artist because there’s a lot going on in a teensy tiny space! So show yourself some grace, take a breath, and try again.

With study and anatomical knowledge, lots of practice, a solid mental library, good references, and a bit of gumption, you too can be painting up beautiful eyes in no time! They truly are the “windows to the soul” that will make your piece just pop to life in such a beautiful way, often making them so much fun to paint up once you get them pretty well under your belt. So keep at it, study horse eyes for variations and details, and you’ll soon develop your own savvy Eye for painting those beautiful equine peepers!

“An animal's eyes have the power to speak a great language.”

― Martin Buber

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