Gerry Giraffe watercolor step by step

Finally done with my animal illustrations. Everyone meet this happy go lucky giraffe, Gerry! :) I love painting on weekends because I don't have a time limit on my painting time. (I usually paint for an hour on weekdays before going to work, but since we have so much OT lately, I don't get to wake up early and paint. :( )

Anyway back to this commish project. :)

I used a yellow wash for the base color to have a warm tone to thepainting. Next I added the colors for the body, and the ground. At this stage the colors are very flat and light, since it's easier to go from light to dark  in watercolor.

Using my flat brush I added the leaves, the mane and some grass. I paint the leaves loosely and with lots of water to lighten the color a bit, I mixed yellow orange and a hint of brown for the mane.

And then I add the details (eyes, spots, tree trunk and grass lines etc.) and shadow. I used watercolor pencils for the lines on the grass. And just like that Gerry the cheery Giraffe is done yay!