This was such a FUN painting, even though I never thought I'd say that about painting a snake - eeek! So I thought I'd show a few process photos and talk a little about how I painted this captivating tree python. I found a photo on Pixabay, which is what I used to trace a general outline and choose my colors. Here's the reference photo I used, and you can click on the image to go to the source.
I went with Hansa Yellow Light (a cool greenish yellow), New Gamboge for the warmer yellow bits, Sap Green, Undersea Green, and then Burnt Umber and Lamp Black for the eye area. A little tiny touch of Phthalo Blue Green Shade helped the "ear hole" stand out (is that what it is? I don't know much about snakes!) The eye is what I find so compelling about this guy. It seems to stare right into me, with laser-like focus. So I painted the eye first and worked out from there. I knew that if I could get the eye right, the rest of it would be much easier. I prefer Daniel Smith watercolor paints, so that's the brand I used here. But any professional watercolor paint in similar colors will give you similar results.
I created a light wash of color over his head and body, allowing the color to softly fade around the edges as the body got farther away from view. I wanted to contrast the out-of-focus body with the sharp detail on the head. Then I began painting each individual scale on his head one by one. Yes, this was time consuming - but also meditative and fun because I had complete control of the paint, working in such small sections at a time. As I got further back, I again let the detail on the scales begin to fade and blur into the background. This needle-sharp Da Vinci Nova round brush (size 3/0) was perfect for painting all those small areas.
Lifting a highlight by removing pigment with a stiffer brush made for acrylics
The highlight on his eye was created by not painting it - that is, leaving the paper white and just painting around it. Sometimes if it's just a dot of a highlight I will use a dab of white gouache, but this time it was a larger white triangular area and I don't personally like the look of gouache added over my watercolors. So I just chose to paint around it. And here it is complete! Such a fun project. I may have to do more reptiles!
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