Demonstration
No One Knew She Rode a Unicorn to School

Ready for Adventure

Once you’ve taken a photograph of a local school and found reference materials for your girl on a unicorn, it’s time to put everything together. This is a two-step process. First, crop your photograph of the school and adhere it to the wood panel. Be sure to leave ample room for the girl on the unicorn in the foreground. Then, draw the girl and unicorn in your sketchbook and transfer them to the foreground of your photograph. In the end, you’ll have a unique mixed-media painting that showcases your photography, drawing and storytelling skills!

STEP 1: Trim the Photo

Trim the black-and-white photo to fit the 8" × 8" (20cm × 20cm) wood panel.

STEP 2: Prime the Wood Panel

Using an inexpensive 1" (25mm) flat, coat the entire surface of the wood panel with acrylic gel (or heavy gel) medium.

STEP 3: Place the Photo

Position the trimmed black-and-white photo onto the sticky surface and press it lightly into place. Be sure not to press too hard on the photo before it’s exactly in place or it will be hard to restick.

STEP 4: Press the Photo in Place

Cover the entire piece with a sheet of wax paper, and firmly run a brayer across the entire surface. This will prevent air bubbles.

STEP 5: Wipe and Let Dry

Wipe away any excess gel medium from the sides with a paper towel. Allow the piece to dry for at least two hours.

STEP 6: Sketch the Unicorn

While the photo is drying, you’ll have plenty of time to sketch. Trace the wood panel onto a piece of white paper, then use a reference photo or toy pony to pencil in the unicorn. Add a conical spiral shape to his head for the horn.

STEP 7: Draw the Little Girl

Use a reference photo to draw the little girl riding the unicorn. If drawing people is not your strong suit, don’t dismay. You can always practice these skills. For now keep it simple and primitive, and allow the story and colors to carry the painting.

STEP 8: Trace Shapes for the Headdress and Skirt

Later in the process, you’ll add a piece of colorful scrap paper to the painting for the girl’s skirt and more paper for her headdress. Cut out flowers and a band of colorful paper for the headdress first and set these aside. For the skirt to fit perfectly, lay a piece of tracing paper over your drawing and outline it.

STEP 9: Cut the Skirt Pattern

Lay a piece of patterned scrap paper with a nice skirt design face down and cover it with the tracing of the skirt. Pencil over the marks until they transfer to the back of the patterned paper. Cut this patterned piece out and set it aside to use later.

STEP 10: Cut Out the Sketch

Cut the girl and unicorn drawing out of your sketchbook. Trim it in as closely as possible. Then test it out in your composition to see where it looks best before gluing it down.

STEP 11: Coat the Cut-Out with Acrylic Heavy Gel Medium

When you’re happy with the composition, lay the cut-out upside down on a piece of scrap paper. With a ¹⁄₂" (13mm) flat, coat it with acrylic heavy gel medium.

STEP 12: Place the Drawing on the Photo

Position the cut-out drawing on the support. Don’t pick it back up again or it may tear the photo underneath.

STEP 13: Press the Sketch Onto the Photo

Cover the piece with wax paper and run a brayer across it to smooth everything into place.

STEP 14: Add a Coat of Acrylic Heavy Gel Medium

For this next step, you’ll need to work quickly. Use a 1" (25mm) foam brush to lay a coat of clear acrylic heavy gel medium across the entire surface of your drawing. Do not let it dry.

STEP 15: Trace the Outlines

While the gel medium is still wet, trace the outlines of the school, the girl and the unicorn with a rubber-tipped pointy tool.

STEP 16: Add Texture

Use the rubber-tipped tool to add texture to the trees or other natural elements in the photo.

STEP 17: Add the Skirt Cut-Out

Grab the piece of scrap paper you cut out earlier for the skirt and press it into the gel medium. Since the medium is still wet, it will adhere to the paper.

STEP 18: Add the Headdress Cut-Out

Add the headdress you cut out earlier to the support.

STEP 19: Emphasize the Pattern Details

Apply a bit more heavy gel medium to just the skirt and headdress with a ¹⁄₂" (13mm) flat. Then etch into the pattern details with a small rubber-tipped tool to cast them in relief. Let the entire piece dry completely.

STEP 20: Add a Wash of Payne’s Gray

After the piece is thoroughly dry, inlay the etched markings with a darker color by first applying a wash of Payne’s Gray to the entire piece with a 1" (25mm) flat.

STEP 21: Wipe Away the Dark Wash

While the dark wash is still wet, wipe it away with a damp paper towel. This will allow the dark paint to seep into the crevices you have etched with the rubber-tipped tool.

STEP 22: Paint the Unicorn

With a ¹⁄₄" (6mm) flat, paint the unicorn with Titanium Buff and the shaded portions of the animal with a combination of Titanium Buff and Payne’s Gray. Add a dash of Hansa Yellow Medium mixed with Titanium Buff to the sunny side of the unicorn’s horn and body.

STEP 23: Paint the Girl’s Clothes

Use a no. 00 round to add bright colors to the main character. I used Brilliant Blue for the shirt, Titanium White for the socks, Vat Orange for the shoes and Pale Pink on a heart inside the skirt pattern.

STEP 24: Paint the Girl’s Cheeks and Hair

Add a blush to the girl’s cheeks with Pale Pink, and color the hair with Raw Sienna using a no. 2 round.

STEP 25: Add Gray to the Trees and Grass

Use a no. 00 or no. ²⁰⁄₀ liner to add touches of lighter gray (Payne’s Gray and Titanium White) to the trees and grass where needed to balance the composition.

STEP 26: Cut and Glue the Sun Pieces

To create the collaged sun, cut out three consecutively larger round shapes. Cut jagged edges into the biggest, yellowest part of the sun for rays. Then position all three pieces in the corner of the painting, and trim them so they fit. Glue all the pieces down with an acrylic glue pen.

STEP 27: Color the Unicorn’s Eye

To create a visual link between the unicorn and girl rider, use a no. 00 round to color his eye with the same Brilliant Blue as her shirt. Outline it with a black paint pen for emphasis.

Tell the Story

Consider the story of this piece. What does it say about the girl’s personality that she’s chosen to ride a unicorn to school? What if she were riding a different animal or carrying a dog in her purse? Would this painting have the same story if the school were painted in full color? What if you painted the school in color and the girl in black and white?

I used a black-and-white photo of my New York City apartment view in this love story painting. The red bird dreams of finding his true love to color his world.