Welcome! Does a kitty keep you company? I've got two, Henry and Ollie. You will meet them both in this course, where I'll take you step by step through the process of making a paper mosaic collage of your cat. No need to take the Beginning Paper Mosaics course first - the Cat Portraits course has all of the information you need to get started!

I'll be making a portrait of Velma the cat during this course. She has medium to long length fur with lots of colors. We'll talk a lot about fur and flow, techniques and tips, cats and color and a lot more!

We'll make the collage out of a variety of papers. You might like to take the Preparing Papers for your Art class so you will have lots of fun papers to pick from, but it is not a prerequisite. You can simply use magazine papers if you don't want to paint your own papers.

Let's get started!

Cat Portraits Supply List

The supplies listed here are pretty close to what I used and can be replaced by different brands or glossiness levels.

Bare minimum list: thick paper or a board for your base, magazines/papers to rip up, ModPodge, a paintbrush, scissors.

More extended supply list:

Substrates:

(Please view the video first. The substrate you select depends on what you prefer after viewing the video.)

· I used a 9x12 Hardboard Panel (Item #14945-1023 Dick Blick) Comes in many sizes

· Golden Matte or Gloss Medium for the sealer (Item #00628-1115 Dick Blick)

· Golden Gesso (Item #00628-1175 Dick Blick)

· Foam Brushes

Design:

· Image of your cat, cropped and printed out to the size you need

· Pencil

· Carbon paper or a ruler

· Tape

Working on the Cat Portrait:

· ModPodge (Item # 10047536 Michaels) I used glossy, but you can choose matte if you prefer.

· Papers for ripping, cutting, gluing. You can use painted papers from the course "Preparing Papers for your Art" or simply use magazines and other found papers.

· Brush - I use CraftSmart brand brushes. They are $8 at Michaels but they don't seem to have them on their website. The bristles are called "taklon" and they are great to use with ModPodge.

· Low lid for holding ModPodge

· Scissor

· Xacto knife

· Cutting mat

· Optional - a pick to use with small pieces

Painted Background and Whiskers:

NOTE: You can just do more collage in the background instead of painting if you wish

· Acrylic paint - brand of your choice

· Paintbrush

· Cup or palette for paint (could use a plastic lid or waxed paper)

· Posca Acrylic Paint pen - thin, white (Item #:PX89789000 at Wet Paint)

· Thin Black Sharpie to sign your work

Varnishing:

· Liquitex Gloss Varnish (Item #61670 Jerry's Artarama) Choose the glossiness level you desire.

· Foam brush

· Something to prop up artwork

· Optional - Cup for varnish