In this full process tutorial I walk you through how I paint a pair of watercolour zebras sitting in a landscape. I’m focusing on the whole workflow—from choosing and combining reference photos, to placing the drawing, to building up the stripes and shadows so the zebras actually feel three-dimensional instead of looking like flat black-and-white shapes. The goal is to keep it approachable and repeatable, so you can take the same ideas and use them on your own animal paintings right away. I also talk through the big “gotchas” with zebras: getting the values right, keeping your edges under control, and using the surrounding environment to help the subject read. I use the references linked below as a starting point, then simplify what I see into clear shapes and layers. By the end you’ll have a roadmap for painting convincing zebra stripes, soft fur transitions, and a believable landscape that supports the focal point instead of competing with it.