Long Island Cottontail

MEDIUM: Digital Painting | STYLE: Painterly Realism | SIZE: 8 x 10 | ORIENTATION: Portrait | TOOLS: Procreate, 13″ iPad Pro, Apple Pencil Pro | AVAILABILITY: Prints available.

A familiar sight in Long Island forests, fields, and backyards, this cottontail delights in munching dandelions, dashing around gardens, and lounging beneath evergreens or bushes — a perfect subject for painterly detail. This piece completes a companion trio alongside the Northern Grey Squirrel and Curious Chipmunk, both part of Shadowmyst Art’s collection.

ARTIST’S PROCESS: Long Island Cottontail was painted in Procreate on a 13″ iPad Pro using the Apple Pencil Pro. This technique replicates traditional painting’s depth and texture through layered digital brushwork. The process began with careful structural drawing, followed by multiple rounds of color blocking, value refinement, and detail work on fur texture to capture the species’ appearance and temperament. Shadow and light were built up using multiple Procreate layers and specific brushes, and the background stays faithful to the original reference photograph from Shadowmyst Art’s personal collection.

CHALLENGE: A rabbit’s fur is thick and ticked with shadowy, multi-toned markings — a challenge to render convincingly. Using a brush modified to lay down short, multiple lines in a single stroke, the fur was built up following the body’s natural growth direction and the fur’s multi-color ticking pattern. Lighting was then added as an additional layer over the multi-layered fur application to give the coat convincing depth.

SUBJECTS AND THEMES: Wildlife — Nature — Long Island Cottontail — Rabbit — Dandelions — Long Island Wildlife — Woodland Creatures — Procreate Artwork — Painterly Realism