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Step 1
Gather your necessary materials: acrylic paint, pencil, paper and an eraser.
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Step 2
Sketch out lightly a perfectly round circle, to the size you will want your pearl.
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Step 3
Decide where you want light to shine on the pearl, which determines how you shade the pearl (chiaroscuro). For instance, if you choose for the lighting to come from the right side, that side will be painted light, and the left side will be dark.
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Step 4
Pick your color(s) and paint the entire pearl this color. You can choose multiple colors including: complementaries (such as red and green) and adjacent (such as red and orange).
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Step 5
Add white, for your shading, to the area that will have light. For a smoother effect, angle your brush strokes along the shape of the pearl as you make it go from light to dark. If the white is not blending it, wait until your acrylic paint dries a little, then you can be ready to try adding white again.
