Paint a Glowing Neon Lion Portrait In a Weekend

What If You Could Paint This... In a Weekend?

Picture this: it's a quiet evening. You've set up a canvas, a couple of brushes, and a small palette of paint. No screens, no noise. Just you and a lion slowly catching fire under your brush.

You map the mane's flow with a couple of confident blue strokes, then block in the shadows with a single diluted violet. Then the glow arrives: pink, orange, and yellow bloom across the fur like it's lit from somewhere inside the canvas.

Last of all, the eyes — a touch of orange, a hint of purple, one perfect white highlight — and suddenly they're wet, alive, looking right back at you. Suddenly you're not just dabbling... you're painting.

An hour or two passes and it feels like ten minutes. You step back, look at what you've made, and feel something you haven't felt in a long time: that moment where you can't quite believe what's in front of you.

You hang it on the wall. A friend walks in, stops mid-sentence, and asks "Where did you buy that?"

And the best part? Telling them: "I painted it."

This isn't a fantasy. Even beginners who've never held a paintbrush before are creating display-worthy paintings like this — and loving every glowing minute of it.

But here's the thing…

Here's Where Most Beginners Get Stuck

You see a painting like this online and think, "That looks incredible… I'd love to try that!"

So you grab a big set of paints, sit down full of excitement, and start blocking in color.

But then…

• The colors turn muddy the moment you start layering them on top of each other.
• The mane comes out looking like scribbles instead of flowing, windswept hair.
• The eyes end up flat and lifeless instead of glowing — and you have no idea what makes the difference.

Before long, you've spent hours at the easel… and the result looks nothing like the painting you saw online.

It feels like you've wasted time, money, and materials.

Most people drown in a palette of 15+ colors they don't know how to mix, layer their colors in the wrong order and end up with mud, and never learn the handful of tricks that make eyes look wet and alive instead of flat.

But You're Getting a Shortcut

I created this class so you can skip the muddy mane, the flat eyes, and the trial-and-error… and go straight to a painting you'll be proud to hang on your wall.

The secret isn't a magic palette. It's knowing exactly which colors to mix, roughly what ratio, and in what order, for every shadow, glow, and highlight in the painting. I hand you that exact recipe — layer by layer — so you're never standing at your palette guessing.

And Because We Use the Trace & Transfer Method, You're Practically Guaranteed a Perfect Lion

You don't have to draw the lion. You don't even have to be able to draw.

I give you a printable template of the lion's face, sized for your canvas. You print it at home, tape it over your canvas, and transfer the guide lines with a pencil. It takes a few minutes, and there's a short video showing you exactly how it's done.

That means the thing beginners fear most, that their drawing will come out wrong, never gets a chance to happen. From there it's just adding color, one layer at a time, in the order I show you.

Hey! My Name's Dan

I've been making art since I was a kid, and for the last 5 years it's been how I earn my living.

But I still remember exactly what it feels like to be on the other side: looking at a painting you love and thinking, "I could never make something like that."

After years of painting — and teaching — here's what I've learned: the difference between people who paint and people who "can't" isn't talent. It's that nobody ever handed them a process simple enough to actually follow.

That's exactly why I built this class around one painting you can finish in a weekend.

Why This Lion? Why This Palette?

This painting was designed from the ground up to be a beginner's first masterpiece.

I chose this exact pose deliberately: it looks striking on the wall, but it's secretly one of the most forgiving subjects a beginner can paint. You never have to draw it freehand, because the outline transfers straight onto your canvas from a printable template.

And the palette isn't random. Seven tubes — violet, phthalo blue, cobalt blue, brilliant magenta, and yellow, plus white and black — cover every shadow, glow, and highlight in the painting. It's not about keeping the list short. It's about giving you the exact mix for each one, so you're never standing at your palette wondering what to reach for next.

I've taken the exact process I used to paint the original — every layer and every mix, in order — and turned it into a class anyone can follow, over a weekend, even if you've never painted before.

And the Lion Is Just Your First Glow Painting

The skills you're learning — building shadow from a single diluted color, mixing your own glow tones, layering color for that lit-from-within effect, making eyes look wet and alive — don't stop at the lion. They carry straight into whatever you paint next. Once you own this layering-and-mixing method, that palette on your desk becomes an endless supply of paintings waiting to happen.

Introducing... The Glowing Neon Lion Class

A complete step-by-step video class that takes you from a blank canvas to a finished glowing neon lion portrait — painted over a weekend, even if you've never painted anything in your life.

Here's What You're Getting Today In These 6 Video Modules

Each module builds on the last — following the exact order I painted the original — so by the time you finish, you'll have gone from a blank canvas to a painting you're proud to display.

Module 1: Sketch & Perfect Proportions

Before a single drop of paint goes down, you'll have the lion's face on your canvas — traced from my template, so getting the proportions right doesn't come down to luck.

• The "four-quarters" trick that tells you exactly where the eyes, top of the head, and chin belong before you draw a single line
• Why I sketch with a Copic marker instead of pencil (and when a plain pencil works just as well)
• The "rough is right" rule — why a loose, imperfect outline at this stage sets you up for a better finished painting
• How long to spend here so you're not rushing the one step that makes or breaks the whole piece

Module 2: Mapping the Electric Mane

Before a single wash of color goes down, you'll map the flow of the mane with your two blues and a few confident strokes — this is where the lion starts to feel alive.

• The outlining trick around the nose, mouth, and chin that instantly anchors the whole face
• How to "map the flow" of flyaway mane hair with single brush strokes instead of overworking it
• The swirl technique for the wild, windswept side of the mane
• Why you leave this step loose too — and exactly when you're allowed to go back and tighten it up

Module 3: The Violet Undercoat

With the mane's flow already mapped, you'll go back in with a single diluted color that quietly does all the heavy lifting for depth later — most beginners skip this step entirely.

• The "corners to center" method that builds shadow and contrast without mixing a single color
• Exactly which areas to leave untouched (and why leaving white canvas showing through is the real secret to vibrant color later)
• How diluting your paint with water changes the way the whole painting reads from across the room
• Why this quiet, unassuming layer is what makes every color you add afterward look 10x more vibrant

Module 4: Building the Glow

You'll layer in magenta, yellow, and a mixed-to-order orange until the mane looks like it's lit from within — this is the step that makes people stop scrolling.

• The order to apply magenta and yellow in — and the exact ratio that mixes a glowing orange — so colors build instead of turning muddy
• The "patience trick" for magenta — why a thin, washed-out first layer is exactly what you want
• How to mix a custom orange on the fly for the warmest, brightest patches of the mane
• Which areas to leave completely bare of color until this stage (and why that's what makes the glow pop)

Module 5: Carving Depth & Highlights

Once everything's dry, you'll go back in with your darkest and lightest mixes to carve real depth into a flat-looking painting.

• The darkest mix in the whole painting (and the three spots it goes that instantly add drama)
• The "light blue plus white" highlight mix that defines the eyes, nose, and chin with almost no effort
• Why working back in once everything's dry is what separates a flat painting from one with real depth
• How a few well-placed highlights do more work than an hour of extra blending

Module 6: The Eyes & Final Details

The eyes are what make or break a portrait — you'll learn my exact process for eyes that look wet, alive, and impossible to look away from.

• The two-color iris trick that gives the eyes real depth in under a minute
• Exactly where to place the pupil and highlight dot to make the eyes look wet and reflective
• The fine-detail pen trick for whiskers and stray mane hairs that adds a layer of realism most beginner paintings never reach
• The one small addition I always save for last — the difference between a painting that looks "finished" and one that looks "alive"

Here's What This Would Cost You Anywhere Else

You're Also Getting These 2 Exclusive Bonuses With Your Order Today

Bonus #1: The Lion Outline & Transfer Template

Your Composition, Done For You

A printable outline of the lion's face, sized for your canvas. Print it at home, tape it over your canvas, and transfer the guide lines in minutes with the simple graphite-tracing method. A short instructional video walks you through exactly how to do it. The single hardest part of any portrait — getting the proportions right — handled before you pick up a brush.

Bonus #2: The Fix-It Fast Guide

Your 2-Minute Rescue Plan for Every Beginner Mistake

Mane turned muddy? Eyes looking flat instead of glowing? Highlights gone chalky? This guide covers the most common beginner slip-ups on this painting and exactly how to fix each one fast — because acrylics are far more forgiving than you think.

Try The Course Risk-Free For A Full Year Before You Make The Final Decision

Here's what you're getting for just $47

One payment. Instant access. Learn at your own pace.

Commonly Asked Questions

Get All Of This For Just $47

One payment. Instant access. Learn at your own pace.

Don't Let This Become Another "Maybe One Day" Idea

You know how it goes. You see something creative that excites you, you tell yourself you'll get to it later… and later never comes.

Right now, you have two choices:

Close this page and keep scrolling past glowing paintings thinking "I wish I could do that."

Or start today — and within a week, hang your own neon lion on your wall and think "I actually painted this."