Prepare your workspace. Lay out a dropcloth under the easel where you will be painting. On a small table or stool, arrange your oil paint, paintbrushes, palate, turpentine, linseed oil and a metal cup. Set up your easel, making sure that it is sturdy and level. Having all of your materials organized early on will allow you to concentrate on the creative process.
Draw a rough outline of your deer and wildlife, using charcoal. Once you've finished, blow off any excess charcoal.
Create the oil-turpentine mixture. Mix two parts oil to one part turpentine. Stir the mixture with your paintbrush.
Prepare the canvas. Paint the canvas with the oil-turpentine mixture, using long vertical and horizontal strokes to create a light, even coverage.
Choose your color scheme. Squeeze out the colors that you would like to use to paint your deer onto the palate. Although you can use whichever colors you would like for the deer's body, you will typically use white or yellow for highlights and black or dark violet for lowlights, so always have those colors handy.
Use black or dark violet to paint the shadows and lowlights in your deer or wildlife figures.
Clean your brush and paint in the color that you want your deer or wildlife figures to be. Lay the paint beside the shadow you already painted. Don't worry, you will blend these colors later.
Select a fan brush or a blender brush to blend the deer's body and shadow color together.
Select a new brush and add highlights to the deer using titanium white or yellow. Blend in the highlights using a fan brush or blender brush.
Using a small paintbrush, add detail such as hooves, antlers, eyes and nostrils to the deer or wildlife.
If desired, paint a background for the wildlife scene.
Clean your paintbrushes (see Resource).