[nws]The Traditional Art Thread: Let's Get Our Hands Dirty

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > Creative Convention > [nws]The Traditional Art Thread: Let's Get Our Hands Dirty

Autechresaint: Jan 25, 2012

I've been in the video game industry as a 3d artist for the past 14 years but I am currently unemployed and bored. I've always had a love for watercolors, ever since high school, and have started doing pet portraits for my friends and commission. Here are a few examples of my recent works.

# ¿ Feb 24, 2014 04:31

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 01:41

Autechresaint: Jan 25, 2012

eggyolk posted:

These are really well done and especially precise. What's your process like?

Thanks.
I feel more comfortable sketching in watercolor and brush than I do pencils, so I don't draw these in pencil.
It saves me time and I like the look of watercolors without pencil lines underneath them. Since you can't erase pencil once it's been painted over, I measure out an 8x8 grid and put dots down where the axis meet. Once I've painted a basic underpainting, I erase the dots.

It's a pretty easy process, I've been using it since high school. Eventually I'd like to do these without using a grid, but it's been ~9 years since I last painted and I need to build up my skills again.

If nudes are not forbidden, here are some of the last things I painted back in 2003-2005. I have a whole sketchbook of figure paintings from live models like this. The top three are watercolors, the lower left is acrylic, and the lower right I brought my laptop and did it on Wacom. (tiny imaged just in case)

# ¿ Feb 26, 2014 16:08

Autechresaint: Jan 25, 2012

Dead Pikachu posted:

I love these! I've tried watercolor pet portraits, but I'm always so scared of adding too much color/shading. I wish I could do bold ones like yours!

I've recently started using Sculpey and here's my first finished piece:

Hey thanks! I like your sculpey, the face has a lot of personality and character.

Quick question for anyone who sells paintings here, what would you charge for a watercolor portrait like this? The paintings themselves are usually around 5" x 5" with some variation, and I include free matting, so the final work ends up being 8" x 8".

I have been charging friends and family a cheap rate so far, but I am trying to expand my business.

# ¿ Mar 7, 2014 23:16

Autechresaint: Jan 25, 2012

petrol blue posted:

Boyfriend's birthday yesterday. Thanks to a mod-challenge in LP giving me ideas, he walked in to find this:

We play chess variants in style in this house.

Please tell me that's a working version of The Cones of Dunshire..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfXfOCIIFcY

# ¿ Apr 6, 2014 04:51

Autechresaint: Jan 25, 2012

New pet portrait commission. First one in ~3 months. The dog recently passed away unfortunately.

I am currently working on another commission for a goon's two cats, it should be done by Monday.

# ¿ Jul 4, 2014 03:02

Autechresaint: Jan 25, 2012

Two cats. A commission for a fellow goon.

# ¿ Jul 7, 2014 21:20

Autechresaint: Jan 25, 2012

Galileo Fingers posted:

Haven't posted on here for awhile. :P Here's an ink and watercolor fairy.

I like that a lot, reminds me of arthur rackham's illustrations.

# ¿ Jul 23, 2014 23:50

Autechresaint: Jan 25, 2012

Galileo Fingers posted:

I've kinda been switching between a few brands. My favorite so far has been the Liquitex acrylic ink, in either black or burnt umber. For this one I was lazy and just used a black .005 copic pen. All are waterproof so they really shouldn't run or anything. Also I pretty much just use a crow quill for most everything.

Here's another one that I used the burnt umber ink/watercolor on - Bluebeard!

Again, loving the Rackham influence. Really neat work! Do you have a website?

# ¿ Aug 5, 2014 03:40

Autechresaint: Jan 25, 2012

I wrapped up another pet watercolor over the weekend..the first one I've done in about a year. This is our dog Annie Oakley.

# ¿ Sep 15, 2015 19:33

Autechresaint: Jan 25, 2012

Here are two recent pet portraits I did for my Aunts as Christmas presents.
Both are watercolor and gouache. I am trying to move away from using black paint, using color mixing to get richer colorful darks and browns.

# ¿ Jan 6, 2016 01:12

Autechresaint: Jan 25, 2012

Here is my latest dog portrait, this one is a commission for another goon.

And here are a few work in progress shots:

I am really happy with how this one turned out. I am starting to treat watercolors and gouache like how I would oils.

# ¿ Feb 7, 2016 05:53

Autechresaint: Jan 25, 2012

dog nougat posted:

That's really nice looking. I haven't painted in forever, so I kinda forget what the hell I'm doing. Gouache in particular is really frustrating me, but luckily it's super forgiving, plus my brushes might just be lovely Any pointers?

My paint either seems too wet and is translucent or it's too dry and won't spread easily. It's super frustrating.

what sort of gouache are you using, ie brand, and what sort of paper? I am using Fluid watercolor paper 140 cold press, and winsor newton gouache. A friend recommended the brand, as it's pretty well made and doesn't come out all watery. It's supposed to come out like a nice toothpaste.

# ¿ Feb 7, 2016 06:27

Autechresaint: Jan 25, 2012

dog nougat posted:

I'm using mostly Windsor & Newton with a bit of Holbein (non acrylic) and schmincke for my white. Paper is hot press, I forget brand..it was an old scrap. Seems like a creme strathmoore about 120lb. It's a solid paper, but I can't seem to use wet media very well with it.

My paint did sit around for a while, so some separation of the gum Arabic and fillers/pigments occurred, not really sure how to remix tubed paint. I have a vial of gum Arabic anyway if needed. I'm currently just using straight thinner and paint which is probably part of my problem. The other is that I painted relatively great when the paint was fresh on my pallet but it's since dried somewhat and reviving it is weird. I'm kinda treating it like block watercolors.

As for brushes, I have a solid amount of cheap sable brushes up to 6 round. Several larger wash and brights that I believe are synthetic. Then there's the liners. Zen brush acrylic bristles. They are actually OK bristle wise, but they seem to leak water in a weird way... They have hollow handles and drip water from the ferrule. I can't get the paint to flow well with them especially. They're super small though.

It's mostly working with gouache once it's dried on my pallet I guess that's giving me the problem. It's a transportable watercolor pallet FYI. Should I treat it like regular paint and only use fresh? Which would certainly waste a poo poo load of paint that way... Or I'm imagining the correct way is that I can totally rejuvenate semi dried water media. I'm just unsure how to do so.

Try cold press paper next time, it makes a difference. hot press, if i am remembering right, is super smooth, so the water doesn't soak into the paper as much which could be why you are having difficulty.

# ¿ Feb 8, 2016 14:21

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 01:41

Autechresaint: Jan 25, 2012

derg posted:

3 week drawing

wow that model is a trooper to stay in that pose for so long..

# ¿ Jun 28, 2016 16:04

The Something Awful Forums > The Finer Arts > Creative Convention > [nws]The Traditional Art Thread: Let's Get Our Hands Dirty