Sketches and Studies by Craig Houghton - [11/16]

[Digiegg]

wow, I really enjoyed looking at your figure drawings.
you are very good at these =)
I seem to have a problem with my drawings looking all stiff.. it's probably because i use too many hard straight lines...
but wow I really enjoyed looking at them. Keep posting!

[Flaskpost]

Great studies! Great paintings! Great you.

Love the one with the painted frame.

[Mr.Blonde]

nice bird anatomy- very interesting studies.

[blackswordsman28]

very nice bird studies ^^

clean and well detailed...

[Craig Houghton]

Digiegg - Many thanks. there'll be some more figures coming up soon

Flaskpost - Thanks man. Great you too

Mr.Blonde - Thanks! I've apparently become obsessed with the winged things

blackswordsman28 - Many thanks. It's easier for me to stay neat and clean than it is messy. well, to do it and have it look decent. I'm working on it though.

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tonight's update isn't much, but it's all I have at the moment. I'm also working on some commissions that I unfortunately can't post up here.

it wasn't an easy task for me, since the bird anatomy is so new, but I drew the outlines for these using a ref, then I had to no-ref a skeleton on it. afterwards I made corrections using bone refs. Unfortunately, most of the bone refs are chickens and owls. So, i sorta guessed at the Scrub Jay morphology.



this quick something isn't much of anything. I was doodling in painter, but there's a bird, so i posted it anyhow



Thanks for looking,
-Craig

[bengonzalez]

very nice and detailed work. I may just have to pick up my paintbrushes again after seeing this thread. there is just something about the smell of oils that I kind of miss.

no crit at the moment, just praises on the work so far.

[adiere]

Hi Craig,

I'm jealous on your lines, they are so cofident...

How your girlfriend/wife feels with you surrounded by so many girls?

Anyway, thanks for stopping by on my thread and here's the tutorial I was talking of:
Head tutorial

[Craig Houghton]

bengonzalez - Thanks. Yeah, the smell sort of gets you in the mode, but it's the smell of linseed oil and paint that I like. I hate turps and alkyd mediums etc I've been using m graham's walnut alkyd along with gamsol from gamblin. so, no more chem smells.

adiere - Glad you stopped by. My gf? Well, I draw her too sometimes, but she's got all the rest beat. no contest Thx for that tutorial!

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This should be the first of several updates today. Applying what I've been learning about birds to well.. birds.

more birds?

yeah, more birds. they'll be more coming later today as well.

little blue heron - drawing and paint both done in painter. most of my time was spent slapping down every possible green I could think of



-Craig

[dashi]

wow sweet paintings man
keep em coming

[Craig Houghton]

dashi - thx!

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second bird for today. I'm hoping to do a scrub jay after dinner. it'll probably be another digital, but whatever it is, I'll try to set em' in flight this time.

meadow lark sketch with soft pastels over watercolor


-Craig

[Craig Houghton]

ok 3rd update today. and, as promised, more damn birds

simple bird skel no-ref gestures



-Craig

[Craig Houghton]

I know the wings above look funky, but for the sake of studying the bones, it seems that the primary and secondary structures coming out of the lower arm and metacarpal structures create two separate irregular shapes.

and, it's messy but it helped me to map them out



-Craig

[rodrigo!]

ncie work,
wow look at all the birds...you must really love all the birds..

[iDoubLe001]

You are a genius. Plain, and simple. I'm just blown away by these works of art.

Condor Amy looks JUST like this girl I used to date back in middle school named Nikki. I would love to see a tutorial if you ever have time for one.

Once again.. beautiful, beautiful artwork.

[Craig Houghton]

rodrigo - lol thx man. yeah, sometimes i stare at them birds for hours...

iDoubLe001 - Wow. Many thanks. That's a heck of a compliment! As for a tutorial, I certainly might. It's the exact same technique though that I used in The Upright Nude, and I have a tutorial coming along for that one. The Painter IX brush I used is available for download below though. Thanks again.

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Ok, tonight's update is a bit different..

Custom Brushes for Painter IX. I added a custom brush dl page to my site this evening (click Extras then Custom brushes), and I figured this would be a great place to post them as well

so, here they are

C.Houghton's_Painter_Brushes_v1.1.zip

To install: Close Painter. Expand the zip file directly into your Painter/Brushes/Painter Brushes folder. On most systems that folder is CProgram Files\Corel\Corel Painter IX\Brushes\Painter Brushes

Here's what's in the new brush category:



The Scratchy Sculptor - All purpose crosshatch-style painter.

This is certainly my favorite brush. I recommend frequent color changes (using the alt-click method) along with an even crosshatch. Using this brush you can get a blended look without blurring. I do all my modeling work with this while zoomed in rather close. Let me know if you find this brush working well for you -- I'm curious.



Just Plein Quick - Speedy Tweaked Artist Oil

This brush is low-processor, and it moves smoothly no matter how large the brush size. There's a nice dab, thick-to-thin pressure, and a semi-constant flow of paint that I really enjoy. There's also just a touch of HSV variance to give the stroke a just-mixed sort of look. The 'Plein' comes from Plein Air. When painting plein air, this is the digital brush I wish I had on hand while I spend my time playing with actual oil paint.



Just Plein Empty - Artist Oil's based blender.

This is the "Just Plein Quick" brush without any paint on it. It's like using a bristle blender. It seems more painterly and closer to the real thing than some ready-made blenders like Just Add Water. You can see a quick before and after in the pic above.



The Sketchy Tendril - Expressive Sketching Pencil

This takes a light hand and some getting used to. Once you're used to it though, it's a smooth way to tackle a sketch. I made this with the intention of drawing very deliberate pencil strokes. If your hand gets ahead of you, you can find the results too unpredictable. This is also great for strands of hair etc...



Pressure Pits - Texture Brush

This is a texture brush that responds very well to pressure. Start out with a light hand and work up to a heavy dab. The brush is based upon a scan of a small section of orange peel. It's great for lots of stuff beyond citrus though.



The Hermes Marker - Sketching Marker

One has to watch out for the build-up with this, but the line quality and responsiveness of this brush has grown on me over time. It's useful for sketching, especially with a light touch.



The WC Crutch - Quick and Simple DWC Coloring

This is the tool I turn to when I want to quickly color a digital sketch. It gets the job done without a lot of fuss. It works well as an opaque cover that nonetheless appears rather transparent, giving the impression of deliberate color.

they all take some getting used to, but I use em all happily

-Craig

[glikster]

Ok, first of all I have already had an inordinately high regard for you due to the obvious skill and expertise of your art.

Now, sir, you are a god.

[mentler]

Thanks Craig <> I will give them a try <> they seem to work very well for you!

[Icey]

you have quite an evolution, craig!

[WARHEAD]

Craig, really love the WIP you are doing at the moment. (Also like your sketches, especially the nude on her back).
I was going to offer a crit on the flatness of the clothes and the lower section of the girls back, but saw that you are going to work on these, so I will keep quiet !

Look forward to seeing it finished.

[bengonzalez]

Thanks for sharing your brushes with us. I will give them a try once I'm ready to start with Painter.

[Craig Houghton]

glik - if I start a cult, would you be willing to make a monetary contribution?

mentler - always a pleasure to have you stopping by -- hope you like the brushes!

icey - thx icey. it all seems to move in circles to me

warhead - thx. i almost forgot about her I'll get back to her soon

bengonzalez - once you do, feel free to let me know if you like em.

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I have a watercolor portrait commission I should be working on, but here's a couple of birds. Oh, and in case anyone is wondering why the hell I'm stuck on birds lately, the answer can be found in Teigrob's Animated Animals 101 thread over in the tutorials section. It's a personal challenge I've been tackling.





-Craig

[Mr.Blonde]

thanks for the brushes mate, it's nice to see what other people have created in Painter. sweet lines on the latest bird sketch, very quick and brief. cool.

[Craig Houghton]

mr. b - thanks. glad you like

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ignore the hand and the work i've yet to do on the face, but I figured it's about time I did a d&d char sort of portfolio piece. I'm feeling good about the background, but I haven't begun the figure yet. She'll be sun dappled and blond. I have too many wips going right now, so I'll try and finish her up in one shot tomorrow.



for the curious, i placed my wip shots into a quick movie

http://www.leversandpulleys.com/treelean_wip.wmv

-Craig

[Craig Houghton]

you can already tell it's a messy mess back there, but nonethless. some actual-size



fell asleep last night (I really, really hate to sleep) and didn't get a chance to start on the figure. betting is open for whether or not i'll be able to finish her all in one shot today. i'm so damn slow. i'm persistant, but slow.

[skvv]

there are some really great studies in here, looks like you're picking up alot quickly! keep it up.

[Flaskpost]

Seroiusly loving those birds!

This one´s amazing. Every line is in perfect place! Good shit!
http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/7766/expression9bn.jpg

[2000YearsOldMan]

very cool water color work man, I really enjoy it thanks.

[OpenBook]

Wow! Love your stuff man. That electronic eye diagram thing is off the wall. keep it up.

[blankslatejoe]

http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/7766/expression9bn.jpg


now that is absolutely gorgeous!

nice work man, that hand painting came out nice too. I'm looking forward to this girl painting too. She looks a little elongated, like her knees are too low... great stuff though!

[Craig Houghton]

skivvy - many thanks. always feels like i'm moving in circles from here

flask - thanks! I'm looking forward to getting back to the birds. working on humans tends to be a bit exausting

2000yearold - thanks working on a commission wc at the moment as well

openbook - glad you like!

blank - many thanks. yep. i'll probably have to play with her knees, but i'll try and save them till I get to the legs. (bad policy, i know )

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I've been staring at this way, way too long. i'm guilty of overworking this to death, and now things aren't even working properly with the back ground. i'll figure it out in the end though.



-Craig

p.s. went back a couple of iterative saves and updated image. not happy at all with how it's coming out, but i think i'm just tired