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ChakotayDgryphon — Painting Tutorial

Published: 2008-02-27 09:28:34 +0000 UTC; Views: 75062; Favourites: 1258; Downloads: 1524
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Description Alrighty then!

This “tutorial” of sorts has been a long time in the making. It actually only took me a week and ½ to complete once I kicked myself in the arse and forced myself to finish it. The picture on the canvas was sketched out almost three years ago, and has been sitting on my stand-up easel ever since. When I came back from Guatemala I swore that it would be one of those many things I was going to complete. It was originally requested by as a way to give a brief illustration, and a few instructions on the rules and tips of basic painting.

Now, I am certainly not the greatest painter. In fact, I feel that I am as talent-less in the medium as they come, but I do try. I know I'm not really much of realistic painter— My paintings are more like, illusions of paintings... or something. I also don’t have the patience nor the talent for tiny, perfect details that others have. Oy. 'Kay, shutting up.

To begin this tut, I want to say that I know that there are several different kinds of paint out there. Some folks like the gushey, squishy oil paints that get into and onto everything… it takes all kinds of chemicals to clean them up… and most of the time you have to make sure they’re being used in a well ventilated area. Oil paints also take a millennium to dry… which to be blunt, frustrates the hell out of me. SO! I don’t use oil paints. Yuck. Some folks like to use the watercolors… Now those are some people with a lot of patience and a LOT of talent. I’m too much of a “control Nazi” to get the hang of watercolors. Everytime I’ve tried watercolor I ended up with a canvas full of mud. SO! Other than an occasional watercolor pencilon a drawing, I don’t use watercolors either. Tempera paints? No… absolutely not! Again Chako shall be blunt. Temperas suck. Let’s just say that those are the kinds of paints they use in a kindergarten classroom for a reason. Unless you’re purchasing paints for a 5yr old, do not waste your time even looking at tempera paints. Gouache paints are kinda nice. Gouache are like a cross between watercolors and acrylics. They behave like watercolors, but dry uber fast like acrylics… but I personally find them to be too “chalky” in texture and appearance when they dry. I have a set leftover from one of my college classes, but I hardly use them at all… in fact… hmmm… I wonder where they are…. Anywho, SO! You guessed it, this illustration will be focusing on the use of acrylics. Why? Because I like acrylics…


Um… I’ll probably be doing more talking than anything else. My apologies if I get too boring. It’s kinda big/long so I’m switching on the “download” option for a change. Anything else? No, I don’t think so.

Finished result of this tutorial can be found here: [link]

Offspring tutorial "Color Blending Advice" can be found here: [link]
Related content
Comments: 143

EvannaPrystal [2009-09-10 17:03:42 +0000 UTC]

You're a life saver. My brain is very grateful.

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carlorozykomiks [2009-09-08 15:10:53 +0000 UTC]

wow XD clap clap clap XD

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liquidexpresso [2009-08-12 17:53:02 +0000 UTC]

THAT TUTORIAL WAS SOOO HELPFUL THANK YOU!

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noorhenry [2009-08-11 07:49:21 +0000 UTC]

WaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaW

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Vampiressartist [2009-06-25 02:18:29 +0000 UTC]

Thank you so much!

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TannerJM [2009-06-21 12:34:00 +0000 UTC]

Did you justsay MEAGER!? never put yourself down like that its a really good painting of a matter of fact I am going to start painting!

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ChakotayDgryphon In reply to TannerJM [2009-06-26 17:12:30 +0000 UTC]

*begin random comment of the day*

I have a horse named "Tanner." Actually, his name is "Montana" but I call him "Mr. Tanner" or just "Tanner" instead.

*end random comment of the day*

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FlickaBee [2009-06-07 01:42:16 +0000 UTC]

I've worked with colored pencils and markers for a very long time so i just decided out of the blue to try acrylics. Freshmen year I took drawing and painting and had the chance to use so many different mediums and brands so i knew what I wanted but painting is still so new to me. I was just browsing DA being nosey when I found this tutorial.

You've really helped me answer my questions on textures, retarder, varnish, flow aid and a few other things. You? A bad painter? Nah, your painting is gorgeous. ^^

Anyway thanx so much for taking time to make this! It really helped me out! 8D

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ChakotayDgryphon In reply to FlickaBee [2009-06-10 18:53:18 +0000 UTC]

Glad I could help!

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Alotika [2009-05-22 06:49:51 +0000 UTC]

Wewt! thanks so much for the tut! i got really interested in painting after i painted some wolfs in art class, so i got my own brushes and acrlic paints. this tut will totally help me!

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ChakotayDgryphon In reply to Alotika [2009-05-29 06:36:34 +0000 UTC]

I tried painting wolves once during my senior year in high school. It was with oils and the teacher insisted we had to use turpenoid instead of turpentine to clean our brushes. Well, the dark collors would never completely come out of the brush and all my whites suddenly turned brown 'n grey. I was so mad, I went 'n pulled out the brightest colors she had in the oil paint drawer and went all technicolor. As stupid as it looked, it was the first painting to be sold at an art fair later that summer. Weird huh?

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Alotika In reply to ChakotayDgryphon [2009-06-05 23:08:33 +0000 UTC]

haha, thats pretty nice.

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joel-hopwood In reply to ??? [2009-05-15 17:44:44 +0000 UTC]

Awesome tutorial. Definatly woth a

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ChakotayDgryphon In reply to joel-hopwood [2009-05-16 06:13:48 +0000 UTC]

Thanks...

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tatumhomicide [2009-05-08 23:00:39 +0000 UTC]

this was pretty helpful =]
thanks ^_^

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ChakotayDgryphon In reply to tatumhomicide [2009-05-14 06:30:37 +0000 UTC]

NP!

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WraithTen In reply to ??? [2009-04-28 16:55:06 +0000 UTC]

I have to commend you on this tutorial. Not only was it informative but it was fun to read. And yay for you not making all the expensive items sound so superior. I use craft paints as well and, dog-gone-it, sometimes they just have the *perfect* color and I don't see a problem with it!

Thank you for this, I never thought of using texturizers. I think I'll go to Dick Blick right now and get some.

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ChakotayDgryphon In reply to WraithTen [2009-04-29 17:53:21 +0000 UTC]

lol~ Thanks!

Yeah, my family's is far from rich or comfortably wealthy, and even though I'm always working— I work in retail, so I don't make a lot of money either, so I tend to have a poorgirl's, laid-back, lazy way of doing things. I think the artists you see that say, "Oh but you have to use 'such-n-such' brands and then to make them work you have to do this..." Those are the folks who don't blink twice about spending $50 on three tubes of paint and a paintbrush. (For most of us $50 would put gas in our cars, or feed us for a week 'n a 1/2 ) And you're right! Why go through the frustration of blending a certain color, when there's a pre-liquified version of it sitting in a bottle just waiting for you to take it home?

The texturizers are nice. A little pricey I admit, but well worth it, imo. I have a sand gel (works great on builds with bricks or cliffsides) and just a simple "fiber-flake" kind of of gell (works good on foliage.) Give'em a go! You won't be disappointed.

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zebrabuntbarsch [2009-03-16 13:52:43 +0000 UTC]

I'm going to paint my first picture on canvas with acrylic and don't know anything about it. But this was very helpful ad gave me an idea how it "works" xD

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ChakotayDgryphon In reply to zebrabuntbarsch [2009-03-18 05:06:04 +0000 UTC]

Glad I could "help."

You'll have to stop back and let me know how that 1st painting works out for you. Just remember to take your time, and don't get discouraged... everything'll look great in the end!

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zebrabuntbarsch In reply to ChakotayDgryphon [2009-03-18 19:32:47 +0000 UTC]

omg I started my painting xD *excited ;D* The background is already finished, I took a pic of it: [link]
Sorry, my cam ate the colors It's really fun, but I think the background was the easy part

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ChakotayDgryphon In reply to zebrabuntbarsch [2009-03-20 16:43:23 +0000 UTC]

*squees!* It's Aslan~

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zebrabuntbarsch In reply to ChakotayDgryphon [2009-03-22 10:32:10 +0000 UTC]

Aslan from Narnia ^0^? I love him xD

By the way, I finished the face (the quality is still bad!):
[link]

It took about 5 houres until I was content xD His mouth was so difficult, I repainted it again and again >_<

What do you think?

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ChakotayDgryphon In reply to zebrabuntbarsch [2009-04-07 05:05:37 +0000 UTC]

Aye! Aslan~

Look'n good indeed! Yeah, cat-muzzles can be a pain in the tush. They're difficult enough to draw let alone color them in via Prisma or paint. I think though your lion is coming along fairly well... 'specially for a 1st painting. Keep it up!

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zebrabuntbarsch In reply to ChakotayDgryphon [2009-05-09 09:50:51 +0000 UTC]

Aslan is finished
[link]
thanks for your tutorial and feedback!

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ChakotayDgryphon In reply to zebrabuntbarsch [2009-06-10 18:53:42 +0000 UTC]

Awesome-sauce!

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zebrabuntbarsch In reply to ChakotayDgryphon [2009-06-11 07:21:00 +0000 UTC]

thanks ^o^

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zebrabuntbarsch In reply to ChakotayDgryphon [2009-04-15 12:00:05 +0000 UTC]

oh thank you ^o^

okay Aslan is almost finished! I only have to do some places of the background ;D

[link]

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2peoplearehere [2009-03-05 02:58:27 +0000 UTC]

This is a really nice tutorial ;A; Thank you. It helped me a lot.

One thing I need help with, however, you didn't talk about and so I will ask you here- how do you blend colours so they don't look so out of place? I mean, how would you blend highlights so they're not so stark? .___.;;; Thank you~

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ChakotayDgryphon In reply to 2peoplearehere [2009-03-07 03:54:14 +0000 UTC]

Hmmm... I'm not quite sure I can answer your question without physically sitting next to you with a brush, palette, and piece of paper. It's one of those things you have to figure out how to do on your own. But I will give it my best shot...

I don’t have time tonight for a real painting demo, so I know this isn't a "real" canvas, but a Photoshop canvas will have to do. [link] <-- ( It’s safe to click, I promise )

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ColouredRain In reply to ??? [2009-03-01 00:43:13 +0000 UTC]

Oh my. Do you HAVE to use Gesso? I don't have any

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ChakotayDgryphon In reply to ColouredRain [2009-03-02 22:56:08 +0000 UTC]

Of course not. But your picture would look brighter, and your paints would work better if you did.

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ColouredRain In reply to ChakotayDgryphon [2009-03-03 00:19:13 +0000 UTC]

alright, thank you

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cyberdarkness In reply to ??? [2009-02-17 19:53:51 +0000 UTC]

this is really useful thankyou for posting this up
and your cat is cute

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ChakotayDgryphon In reply to cyberdarkness [2009-02-18 07:22:43 +0000 UTC]

You're welcome.

Oy, that cat is such a pest...

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NarutoxHinatafan [2009-01-24 18:42:03 +0000 UTC]

I have a question when you apply the Gesso it's okay to apply over the sketching?

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ChakotayDgryphon In reply to NarutoxHinatafan [2009-01-25 18:10:15 +0000 UTC]

Yes... You want to paint the gesso right over your line-art. That is why I advise using a good quality, bright red colored pencil. I know in this tutorial I used a black marker, but that's only because I knew I was going to do a painting with dark colors... Had I used a lighter palette with lots of whites and pastels, I wouldn't gotten away with it and all those horrible dark out-lines would've been visible behind the paint thus ruining any and all hard work/special effects. If you use the red pencil instead, your line-art will show up as a light pink underneathe the gesso, and that's much easier to hide than a thick black marker out-line.

Hope that made sense.

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NarutoxHinatafan In reply to ChakotayDgryphon [2009-01-25 18:52:28 +0000 UTC]

yes this makes perfect sense thank you soo much

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NarutoxHinatafan [2009-01-24 18:13:22 +0000 UTC]

amazing thus helps out a lot now I know my mistakes lol thanks sooo much XD also i love your painting it's looks soo cool

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LCAisling [2008-12-21 02:30:39 +0000 UTC]

So that's how you make the under drawing show... Thanks!

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CaffinatedAngst In reply to ??? [2008-12-14 19:11:05 +0000 UTC]

This is helpful thanks.

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abweichende In reply to ??? [2008-11-02 16:22:50 +0000 UTC]

I like how you explained everything, and the tone that you used through the whole tutorial was very helpful. You made me laugh in some areas, to be honest. I like the finished product, and I hope that when I get settled in to my new home that I can hopefully use this tutorial to successfully paint a pretty... painting. XD

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ChakotayDgryphon In reply to abweichende [2008-11-12 06:28:28 +0000 UTC]

Aww~ Thanks glad I could help.

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radu-jm In reply to ??? [2008-10-14 19:56:00 +0000 UTC]

Wow!
Stunning!
Thanks!

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Bonn-Fox [2008-10-01 09:15:58 +0000 UTC]

This is an awesome tutorial, so thorough! This is exactly what I've been looking for, thank you so much for taking the time to share your knowledge

Your gallery is lovely, you draw Sally and Sonic in such a unique style and I love how you colour fur! Keep it up!

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brambrubi [2008-08-20 06:05:56 +0000 UTC]

Thank you for the tutorial.

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Ishiko-wings In reply to ??? [2008-08-15 01:51:28 +0000 UTC]

Waaahhhhh!!!! So cool!!! Man If I would paint I would get a wrong in my first try >.>
I'm not a really careful person when it comes to hard to do stuffs....Like not overlaping on places where its not suppose to be...

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ChakotayDgryphon In reply to Ishiko-wings [2008-08-21 18:11:50 +0000 UTC]

I overlap all the time. It's one of those things that paint can do that colored pencils cannot. That's why I was taught to work from background to foreground. Try it. It actually works. Trust me.

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hannahestar [2008-08-01 01:25:35 +0000 UTC]

your cat looks just like my sister's cat!

[link]

AMAZING! (now I'm talking about the tutorial)

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ChakotayDgryphon In reply to hannahestar [2008-08-21 18:15:44 +0000 UTC]

*laughs*

He does! But I bet your sister's cat has more manners than mine. Danny (the cat- we named him after the cartoon "Danny Phantom" ) likes to walk across my stuff and get his little footie-prints all over my desk... and he also tries to sleep on my face at night.

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