Claudia Sutton: Illustration

[PGraf]

Very cool stuffs in here.
Love your style.
The mouth does'nt work so much, i think it's due to the distorted alignment with the nose.

Congrats.
Pit.

[claudiasutton]

Thanks!

I'll see what I can do about that nose. It looks like an easy fix.

[claudiasutton]

Nyeira

A quick 45 minute sketch using Photoshop and a Wacom.

“Nyeira” - Painting Demo
Level: Intermediate
http://youtu.be/UT8xDKyrjFA

[claudiasutton]

Very cool stuffs in here.
Love your style.
The mouth does'nt work so much, i think it's due to the distorted alignment with the nose.

Congrats.
Pit.

I fixed Zelda's face. It's closer to the in-game model now.

[claudiasutton]

Barnabas Collins of Collinwood Manor

Dark Shadows: "Barnabas Collins of Collinwood Manor" - Painting Steps Video
Level: Advanced
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NE_sokU6Uvk


My Thoughts
When I first saw this contest notification in my inbox, I was ecstatic because now I had an excuse to paint Johnny Depp. Johnny looks absolutely amazing as Barnabas, and the hair, makeup, and costume design is just brilliant. Like all Tim Burton films, I’ll be at the theater bright and early on the first day because I’m excited to see it.

Not only that, but the fact that Tim Burton’s involved with the judging made me so incredibly happy. It would be quite the honor for him to view my work because I have admired him since I was very young. For me it’s a way to give back to a favorite creator and visionary that has inspired me throughout my life.

Inspiration
After I finished thoroughly reading over all the fine print, I already knew the direction I wanted to take. I was going to create the portrait as if I was thee portrait painter myself. That meant oil on canvas/panel, or at least the simulation of such. So I envisioned myself sitting down with Barnabas at his Manor as his own privately commissioned painter.

Recently I had the privilege of visiting The Haunted Mansion at Disney World, so I had the wonderfully eerie Victorian portraits still on the brain. I decided that it would be fitting to pay homage to young Master Gracey himself and pose Johnny in a similar way. Proud and tall, sitting with his left hand on his chest, but still a bit of a smug grumpy pants. The way that Johnny frowns is amusing; therefore I knew that part of his character had to be captured. I also drew inspiration from the Dutch Golden Age of painting, Rembrandt being my main influence. His beautiful self portrait “Portrait of Rembrandt with Gorget” had a similar color palette (depending on the photograph) as the film. So my painting reflected that and consisted of an array of pale desaturated greens and golds, complemented by vivid pops of red and deep navy blue. Like Rembrandt, I also wanted to render an affective chiaroscuro, not only because it's visual appealing but it's symbolic of Barnabas’ struggle with light and dark.

Technique
Painted in Photoshop with a Wacom in 18 hours over a 3 day period; all on one layer to help simulate real oil painting. I used the Standard Portrait Template (3125 x 2500), Fine Art brushes from my collection to create the texture and look of real paint, along with the grid method pioneered by Renaissances Masters to help keep proportions accurate. Without the use of a grid, this level of realism could not be achieved.

Cheers,
~Claudia

[chukw]

I very much like!

[claudiasutton]

Thank you!

[SeraphSword]

Lovely stuff Claudia. It's really interesting to see how your style has grown and evolved over the years.

[claudiasutton]

Oh wow! Thank you. I appreciate it.

[claudiasutton]

Haute Azul

Ferocious indeed. I plan on stealing her outfit. That would be fun. Painted in Photoshop in 5 hours.

“Haute Azul” - Painting Steps
Level: Intermediate
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSJ8by4vJ1s

[claudiasutton]

The Stranger Speaks - A promo piece personally commissioned for Robert "The Stranger" Dean.

This work is a symbolic reflection of Robert and the things most dear to him. Painted in Photoshop in 12 hours. Two pieces were created one with the "blindfold" and the other without, which he has in his possession and will show to the world if he sees fit.

Here's a link to my blog for the close-up:
http://claudiasutton.blogspot.com/2012/ ... peaks.html

[claudiasutton]

Hi everyone. XD