Artist Interview with Jasmine Carter (Corvushound)
Artist Interview with Jasmine Carter (Corvushound) | Art-Res
Introducing Jasmine Carter, also known as Corvushound! She is an incredible artist that specializes in beautiful animal art.
Before we start, check out Jasmine on Instagram, DeviantArt, and Twitter because she’s amazing!
Hey Jasmine! It’s incredibly great to have you! Please introduce yourself!
Hey! Thank you very much for the inviting me for this interview. My name is Jasmine Carter, otherwise known as Corvushound/Corvus_Hound online. I am a digital and traditional artist with a focus on Animals and fantasy creatures.
A post shared by Jasmine C (@corvus_hound)
Your username sounds awesome, can you tell us about the story on that?
My username was inspired by my love of birds, especially corvids, and because Corvus is a constellation. I’ll be honest the “Hound” part was picked because I thought it sounded nice together.
I think a good part of growing a social media presence is luck. And the other part is understanding how each platform functions. I keep in mind the best times to post and hashtags a lot more than I did in the past. It pays to have a schedule and some consistency with time and genre.
A post shared by Jasmine C (@corvus_hound)
When did you start making art? What does art offer you?
I’ve been drawing ever since I could hold a crayon. Art has been such an important part of my life, and being an artist was always what I wanted to do as a kid. Not much beats being able to create something that you can share with other people and I can hardly imagine doing anything else. I love that I can depict ideas in my head and I’m always getting inspired by stories and life.
My current setup for digital work is a Wacom Cintiq and Photoshop CC.
My brushes come from many artists yet my favorites are from Aaron Blaise, Devin Elle Kurtz, and Greg Rutkowski. My go to three are a chalk brush, textured round, and angled pastel. Textured brushes are my favorite because they help give digital work a more realistic feel and look.
For traditional art I mainly use Windsor and Newton Watercolor, Dr. Ph. Martin concentrated watercolor, and Higgins Eternal calligraphy ink. My favorite brushes are Pentel Aquash because they’re so convenient to use. The Pentel also work great with ink, I have one filled with pure ink and another half water half ink.
Editors note: Here are links to these artists’ brush stores
Aaron Blaise
Devin Elle Kurtz
Greg Rutowski
Before I start a new piece I gather necessary references and try to get a clear idea of what I want the image to convey. Having a solid foundation makes every step easier. Sometimes I’ll sketch super rough ideas on paper before going to photoshop.
I like to establish my values and colors early on. I don’t remember where I picked this up, but I have a Grayscale Filter hot keyed so I can easily check if my values are reading well. It helps me to have the Navigator window up, which lets you see your image as a thumbnail.
I always get an initial sketch down and make a flat base that I can lock the opacity of and clip additional layers to. Layer styles are super helpful for lighting, especially Multiply and Soft Light. My line art skills are nonexistent so as I paint I keep lowering the sketch Layer and paint over it. Often towards the end of a painting I will flatten everything and paint over it all.
A post shared by Jasmine C (@corvus_hound)
Your final pieces look amazing! Do you have a few personal favorites? (& you can talk about back story to hype up these pieces!)
One of my personal favorite paintings is TigerLily, not only because I’m proud of the end result but because I learnt a lot while painting it. Back in 2018 I posted an unfinished photo of the tiger and left it since it was better to move on than to keep trying to fix it and only muddle things further. Jump over into 2019 and I decided to restart the painting and I received a lot of kind feedback after it was finished, including a Daily deviation on Deviantart. I think it can help to step away and come back to an idea or piece later with fresh eyes. And to make peace with the fact that maybe not every painting will work out when you want, or at all. It always pays to be able to adapt.
Editor’s Note: also see this DeviantArt link
Another current favorite is my buckskin Pegasus piece. I’ve been playing around with Pegasus designs for a long time now. Creature design is always fun to think about and I enjoy studying the muscles so I can learn how to exaggerate them. I’ve been lucky enough to grow up around equines and they were my first subject that I focused on as a little kid doing art.
Your gallery is full of beautiful animals, what would you say are some of your favorite animals?
Barn Owls and Great Horned owls are some of my favorite birds and I love painting them. Studying and drawing birds has helped me a lot in my art journey because they’re all so varied. I also have a soft spot for tigers, along with other big cats, and horses.
What are some things outside if art that bring you joy?
When I’m not focused on art I love to spend time outside. I’m fortunate enough to have my own horse and I’ve learned invaluable lessons from horsemanship. Horses are really a reflection of how you act so it teaches you to be aware of yourself. I also love gardening, sewing crafts or costumes for our pets, writing for fun, and watching shows or reading. Audiobooks are perfect to have on in the background while painting.
#### Thank you for your time! This has been such a great interview. What advice would you give to other artists?
My advice to any artist is to stay observant in your everyday life for inspiration. And to create types of art that you truly enjoy because people can tell when an artist is passionate about a subject. It’s also important to give yourself enough time to recharge between working or you can easily burn yourself out. Give yourself time off and the ability to make mistakes because it’s not worth it in the long run to be a perfectionist. And overall it’s always better to work smarter than harder.
