Some fish art

[Tifftastic]

I wanted to share a couple of my latest art projects. They are fish related and I was hoping to get some opinions from some people who actually know fish, since most of my friends don't.

The clowns are my first attempt at colored pencil since one drawing of a bottle I did in high school art class. They are still a work in progress, as you can tell the val is not finished at all.

The pleco is more recent. I did it in about three nights work and it was much easier to finish since most of it is in pencil.

Anyway, thanks for looking. I hope you enjoy and all comments, advice or critiques are welcome and appreciated.

PS: I am sorry for the bad scan quality.

[froglover007]

That is beautiful. I wish I could draw that good.

[Tifftastic]

Well thank you. Trust me it has taken me many years to make it look this good.

You should see some of my drawings from when I was 13, those are pretty good for a laugh.

[froglover007]

i have done a couple of basic line drawings of aros and knifefish but nothing that great. I kind of suck at using color.

[PuppyFluffer]

Sweet! I like it a great deal.

[jpappy789]

blows my drawing out of the water...ha...ha...

[froglover007]

i have done a couplle of basic line drawings of aros and other "monster" fish but nothing all that great. I suck at using color.

[froglover007]

oh oops. double post.

[Tifftastic]

blows my drawing out of the water...ha...ha...

Haha great pun.

Thanks PuppyFluffer! :)

Froglover, the hard part about color, especially pencils is that you have to layer everything. You have to know exactly where your light spots are going to be. I do the whole thing in the lightest color I want then add the next and blend (burnishing) with a white or cream color (depending on the affect intended) by adding a varying amount of pressure. Then in the same process add the nest and the next. It took me at least four hours per loach and they are only about three inches long. A great and easy and fun color medium to start with is watercolor paints, not the cheesy kids ones but actual ones from an art store. I love them. They blend really well are easy to layer and you can almost erase them by adding a lot of water to the spot and painting it away :D Colored pencil doesnt erase, which makes it a big pain :(

[froglover007]

I love water color but they are not very detailed unless you REALLY know how to use them. :) I do lots of landscapes and stuff with watercolor though

[Tifftastic]

I love watercolor, acrylics I hate (except for abstracts). I am horrible with oils.

My favorite is chalk pastels, although I usually get it all over my hands and therefore my face. Colored pencils are getting up there although they take a really long time.

[cam191919]

man those clowns look too good! whenever i draw it just comes to me, like once i drew a giraffe cus i was bored and it looked perfect, and the next time i tried it looked like a messed up cow

[Tifftastic]

Thanks cam.

I tried to draw a giraffe once. . . it was a mistake.

[bluekrissyspike]

looks pretty good!! i've done a few different fishy pics in pencil crayon as well. i have a totally different technic than you do though. yours really pop while mine are much softer. both styles are equally cool though. i also do a lot of acrylic work, mostly spiritual like buddah, ect and tattoo style stuff. my favorite medium is skin though. (: i am curious why you hate acrylics. i find them so versitile. i can use them straight from the tube and they work similar to oils(but without the stench and never ending drying times), water them down to use them as watercolours or anywhere inbetween to get different effects.
anyways, your works quite good. keep practicing and soon you will start to be able to work faster

[Tifftastic]

Thanks!

Tattooing is what I really want to do! I have been trying to work a little more to build up a nice portfolio and maybe get an apprenticeship.

I think that maybe the quality of the paints I was working with was the issue or maybe I need to practice a little more. When I get them right I get them I like it, it seems to me to be a lot of work. While the fast dry times are nice compared to oils, sometimes I get frustrated that they dry so quick before I can blend it. Its been one I want to work with again though. I think for me my favorite will always be graphite and chalk pastels. I love those.

[Arturo]

Very nice art wrok. :thm:

[bluekrissyspike]

Thanks!

Tattooing is what I really want to do! I have been trying to work a little more to build up a nice portfolio and maybe get an apprenticeship.

I think that maybe the quality of the paints I was working with was the issue or maybe I need to practice a little more. When I get them right I get them I like it, it seems to me to be a lot of work. While the fast dry times are nice compared to oils, sometimes I get frustrated that they dry so quick before I can blend it. Its been one I want to work with again though. I think for me my favorite will always be graphite and chalk pastels. I love those.





i know what you mean about the blending. i usually do a base coat to get the over all colour i want, then i put two blobs of paint close together to mix the shades i want before applying them. you can also water down a color so it's just a wash to make it look like it's perfectly blended when it's really on top.:naughty: you can also buy a clear acrylic base to mix with your colours that keeps them wet longer.
if you want to get into tattooing and you are in the US you will probably need to go to art school first. if you are lucky, you will live somewhere you can actually access a tattoo school. that's what i've wanted to do but i live in canada, so i've just been apprenticing for free part time and doing some work on my own on the side for now. we have different laws here though. in the states it's illegal to do tattoos without a liscence i think so be careful how you get started, and good luck. you certainly seem to have an eye for asthetics.

[Tifftastic]

Well thank you! I appreciate the compliment. Ya, I was definitely going to find out what I need to do to be legally able to drill pictures into peoples flesh.