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Better late than never.....and another Siamese Fighting Fish

11/23/2016

5 Comments

 
Well hello my friends. It has been a long time. I am so sorry, l have been so behind with things lately, but here l am making it up to you with a sneak preview of my latest piece. I won't even be posting these photos to Instagram until next week. And yes, it is another Fighting Fish. It was always my intention to draw a pair of these, but l keep choosing ones that don't really match! So you can be sure that there will be another before too long.
Strangely though, l have to tell you that this is the hardest piece l have worked on. I just couldn't untangle all the detail and make sense of it. Several times it nearly got consigned to a spot behind the cupboard of no return! But when you have spent so many hours working on a piece (the first shot is two days work), there is a grim determination that sets in, so despite my eyes straining and feeling so horribly frustrated l made myself plough on.
Worse still l really wasn't that happy with it at the stages you see below. It has taken me a long time to start to understand that l mustn't let the negative feelings that often come with the early stages of a piece stop me from completing it. It is quite normal, especially with coloured pencil, for work to look flat, dull or even downright scribble early on.
Picture
Below there is the start of another fin going in and l felt a bit better. By now l could see that the colors would look good, but untangling the reference photo was still a problem and turned out to be so throughout the entire piece. The fins cross, go under and over as well as all the shapes that they make. It can feel a bit overwhelming. If l find myself starting to feel that way l break it down into even smaller sections than normal. Concentrating on one teeny, tiny section at a time makes it feel much more manageable.
Picture of a Siamese Fighting Fish, Betta fish drawn using colored pencils. Blue and yellow fish drawing.
I guess that would be my tip for any piece. If you are struggling, break it down, work on a smaller area, if you are still struggling, go smaller still. It doesn't matter, each tiny piece eventually makes a complete picture. And l am so happy that l kept going with this piece because in the end l am pretty pleased with it. It should be available to order from my shop later this week, so do watch out for it.
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  • Home
  • Shop
  • Original Artwork page 1
    • Original artwork page 2
    • Original artwork page 3
    • Original Artwork page 4
    • Original artwork page 5
    • Original artwork page 6
    • Original artwork page 7
    • None animal art >
      • Broken Gem heart
  • Videos
  • Tutorials
    • Layering Tutorial
    • How to draw a Monarch Butterfly Wing
    • How to draw cat's eyes
    • How to draw owl eyes
    • How to draw feathers 1 (hummingbird/Jacamar type feathers)
    • How to draw feathers 2 (irregular feathers)
    • How to draw feathers 4 - parrot feathers
    • How to draw feathers 3 chest/breast feathers
    • How to draw feathers 5 - Wing feathers
    • Hummingbird Head Feathers
    • How to draw cat fur
    • How to draw chimpanzee fur
    • How to draw a grasshopper’s wing
    • How to draw fish scales
    • How to draw snake scales
    • How to draw lizard skin
    • How to draw fish fins
    • How to draw a gemstone
    • How to draw tree bark
    • How to draw rose gold
  • Tips and Techniques
    • How to get white
    • What pencils should I use?
    • All about sharpeners?
    • How to blend with colored pencil
    • How to burnish
    • Erasing colored pencil
    • How to mix colors
    • Keeping your work clean
    • Reference photos and copyright
    • What to draw
    • How to make your work look real
    • I can't draw
    • What paper should l use?
  • Blog
  • Contact