brown trout WIP

[fleming13]

I recently picked up my pens and pencils after a long drought. After a few pen drawings I decided to look for some color. That has led me to pick up the colored pencils again. I am doing this with the intention of doing some prints of the work. The background will be a net with black netting and stream rocks. I think this will get a good contrast with the bright yellows of the trout. C & C is fine and greatly appreciated. Good solid critique is so much better than "Oh, that looks great.":thumbsup: Although that is appreciated too.:lol:

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/28-Oct-2007/115204-colored_pencil_brown_edit.jpg


And here is the pic.

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/28-Oct-2007/115204-brown_1.jpg

No trout were harmed in the production of this artwork. C & R only. Thanks for looking.

[CRYork]

Sorry, I have to say it....that looks great! You did an especially good job on the hand. Nothing wrong with the trout, either, IMO. I'll let someone else, who might be better at "seeing" things, critique it.

Char

[Thom Byrd]

:thumbsup: excellent start...i will check back when you finish:wave:

[coffeecup12]

I love the subject. Fly fishing and all the things that go with it seem very relaxing and somehow elegant...in contrast to say, bass fishing with fast boats...if that makes sense. You're off to a great start. There's something about the lines in the hands though that don't look right. The ref is not exactly clear on the hand, and I do see the lines look like what you have drawn, but try looking at some other hands too. When I hold something in my hand in that position I see more of the lines that sort of wrap around the fleshy base of the thumb. Just a suggestion. I realize it's a wip. Great job!

[IRBABOON]

Great skin tones but I agree I think you need to deepen the fold where the thumb leads down to the wrist to make it more pronounced. The ref looks like the flash may have muted the contrasts in these folds.
Don't know anything about fish but the colours are nice in this one!

[ams]

I don't have any suggestions to make but I do like how this is coming along.

Anne

[Tazz]

Sorry to burst your bubble but...Oh that looks Great. :lol: The dark BG really will make him jump out. Look forward to seeing that.

[sandyzebra]

well darn...it looks great to me....I have a fascination for fish...trout...and hopefully one day to try painting one.

sandyzebra

[sati]

I know nothing about fish except that they are good to eat! This looks like a fun piece, nice composition. The dark background will really make it pop. It's great to see some different subject matter. I'll be watching for the finish on this one.

:clap:

Linda

[wet]

Too early for a helpful critique but I like what you have so far. Wanda

[Firehorse_Australia]

fantastic, the rich colours are really bringing the trout to life.
Just a quick note, the line from the palm to the thumb is too deep and too high on the thumb, making the thumb look distorted. If you lower it, it will "lengthen" the thumb and make it more realistic.
(just my 2c anyway!)

[mahla]

Gosh, after all the fish stories I've been told over the years, never thought I'd say . . . the fish looks *bigger* in the ref photo - but I'm guessing it's because the stomach/lower portion is yet to be defined.

So glad you've come back to cp's - and you chose WC to post! - this is a terrific group of people. It'll be great to see and learn from your work. BTW, what paper are you using?

HollyA

[fleming13]

Thanks for all the comments. I do believe I am going to do some work on the hand/thumb area. I will probably try to define some of it more and tone down other parts of it. The drawing is in a basic pro art sketchbook and Prismacolor premier pencils. It is 11 x 14. I am a truck driver by trade so the portability is key. It has to fit into my duffel bag. I am going fishing tommorrow and hope to get some pics for more subject matter:) . Hope to work on this some latter in the week. Will post pics when I do.

[fleming13]

Got a little time to work on it this afternoon. Reworked the hand a bit. Thanks for the C & C, keep it coming. Worked on the color of the trout some. Put down a base color for the light spots in the background. Hopefully I will get more time this weekend or early next week.

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/31-Oct-2007/115204-brown_cp_edit.jpg

[fleming13]

I got to do a some more work on it today and this evening. I feel like it is coming along nicely. Again any C & C is appreciated. Hopefully I will get this one wrapped up this weekend or early next week. Thanks for looking.

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/02-Nov-2007/115204-brown_cp_edit_2.jpg

[fleming13]

Well, I believe this is it. At least until I look at it in the morning and want to work something out:rolleyes: . I posted a couple of close ups too. As always, C & C appreciated. Thanks for looking.

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/03-Nov-2007/115204-brown_cp_final.jpg

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/03-Nov-2007/115204-brown_crop_1.jpg

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/03-Nov-2007/115204-brown_crop_2.jpg

[herpworks]

Sorry I missed this until now! The improvements are great, but I'd beef up the greens in the fish. That's a nice looking trout. If you are comfortable with the burnishing technique I'd do some of that too to give that smooth look to the skin. Fantastic work though and great subject matter! thanks for sharing.

[home4art]

What a wonderful drawing! I really like the subject matter,composition, and the way you handle cp. This drawing has a well thought out color scheme and use of color. I think it looks great:) Thanks for sharing!
Ann

[fleming13]

Lori, what "burnishing" tech are you refering to. I have been out of the cp for a long, long time. I am not as technically proficient as I would like. I have used stomps to blend the colors and white cp to blend/smooth the skin and give the water a reflective quality. I always like to learn new techniques. Thanks for the C & C.:thumbsup:

[coffeecup12]

This is really great now! The hand is much better. You have made the fish, the water and the net work together so well. I especially like where the tail goes into the water...maybe darken the tail just a bit more as it goes deeper in the water. Love it!

[GoldenArt]

I will start with the standard ,this looks great. You work and attention to detail on this is paying off. I got to this one late, but one thing did catch my eye. I will list this but keep in mind that no one else saw this as a problem so it may be not worthy of mention. When I looked at the first progress image I thought the sleeve needed to be higher on the top. It looks as if the arm is being bent as it is holding the trout. Is the picture being taken by the person holding the fish? That is the feel I get,which is alittle distracting. When looking at the fish as I look down the arm it allows me to be pulled out of the picture, you look and decide. I don't want this statement to take anything away from the GREAT work on this one. Rick

[herpworks]

I'm sure there are lots of tutorials on burnishing that others could direct you to on this site. Most cp books also include this technique in their content.

Basically it is using a light colored pencil over top of all the others to blend and smooth them. The choice of color will vary depending on the image. In this case, a very light blue or blue grey would give that "wet" look to the skin that is reflecting the sky above. You need to press relatively hard to acomplish the desired effect. It is most often used on shiny or wet things or things that you want to appear very smooth.

I was scared to try it when I first started out because of the "pressing hard" factor - was scared of ruining my work. Believe me though, it really helps and you can even add more color on top afterwards.

[fleming13]

Thanks Lori, I have been doing some of that with a white cp. Did more today with a peach cp on the hand. You can see some of the burnishing in the water reflections. Nothing is ever really finished huh. Got some C & C in wildlife to work the hand some more so here it is again. made a few more additions too. Its all about the detail now so too much to really get into. I probably just need to stop while I am ahead:cool: .

http://www.wetcanvas.com/Community/images/05-Nov-2007/115204-brown_cp_final_edit_2.jpg

[taffy]

This is coming along terrificaly ( i cant spell) Fish looks real, and the hand is very good ( hands are hard to do correctly, I know!!) looking forward to the background.
Brian

[taffy]

WOW, I blinked and there it was.
Brian:clap:

[Tazz]

Beautiful job Fleming. That BG really made him POP. The last bit of detail was well worth the effort. Again, beautifully done. Great job on that net too by the way...

[TessDB]

This is looking great!

Are you calling it done?

Tess

[fleming13]

Yeah, game over:) . I think right now is the stop before you screw it up point of no return:lol: . Thanks for all the C & C, it is a better piece because of it. I think I am feeling the pull of my pens. They are calling me. The next piece will probably be ink, if I can get this idea from my head to the paper! But I will be back.