This was a straightforward challenge. Buy fish, stick ’em on a plate (decorative), use coloured pencils and draw them. Ok, down to Morrissons and back with a brace of sea bream.
I opted for a high perspective, as suggested and used derwent water soluble pencils on watercolour paper. The fish had a spiny fin on the top which I was able to extend to give it a more interesting shape. I did a quick sketch as a warm up to get a feel for the materials.
I could see potential stumbling blocks. The elipse of the plate and the multi coloured hues of the fish scales. I drew the outline of the plate first and then the fish themselves.
I gradually added the various colours of the skin then finished by completing the pattern on the plate.
Looking at the drawing now I can see flaws, particularly with the plate. The inner elipse is obviously incorrect and doesn’t line up when emerging from behind the fish on the left. I’m also not happy with the highlight and shadow on the fish themselves. The skin was much more reflective than this. I feel I could have achieved a better highlight using darker colours for the skin. The fish heads are reasonably successful. Overall I chose a very safe composition. With hindsight I should have completed more preliminary sketches to experiment more with the composition.
Bonesymac Art 