I have missed a lot creating traditional drawings, especially working with pencils. Back in high school and college, I used to draw a lot with them and experiment with ink and colored pencils, and wax crayons. I had some free time and beautiful models (my goldfishes were there!). So it was the obvious call.
Having pet fishes, you soon realize that they… well, relieve themselves a lot. And also that they have no control over eating. They try to eat anything, anytime: sand, plants, the glass walls, and even their friend’s fins. So the inevitable thing happens, and sometimes they end up eating the poo from the others 🤦🏻♀️.
At first, it worried me a little, but since they are healthy, now I usually joke about it. 😅
Of course, if I was going to draw them, I needed to add some references about the poo! So I did the speech bubbles, and I loved them at the moment. For me, it is completely hilarious to see a pretty realistic fish and then a cartoon bubble with that sassy and out-of-context sentence. It still makes me laugh!
It was awesome to work with pencils again. Pencils are fantastic because they can be very easy or very challenging, depending on the style you choose to make. If you want something realist with many details, they are perfect but prepare yourself. It isn’t just the balance of lights and shadows; it is also trying to create a good range of shade gradients. Here, there is more work than it seems, but I enjoyed it a lot. I use two kinds of mechanical pencils, a 4H pencil, a 4B pencil, a small blending stump, and an eraser. The paper is Canson for watercolors; I love the texture of this paper, not just for watercolors. It also gives the graphite smudges an attractive roughness.
It took me several days to finish the drawings. I had a great time and am happy with the results, though!
I hope you enjoy it!
Beaconpancakes 