Sketchbook Vorgus: Hypnotic Octopus near Arch

My plan is to do three different pieces with the theme of a hypnotic octopus under the water. Here's the second one - mesmerizing fish on the ocean floor near some rocky arches. I had a lot of fun with this one and it's a deal more complex than the previous. Though it was more complex I was able to complete it a bit faster than the first. The overall process was very similar as well.

The initial idea was scribbled and thumbnailed at an exceptionally small size. I knew I want some kind of underwater arch in the background.

Gathering reference is always important. I found a picture with some fish I wanted to recreate and a great picture of an underwater arch. The reference photo also showed underwater foliage and I decided that was something I wanted to put into my work as well.

I did a layout sketch in a couple of phases. Got to start rough and then refine and refine!

I wanted to figure out a rough idea of what colours to use so I did a colour test. The final piece's colours are still different from this, but I used it to help inform my choices and work through some thoughts. My wife also helped me pick colours for the final piece as she's much better at that than me!

Here is the final piece!

There we go! That was my process. I learned some more this time around and I was able to speed it up a bit. I ended up spending way more time on the colour testing, but as this piece was more complex than the last that is understandable. One more in the series to do. Thanks for looking!

If you're interested in a poster print of the above piece check out the link below, thanks!