RoCueto on DeviantArthttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/https://www.deviantart.com/rocueto/art/Mermaid-253354131RoCueto

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Mermaid

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Description

As far as I know this is the first time I've painted a mermaid :)

I went for a more royal approach than the usual tribal nipple-shells or the vampire mermaids of On Stranger Tides. After all, the sea is cold as hell and I would't go there without a jacket :p
Image size
1748x1181px 1.25 MB
Comments6
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KRMayer's avatar
I appretiate the strong delineation between foreground/middleground/background, and the simple, direct color pallete that pushes the viewer to the point of focus. You're stylization is pretty cool, and your work is very clean. I like that you have some texture, but that's an element that could really be pushed.
where I start to have problems is with your attention to value in relation to depth, and use of rendering to describe form, and variety of composition. I'd like to direct your attention to these artists in reference: [link] [link] [link] as they use many of the same elements you do.
value in relation to depth: you do use some atmospheric perspective in your work, but push those same exaggerations into the figure, such as adding blue into her tail, and lighten it so that her torso and face come forward against it.
Use of rendering to describe form: Your strokes could be used to really push the volume of your entire figure (similar to what's happening in the hat feather), or do away with them entirely and go flatter/more graphic. Here's an excellent discussion in the use of brush stroke: [link] (also, Also, your rendering is too soft, and needs hard edges where there the subject is closer to the audience and where there is a cast shadow.)
composition: all of your subjects are mostly centered, don't interact with the border, and feel somewhat cramped in their space. This site fully explains composition better than I could here: [link]
You've got fun ideas for character, and that's really the important thing. No one can teach you how to do that.