Hidden WIP

[juliepeelart]

Here is a light study for the hidden prompt. Any thoughts? I am trying for two light sources, warm from the chest, and cool filtered light from the top. Any tips on lighting under water?

[Heather Boyd]

@juliepeelart I just watched part of the interview video with Nathan Fowkes and it was asked about the use of adding white which I found intriguing. Said white is like neutral grey, it gives a coldness to light so I thought it be perfect for that cool filtered light coming from the surface with that nice "brilliant contrast" and add more yellow or gold to the warmer light, Nathan Fowkes uses a cadmium yellow deep to get that warm light colour. Thanks @Jason-Bowen

Besides his great advice, I can't really help you at this point concerning light.

Heather B.

[juliepeelart]

@heather-boyd Thank you! I went and listened to that interview too. My experience with painting with acrylic has taught me that anytime you add white or black it will de-saturate the color and you will need to do a lot of back and forth to work the intensity back in, but I had never thought of straight white as being cool before. It makes sense!

[A Former User]

Really fun, I think the 2 light sources will be great! I think the tail is a little hard to read but maybe that will be worked out a little more later. Nice work, I can't wait to see how you handle the lighting

[juliepeelart]

Is there anything else I need to work on before I go to color? Composition? Lighting? Storytelling?

[Heather Boyd]

Only thing I noticed right away when I first looked was how close your mermaid/chest was to the surface of the water. Hidden treasure I would expect to find further down into the deep of the ocean or sea, but I'm not sure how you would alter that or even if you need to. If it's more geared towards children the possibility that something marvellously alluring like treasure is just under the surface and accessible to discover is a unique perspective that I like too.

Like to see your style play out in this work,

Heather B.