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meteor-echo — beneath the surface
Published: 2009-10-12 14:30:13 +0000 UTC; Views: 1952; Favourites: 61; Downloads: 38
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Description
Finally, it's done. This piece was an experimental one, myself trying to draw a decent aquascape with only a pencil and an eraser. Also, I tried to give it as much smoothness as possible (not on the top though...I got a wee bit tired and used my common crosshatching).I really love manta rays...they are one of the most beautiful creatures in the whole world, in my opinion. Having about 7 m in "wingspan" (23 ft) , they truly are gentle giants, feeding on plankton and shrimp only and being very curious around humans. They even allow divers to touch themselves, something that no other shark species would do. Also, they're the smartest of all the cartilage-spine fish ^___^
The mermaids here were kinna inspired by Blue Submarine #6 (remember the shark creatures?).
This drawing is for my sweetheart's mother ^^
Hope you like it, Mrs. Whales
P.S. I used a photo ref from Wikipedia to draw the mantas. There was a gorgeous pic in the article, and I (yeah, yeah, copying >.> ) tried to make my picture close to the photo... I changed the position of the source of light though. Also, I didn't use any refs for the girl at all. Not even any for the body angle. Lol, I hope I haven't drawn her TOTALLY wrong <_>'
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Comments: 32
There's this profound sense of dignity and wonder coming from this picture, like a nonnegotiable order that is apparent in every part of this water-scape.
It reminds me of the deep connection between man and nature, and how beautiful and fulfilling that spiritual bond is. The mermaid in the picture has a feeling of purpose about her, like where she is is the most natural place she can be. Her posture is proactive and strong. She knows that where she is she can live freely and in a place where she truly belongs.
The shading of the water background itself is so smooth, but varied in tone, that it suggests water's actual feel, which is something that envelops and shelters those who explore its depths. And extremely steady and skilled hand must have created this background, which has no stray mark or harsh tone. With the varying shades of blue the water looks not like a wall in the picture, but like it extends forever in every direction. It gives the artwork this rare feeling of quietness...something that muffles all sound and slows every action.
It was also a fantastic idea to forgo outlining darkly some of the manta rays that are drawn closer to the surface. This gives the impression of a soft light shining into the deep water without actually showing any harsh shadows or rays of sunlight. It heightens the sense of belonging and tranquility in the picture because it softens the image. The same goes for the white outlines around the mermaids and manta rays. Not only do they stick out, but they almost glow in the water, and the gentleness of the scene is not lost. The outlines were kept from becoming too bright, which would have been overbearing and disappointing.
The shading on the mermaid closest to the viewer is shaded with such control and technique. The subtle shading around the mermaid's pelvis area and below is astounding in its accuracy and realism. It's hard to believe that one person is capable of utilizing a pencil to this effect. The concise shadow cutting along the middle of the mermaid's tail end gives the impression of a bright light from above, but it also gives the mermaid's tale form and texture. We can see the transition from the soft area of the stomach where the tail begins, to the progressively solid form of the "skin" on the tail. The viewer of this artwork can get an excellent sense of different textures just by looking at any part of the picture. What's also impressive is the shading of the fins on the mermaid...and it's hard to imagine that something so delicately executed was done by a human hand.
Light shining on the surface of the water is cleverly rendered with the soft strokes of an eraser. The viewer can definitely get a sense of setting and time just through this detail.
The mermaid's design is really imaginative. There's a fair balance between the aquatic nature and the human aspect of her design. The markings along the ribs accentuate the mermaid's slim figure and are an interesting addition. The fins almost look like fairy wings. They add a bit of mysticism to the mermaid's design, and make me wonder about them even though I've been overexposed mermaids thanks to their prevalence in popular culture.
The mermaid's pose is definitely a difficult one to execute, but it was handled wonderfully and accurately. It expertly gives the impression of upward motion, and shows off the mermaid design beautifully. The pose doesn't look awkward at all, and will remain an impressive demonstration of the artist's skill even when it grows older as new art is submitted.
The manta rays look like giant, silent protectors of the water. Even with their odd forms they look elegant, intelligent, and proud. Their arrangement is very good, but their presence isn't really commanding. Something of it was lost with the arrangement... With the other mermaids in the background, their placement elsewhere in the picture may have added an extra sense of community between the subjects of this picture as well as another layer of beauty and skill.
Above all, this image is expertly drawn and shaded, and the technique is very impressive.
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I probably can't see anything about this that hasn't already been said, but this is a really great piece! I love your shading, and just like the critique says, you did a good job in achieving a sense of depth with the water and not just a big blue wall. 
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Thank you!
I don't think it's one of my best works, but I'm glad that you like it (and that I didn't fail when I tried to create depth in the water)!
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Stunning! You did a great job^^ Did you know also that the manta ray is the worlds fastest animal? They swim at 80mph. They are amazing
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*_____* I didn't know that... thank you for telling ^^ I've never seen one alive, but a friend of mine got to feed them from hands. Wish I was that lucky ^^
Actually, I don't like this drawing that much...it kind of like lacks dimension. You know, sometimes, when you squint and look at a drawing, it feels like a 3D picture. Sadly, this one doesn't ;___;
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Dont beat yourself up, the drawing is stunning and is better than anything I could ever do. The shading and testure is fantastic so do not class this drawing as a failure. In my opinion the dimension is fine, so dont feel bad
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GAH, never say you won't be able to do anything like that, ok? Here's the drawing which I did back in 2004, i look at it and cringe: [link] There's always such thing as progress, besides, I'm totally not a pro. Animals and architecture kill me dead >.<
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How can you say that 2004 drawing is bad? Its fantastic! Dont deny your talent! True though, there is always such a thing as progress, keep up the great work
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D: the facial traits are all offline >.< It looks horrid and there's a whole bunch of anatomy mistakes >.< Sigh...
Thank you ^^
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You're very welcome^^ your wrok is fantastic
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That is really beautiful. I really love the mermaids, and how the fins work. Everything seems so graceful!
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Waaahhhh, thank you ^^ I tried being more-or-less anatomically thoughtful. Idk, I don't like mermaids who can bend their tails as if there are joints in those. That just doesn't feel right. So the body of this creature can't flex that well, but it's supposed to be very fast and forceful ^^
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lovely work, my only suggestion is making the view size smaller. It's hard to see the whole image :/
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Uhmmmmm...it's kinna mentally hard for me to cripple my own art and make it smaller. I'm already resizing the original scan from 100 to 60% ^^'
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Holy crap XD
well if you leave it available for download, people can click that to see the full image, that's all I'm saying.
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oh ^^ Well, some of the ppl who watch me have limited Internet connections. They wouldn't approve having the same thing uploaded twice ^^'
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you don't have to upload it twice. you go to the deviation, and on the left hand side, where you would add it to your favourites there's a button that says "edit" when you click that, underneath the image there's where you change the image size
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I know. I mean, those who have limited bandwidth would have to waste their time and the bandwidth, in order to DL the picture. and the way it is, they just save this one and it's fullview already :3
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Я почеуто на сразу субмарину и подумал =^_^=. Молодец.
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Пасиба
Вдохновилась Субмариной №6... помнишь, там были полуженщины, полуакулы ^^'
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This is lovely. I love the composition and the angle of it all. Make me feel as if I'm right there with them.
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yayyy, mission accomplished :3
I loved the angle of the photo it was based on...so I kept it. Besides, drawing water from under the surface was a nice practice. Just like grawing space with a pencil
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I like most things in the ocean.
Mantas are awesome. All they need is bioluminescence.
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HELL YES.
Lol, you reminded me of some BBC movie (I think, it was about the animals that could possibly live in future), where there was a species of bioluminescent giant squid. It shined with all colors of the rainbow... if mantas were like that, I'd totally move to a place where they come for spawning. Florida, maybe? :3
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