Living Underwater - May prompt: let's share our WIPs and inspiration

[Fey Realme]

@reberlik oh bro we watch that movie every single Sunday (unless we watch the home teachers, which is more of a niche movie). Thanks for the encouragement and kind words, i think more in words so it works a lot better for me to have an idea what is going on behind the picture. I thought it was cool they picked up on the dressed up dog griffin— must be an alright idea. I still feel like the cover i made for the march submission is the best angle i could find for the story that goes behind it, but i am going to redo the drawing on the kids book cover so it looks like he drew it (drawing like a kid is daunting and so hard! They are so confident!) i am submitting for the april prompt actually, i posted my wip earlier today. I really do tend to bite off a lot, but i do try to find the simplest execution and least complicated approach… im still learning a lot about myself and how I work, which is why i really like to participate in these (especially since i could get feedback! That has been so encouraging!)

And i think i am going the mermaid book cover route, ive had a sort of story motivation bouncing around, and it started coming together just now. Ive just been watching movies with my baby all day (while you were sleeping, princess and the frog, pepa pig) and something about the plots sort of aligned and i might have most of a story to fuel the book cover idea.

About your question, im not sure which would be more interesting. Im not sure how you would do either of them honestly, i don't really illustrate concepts and sayings. I mostly try to spell out exactly what happening in an image an why for myself before i start drawing… cuz otherwise i cant start

[kayleenartlover]

I just realized, this prompt could also work for MerMay if you want to do that this year haha

[Fey Realme]

Hey yall! Are you starting to come out of hibernation from last month’s prompt yet?
I’ve been using the prompt fatigue to actually make a bit of progress on a personal narrative project—since that story is already thought through i can use different brain muscles to iron out problems and stuff and give the tired story brains a break.
What do you do in-between prompts?

Another great hibernation brain thing to do is look at Pinterest! Its funny bc the more images you see on prompt before starting yourself, the better your prompt piece will be! So hibernation brain can actually be a superpower!
Here are some interesting images I found on Pinterest by searching “living underwater”

I love the picture of the statue face underwater. I just imagined him as the main character in a story about living underwater, and how the fish and plants and life go on around him and he just sits there all day every day. What sort of story could come from there? Also looking at the images on pinterest i saw how the image was really directed by the character and what their problems would be in their underwater world.

What character is your baby right now? What problems would they have if they were living underwater? Would they be able to solve those problems?

Id love to see what you all are finding on pinterest and hear what ideas or characters are licking around in your heads!! Im excited for another great month of prompt hangout time here in the forum!

[Larue]

@R-Fey-Realme
Nice pins, thanks for the inspiration!

[Joshua Chennault]

I've got an initial sketch of an idea kicking around. Figured I could do a double whammy, and get something for SVS and the MerMay art challenge.

Whenever a prompt comes up that I really like, I tend to jump into a lot of world building and story. Doing so gives me a lot of motivation to take a piece through full illustration. Been working on a whole document for this one, going so far as to work on the culture, society, and tool materials for these Merfolk. Might share bits in my own sketchbook eventually.

I like the idea sketch so far. Will dive into proper character design next, before taking the sketch further. Anyway, feel like I've rambled enough, but we'll see if I can pull this off. These interesting perspective shots I've been crafting recently are tough.

[skeletortoise]

Hi all! Looking forward to getting back into things for this month's prompt!

I have been into drawing books and bookstores recently and I was wondering how I might incorporate it into my illo for this month. First, I though "underwater bookstore?" Or maybe the ruins of a bookstore found under water?

Then I was drawing a boat and suddenly I thought "bookstore on a boat!" Mermaids could come to the surface to read since they can't really get books underwater where they live. I hope this still feels like it fits the prompt. In my mind, the mermaids live underwater so they need this resource for when they want to chill and read some books.

I also learned that there is a real boat bookstore in London and now I want to go!

https://secretldn.com/word-on-the-water-bookshop/

Here are some other images that I'm saving over on Pinterest:

[jenn]

@skeletortoise I like the 'bookstore on a boat for mermaids' idea. That sounds like it has potential!

[jenn]

@Joshua-Chennault I like the cropped-in view and the way you were able to express a moment of tension through details. The shapes and linework already show the flow of the water.

[jenn]

@R-Fey-Realme thanks for sharing your pins!

[Fey Realme]

@Joshua-Chennault and @skeletortoise thanks for sharing what you're working on! Its super inspiring to see. Im still struggling with the prompt and prompt burnout from last month lol… the ideas i came up with at the beginning of april feel like too much work….. and so im back to the drawing board looking for something simple to do.

So here are some of the most interesting water related stories i found on pinterest

Lee shared “THE 5 story motivations”on a pod a while ago (ive lost where i wrote them down and have been going crazy trying to find the ep) but the ones i remembered were

• To escape
• to rescue
• to win
• (to explore maybe?)
• (no clue what it might be)

It seems like escape and rescue are very common for these sea mythical creature stories.

Here are other interesting, less story driven pieces i found, that felt really unique

Ive been hyper focusing on the “underwater” part so i thought i would brainstorm some around the “living” part.

Living = eat, sleep, move, family/relationships
How do you get food underwater?
Where would you sleep underwater?
Why would you move?
How can i translate a moment in a relationship from my world into this other world?

This last question felt the least stressful and probably most promising of all theses, so i thought of some relationship and moments—maybe you can translate a moment from your recent life into the underwater prompt! There is still time for you and me to participate.

• parent—young child : kids running out the door to school, one has to rush back for his backpack
• young child—young child:
• young child—adolescent: adolescent watching over and helping young child play
• parent to parent: husband brings pregnant wife food
  *sisters, brothers, friends, student/teacher, youth/grandparents

I think there is real power in simple moments in relationships—while they aren't always complete stories they are very relatable and probably make good portfolio pieces

[Fey Realme]

Heres what ive been throwing together since the other day. How important would it be to render the inerior wall do you think?

It needs some more rendering all round, doesnt it

[Jason Crowley]

I came up for a few ideas for this prompt so I wanted to create this second piece for HTFYA:

It's a husband hermit crab who shows up with a dilapidated doll head as a shell to his disappointed/annoyed wife and amused child. I want to show both amusement with the surrounding fish but also a bit of sadness/concern from the whale who can see that while this looks funny, it's also sad as the doll's head is pollution from humans.

[Reb Erlik]

@R-Fey-Realme The mer-sisters idea is cute! Could use more story. Are they getting ready for a special event? What details in their environment could you add to show more about their personalities? Are they getting ready for school with those backpacks? What did they do for homework? Are they going to be late? Maybe there's a "sea bus" arriving that can be seen through their window.

[Fey Realme]

@reberlik thanks! They are best friends and this is after school, ill try to get some more supporting information in there—very helpful!

[Erin Hawkins]

Hi everyone. I've been thinking about this prompt for a few weeks and I am just now realizing that perhaps my train of thought might have veered too far from the intent of the prompt. I started thinking about living underwater like Jacques Cousteau and then the idea came to me to make a sea turtle version of Jacques Cousteau who wears a red hat and makes underwater films. I haven't started the final art but I've been gathering references and did some quick thumbnails.

Do you think my concept fits the prompt even though it's not depicting humans living underwater? I could always make the art anyway but pass on submitting it for HTFYA. Any opinions/feedback welcome Thank you!

[B-rex]

@Erin-Hawkins I don't think it matters what species it is as long as said species is depicted actually living underwater and as long as there is a story that is being told. At least that's what I gathered from the prompt. I like the idea of a sea turtle filmmaker!

[Erin Hawkins]

@B-rex thank you for your thoughts — I think I’ll move forward with this one and try to get it posted in time for HTFYA. I can’t help myself, I love sea turtles and Jacques Cousteau is so inspiring!

[Jason Crowley]

@Erin-Hawkins You don't need to have humans in the prompt, but it's worth thinking about whether you want this to be a portfolio piece, and if so, consider who you want to target. For me, I haven't focused on showing characters and kids enough in my recent portfolio pieces, so I'm going to try and think of ways to put kids/people in my future HTFYA submissions.

[Jason Crowley]

Here's my initial pencil layers and value study. On to the hardest part of any illustration next: colour

[Erin Hawkins]

@Jason-Crowley yes, good point. I am just starting to work on my portfolio (I'm very new here!) but I agree it's good to have a mix of animals and humans. I watched the SVS class on "How to Perfect Your Children's Book Portfolio" (it's just a video) -- it was a great overview of everything you need. I'm just sharing in case that's of interest to you or anyone else here. I'm very early in my journey but I appreciated learning this now, rather than making a ton of illustrations and realizing I'm still missing important things.