PROCESS VIDEO // wave, part 3 (Patreon)

Here's part 3 of the wave drawing process! Part 1 is here, and part 2 is here. Just like with the last two videos, this process is sped up to twice the original speed, and you can slow it down or speed it up with the gear button on the player. ‘

This is the final part of the process and at this stage, it’s kind of a crossroads: either lean more heavily into the stylization, or push for a higher degree of realism. For this one I decided that the stylization was more important so I start by stylizing the figure a bit more to create a more simple silhouette, which I felt would have more impact. I do try to push for more depth in the water, which i do by superimposing some stock photos of water and seafoam onto specific areas of the painting. I also found that if I add some white brushstrokes with a “bevel and emboss” layer effect added to them, and then set that layer to multiply, it gives the impression of ripples. This is something I do around 50 minutes in to this video.

As I was finalizing this painting, I felt like something was missing. There was just too much empty space at the top. So around 19 minutes in, I decided to add some dolphins / small whales to the painting, as if they are swimming through the wave and underneath the character. I found this image to be really useful as reference, to help me understand how the silhouettes of the dolphins interact with the ripples and waves of the water:

Hope you enjoyed this process and as always, let me know if you have any questions!