How to paint a large subject over a subtle background?

Post date: 2020-09-22 11:34:45
Views: 211
Painters, help! I want to paint a large (koi fish) over a background (stars, galaxies). I know how to paint each thing separately, but I am just getting back into painting after a long hiatus and need some tips on executing it properly.

I used to paint in acrylics all the time (~20+ yrs. ago), and I'm getting back into it, thanks to some recent bursts of inspiration.

My new vision is a koi or shubunkin fish against a cosmic nighttime sky. (I am inspired by my own shubunkins, who wow me with their stunning beauty every day, but I want to create something a bit abstract as well.)

After making some preliminary studies in oils, watercolors, drawing in various media, etc. I would like to get back into acrylics more. This is what I have on hand and I don't want to get into a ridiculous amount of money for additional supplies. Although I'm historically much more familiar with acrylics, it's been a while since I've done more formal work. I already have a prepared gessoed black canvas, which I can add more black to as a blending agent as I work. I have a healthy stock of brushes and paints, which have all held up rather nicely since my last spurt of creativity.

I know how to execute the nighttime sky effect that I want; I also know how to create the koi/shubunkin fish. I'm having a hard time remembering after all these years which goes first; the cosmic background, or to build it around the koi, which I would start with in that case. My google-fu isn't going very well lately and I want to get my technique right the first time.

Should I outline the koi first and then build the sky around it and finish the koi at the end? Or the other way around? Any tips, suggestions, websites/links, videos, etc. would be more than welcome!
Number of Comments
Please click Here to read the full story.
 
Other Top and Latest Questions:
Nearly a thousand Google workers sign letter urging company to divest from ICE, CBP
Berkshire Hathaway outperforms this week as tech stocks sink
Pressure mounts on American Airlines CEO as carrier lags rivals
Here are the 5 big things we're watching in the stock market this week
Super Bowl 60: Movie trailers and AI dominate ads; Bad Bunny halftime ahead
Hims & Hers pulls copycat weight-loss pill after threats of legal action
Epstein files: UK PM Starmer's top aide McSweeney quits over Mandelson scandal
Elon Musk wants to be a trillionaire — here's how SpaceX may get him there
Tech giants in China sold off alongside their U.S. peers last week. How to play it
Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi's ruling LDP set to secure supermajority in Lower House: NHK