Flying fish

These ying sh make use of wax resist and bleed techniques heightened with chalk to achieve a shiny texture. Fish scales present a unique challenge of being quite complex, yet at the same time, often too subtle to draw in detail without appearing overworked. The wax resist approximates this complexity and introduces an element of natural randomness thanks to the texture of the paper.

Creating gradients with bleed effects

Applying ink to wet areas – much like wet-in-wet watercolour – creates striking bleed effects. This can create gradients that are particularly useful in portraying colour shifts present in animal markings, as well as leaving interesting patterns and textures. Neat inks produce quite intense bursts of colour, especially when they haven’t been mixed with other colours.

Using wax resist

To create the shiny textures on the back of the sh, I rubbed a wax candle over the tooth of the paper, and then applied another layer of blue ink wash. The wax left there resisted the water in the ink and stopped it from settling on top, leaving highlights. This can produce e ective textures when used in layers, as the colour beneath the wax comes through quite well.

Adding chalk highlights

Whilst it is possible to mask o the white of the paper from the ink, chalk is also a great way to add a white highlight. The heaviness of the chalk creates a strong, opaque highlight that feels as though it sits on top of the ink. It also picks up the tooth of the paper – much like the wax resist does – to introduce a bit more texture.