Dascyllus Illustration

I love the lookout fish!  This was easier to work in layers, there are about 9 here.  The coral was tricky, but worth the effort.  The final print will be 11x14 inches and I hope Ellen smiles every time she looks at her fish!

Dascyllus Pencil Drawing

These little beauties are dascyllus.  They are very shy and love to duck behind coral when the paparazzi are hounding them.  Ellen contacted me because she managed to capture these three on film and asked if I could illustrate them for her.  I worked in 4h and Hb pencil and then scanned them in. I'm almost through with the color, and will post the finished illustration shortly.

Moorish Idol Fish Digital Illustration

I really enjoyed drawing this trio of tropical fish. They are moorish idols, Zanclus cornutus, "Crowned Scythe". In schools their stripes make it hard to pick out individual fish.  As in herds of zebra, stripes confuse predators.  They prefer shallow waters and flat reefs, making them popular with snorkelers.  They are also small enough to be fairly common in salt water aquariums.  I love the patterning on the "forehead". So I made sure to include and least one partially frontal view of this lovely little fish.