Underwater. Illustration for the epic "Volga"

Light from the upper left illuminates a massive, pale sturgeon-like fish that curves upward through the center of the composition, its body translucent cream against deeper green-teal water. The eye enters at this central curve first, then traces outward to discover smaller fish schooling in shadow zones on either side. Above a crisp wave-pattern divider sits the legendary Viking ship in profile; below, the water darkens toward a decorative seabed crowded with shells and smaller fish. The composition reads as three distinct horizontal zones stacked without overlap, creating a pageant-like clarity typical of book illustration.

The cream belly of the central fish is the lightest light, nearly white; it reads as the brightest object against the medium-value greens of open water. Water divides into two clear zones: a brighter yellow-green in the upper half where scattered small fish swim, and a deeper, cooler teal-green below where shadows pool. The darkest darks anchor the bottom third—deep slate-blue seabed and the silhouettes of smaller fish and seaweed. When squinted, the composition simplifies to three value bands: light water, dark water, and a rhythm of silhouettes at the floor.

• #f4f5ec

  Titanium white with a touch of Naples yellow

  central fish belly, wave foam crests, pearl ornaments on fish body

• #caceba

  Naples yellow + titanium white + raw sienna

  central fish body, interior gill markings, fin edges

• #98a687

  Viridian + Naples yellow + titanium white

  lighter mid-water zone, small school fish backs

• #b7af85

  Raw sienna + viridian + titanium white

  seashell decorations on seabed, tan seaweed fronds

• #686d64

  Prussian blue + raw umber + titanium white

  deep water background, darker water zones, fish silhouettes

• #1a2b3c

  Prussian blue + burnt umber

  darkest shadows in seabed and beneath central fish

The central fish is rendered with clean, controlled edges and a deliberate white outline running down its belly that reads as a light reflection rather than a stroke. Interior detail—gills, scale patterns, decorative pearls—is rendered in precise linear work with no blending; each mark sits flat atop its base color. The smaller background fish use thinner, more suggestive lines that fade into the water; the seabed shells and seaweed are built with small deliberate strokes that suggest texture without attempting realism.

1. 01

   Map the composition in light pencil

   Lightly establish the three horizontal bands: the ship/cloud zone at top, the wave-pattern divider in the middle, and the open-water zone in the lower half. Mark the center vertical axis where the large fish will curve upward. Sketch the general S-curve of the central fish's body, noting how it spans from bottom-left to upper-right of the water space.

2. 02

   Lay in the water backgrounds flat

   Block in the lighter yellow-green in the upper water zone using a warm green mixture (viridian + Naples yellow + white). Shift to a cooler, deeper teal-green in the middle and lower water zones. Keep these colors as flat washes with crisp edges where they meet. Leave the seabed area unpainted for now.

3. 03

   Block the central fish body in cream

   Fill the large fish's entire body with your cream mixture (Naples yellow + white + touch of raw sienna). Keep the edge clean and controlled. This pale mass will now read against the water background. Don't add details yet—just establish the form.

4. 04

   Establish the dark seabed and shadow zones

   Paint the seabed in deep slate-blue (Prussian blue + burnt umber), creating a darker horizontal band at the bottom. Add shadow areas beneath and behind the central fish using the same dark blue-gray, pushing the fish forward through contrast.

5. 05

   Draw and fill smaller fish

   With a finer brush and medium values (blue-gray, yellow-green tones), sketch and fill the small fish schooling in the upper and side water zones. Keep them silhouetted or semi-silhouetted; they should read as supporting players, not detailed forms. Vary their direction to create movement.

6. 06

   Render the central fish's interior markings

   Using a fine liner or thin brush with diluted gold and white, draw the gill patterns with confident parallel lines. Add the row of pearl-white dots running along the fish's lateral line. Paint the scale patterns along the lower body using tan (raw sienna + white) with darker edge lines. Keep these marks geometric and decorative rather than naturalistic.

7. 07

   Add seabed details and refine edges

   Paint the shell and coral ornaments on the seabed using your tan and cream palette—scallop shells, small round forms, seaweed fronds. Add fine dark lines to define edges and create rhythm. Refine the silhouettes of background fish with thin, confident strokes. Step back and check that the cream fish's outline reads clearly against all water values.

8. 08

   Execute the wave-pattern divider

   Paint the white wave crests with titanium white or near-white, leaving the green trough areas. Keep the rhythm consistent and the edges crisp. This band should read as a decorative border between surface and underwater realms, so precision here pays dividends to the overall impact.

• The pale cream fish can lose its form if the water value around it isn't dark enough or if the underside edge blurs into the background—establish a strong dark silhouette line on the belly's underside, especially where it meets deep water.
• The gill and scale decorations are intricate and can look muddled if overworked or applied with too much pigment load—use a dry brush and confident, single-stroke marks; hesitation and re-working destroy the graphic clarity.
• The wave-pattern divider requires consistent rhythm and crisp white against green; if the waves wobble or the white strokes get fuzzy, the entire composition reads as amateur—paint these with confident, deliberate strokes.
• Small background fish are easy to paint too detailed or too dark, which competes with the central fish—keep them lighter, more linear, and suggestive; they recede by being less resolved, not by being smaller.

beginner friendliness

value contrast

palette complexity

compositional simplicity

brushwork visibility