[Piyoteru]

I have a graphics project where I need to design a betta fish illustration for a t-shirt. And it's sparking other ideas for a personal project.

I'm getting ideas to do a poster where betta owners can commission an illustration in a certain style and format- and in the end those owners will get a free poster with all their fish on one big poster, funded by the drawings themselves and other people interested in purchasing it.

The end result would end up with stylized betta in a poster like this. But with the name of your betta beneath your fish.

I plan on vectoring drawings in illustrator, but for now here's development of my drawing towards this poster. I probably won't go for something too realistic.

Digital sketches: I don't really like these, everything I do on paper still feels better and cleaner. But I haven't drawn digitally very often lately. But I am getting a good, detailed understanding of betta anatomy.
Digital Sketch 1

Traditional sketches: Here's what I think it will most look like in style.
Traditional Sketch 1

How interested are you guys in a project like this? How big a poster would you want? I plan on fitting about 25-50 betta on this poster. If there's not enough people, I will fill it in with made-up betta- but I want this to be personalized with real betta owned by people who love their fish.

 

[Bikeridinguckgirl14]

I'd be interested depending on the cost

 

[Piyoteru]

I'm looking at A3-A2 poster sizes with glossy stock and scoping out for a good price- it's looking like it'll be about $5 + shipping costs. The $5 barely covers printing and the tubing to protect the poster when it's posted. To make it worth the effort, I might tack on $2 to make up for the skill and time spent on creating it.

This project won't start until I've figured all the numbers out, and seen the results of my test version.

Also as an update, I've prepared my sketches to go into Illustrator for the "test" vector of this concept.

 

[amphirion]

if you're serious about anatomical detail, i'd suggest you pay attention to the slope of the body, it is not symmetrical as how you've drawn it. upper is curved, while the bottom stays relatively flat.

also, remember that the belly distends a bit from the rest of the body.
the body of a betta is approximately 3.5 heads long (from lip to operculum)
the dorsal fin of a betta starts at 2 full heads in, while the anal fin starts 1.5 heads in.

 

[Piyoteru]

Thank you for the tips, I'll make sure to tweak the body shape when I start the test vector!

 

[amphirion]

here's something that i've been working on... i'll post it here if you'd like a reference:

note that there are significant anatomical differences with concern to doubletails, standard plakats, HMs, etc... you will need to adjust the guides appropriately. looking forward to seeing your art!

 

[myexplodingcat]

*pokes her sig*

I think my tutorial would be perfect for you; you seem to have a good handle on coloring and making things look smooth and natural and some other stuff I didn't really cover, but maybe not so much on shape or proportion, which is most of what I talk about.

v

 

[FishWhisperer]

This could be a great idea.

 

[mikyj]

something that will help with the anatomical correctness is to see photos of the specific bettas your drawing from different angles verses just paying attention to the outlines you see from the side. it will help you draw things more structurally and maybe even give you inspiration for a series or a poster set.

also, i would pay up to 20$ for a really beautiful poster. it would also help you cover the costs of a nicer paper stock to showcase your efforts even more beautifully.
you could even add the option of framing. I'm not sure if you're familiar with the site society6, but once you get the illustrations done, this will help you out with limitless options goodluck with your project! sounds like it could be a good one!

 

[TheAnimaLover]

This is really helpful thank you