It has been a while since the last time I've done any illustration work. Recently I've created a new awesome piece that I would like to share with you. It is a koi fish illustration inspired by my tattoo. Read this post to find out more about my tattoo and see how I created the koi fish illustration based on my tattoo.
Final Illustration Preview
About My Tattoo Artist - Daemon Rowanchilde
I always wanted to get a tattoo ever since I was a kid. Finally, last year I decided to go ahead and get a tattoo done. After hours of Googling, I found Daemon Rowanchilde of Urban Primitive. Daemon is an amazing artist who has been in the industry for long time. He has done work for movie, fashion, illustration, and tattoo design. I particularly like his Energy Wave style/technique. Visit Urban Primitive and Daemonology to see his work.
Tattoo Research
Then I spent couple days on researching tattoo design. I found the koi fish very meaningful and decided to use it as my main design subject. Koi fish tattoo symbolizes "courage, aspiration and advancement".
According to Japanese legend, if a koi succeeded in climbing the falls at a point called Dragon Gate on the Yellow River, it would be transformed into a dragon. Based on that legend, it became a symbol of worldly aspiration and advancement.
Tattoo Sketch
Below are some of my concept sketches. It is a koi swimming upstream toward the sun.
I asked Daemon to incorporate his art into my design and he did this design which was used as the tattoo stencil. The floral and wave patterns were done free-hand during the tattooing process.
Finished Tattoo
The tattoo took 2 painful sessions to complete (6 hours each). Below are the photos of my finished tattoo.
Illustration Sketch
Based on my tattoo, I did the following sketch. The sketch was done on the returning plane from a Chicago trip (I was too bored). I did the sketch in about 30 minutes.
Tracing
As usual, the sketch is scanned and imported in Adobe Illustrator for tracing.
Here is the complete vector art in outline mode (over 2600 paths in total). The tracing process took about 12 hours.
Coloring
The artwork was then filled with color and gradient. The images below are different color themes that I tried. The coloring process took about 20 hours.
Texturizing
Then I imported the elements in Photoshop in separate layers. The texturing effect can easily be done by setting your layer blending mode to Dissolve. I used the Brush and Pencil tool to make the grungy background. Read my Vector Polishing tutorial to see the details of the techniques. The polishing process took over 10 hours due to the large file size and numerous layers.
Inspiration
The koi fish idea was taken from my tattoo. I made the fish tail a bit abstract so it can connect with the water wave.
The sun is also inspired by my tattoo design. I added a waterlily flower behind to make it look like kind of a flower and the sun.
The symbol on the fish head is the initial of my name and my girlfriend.
The flying mushrooms are a combination of jellyfish and mushroom.
The other design elements are mainly inspired by aquatic plants.
Related Article: Finding Inspiration From Your Environment.
Wow, wow truly inspiring, excellent Work.
That is some illustration.
The detail is staggering.
Can’t imagine where you find the patience… or the skill.
amazing.
Awesome artwork, but I have no idea why people get tattoos. Not for me I guess.
Wow, amazing work.
Nice to see that it takes time to create something nice like this! So often I find myself disappointed that I can’t deliver something awesome in just a couple of hours. I always wonder how others can seem so prolific! Maybe it’s just an illusion.
Anyways, this encourages me to go ahead and take a long time on something if the outcome will be worthwhile! Fast client turnaround expectations be damned! Rome wasn’t built in a day!
Wow, that is one bad ass tattoo man, and not to mention an incredible illustration. Kudos!
Awesome piece of work! I’m glad you posted the time it took to complete, this gives me encouragement to see through my work to the end and not give up after a couple of hours.
With some Chinese elements,it’s looks very nice.awesome !
Awesome, beside your color sense, I am impressed by your sketch skills too :)
I would pay to see you record you sketching something like this. I can’t imagine someone doing the sketch in 3 months times.
Wow, 6[x2] hours? Geez, I simply do not have that amount of patience. Thanks for the write-up though, the tattoo looks great, I love the tattoo artist’s style. I also learning how to do some texturing, thanks for that tip as well.
wow you finished the sketch in just 30 mins.. Amazing! The detail of that tattoo is fabulous.
When I first look at the post, i thought you draw your tattoo by yourself then had it done on your arm -_- nvm,great post….
That’s Chinese legend, not Japanese…
Real awesome!
Great stuff! Really nice tattoo and outcome :)
This is superb. Awesome tattoo; fantastic illustration.
Awesome tat – great design
That is AWESOME! Really love the idea and the design!