From Sketch to Final Water Coloring Stages, this is a spread from Tide Day! A lot goes into making a good composition, taking into account the center of the image where the binding is, and how to play with size and negative space. One of my favorite things to do is explore contrasting expressions between characters and highlight their emotions through physical stances and expressions. This was a tough challenge with the lack of limbs and the watery context, but Pearl's stubbornness and attitude shines through!
Finally had a day to sit and scribble, first day in a long time. It's fast and loose, but I like how it turned out, and I had fun! My reference was a toy squirrel; but, I think love and death are a bit more interesting. Done in Photoshop. Another color version & reference- https://leglessmermaid.blogspot.com/2024/05/love-death-are-gumball-machine-toys.html