Singaporean artist Keng Lai creates 3D works of art depicting the inhabitants of the underwater world, teetering on the edge of reality. The drawings look so realistic that they can easily be mistaken for photographs of octopuses, turtles, fish and shrimp swimming in small containers.

The master achieves a stunning 3D effect using epoxy resin, acrylic paint and a phenomenal sense of perspective.

Having passed the stage of hyper-realistic painting, Kang's work went beyond its limits and approached sculpture.

Now he is experimenting with the use of additional elements protruding from the picture, adding a new dimension to his three-dimensional painting.

The work of the innovative artist has gained many fans around the world.

The technique in which he works, Keng Lai borrowed from the Japanese artist Riuzuke Fukaori, known for his talent for managing illusion and perspective.

However, the Singaporean did not stop at the classic approach of his inspirer and went further - he made the representatives of the water world rise above the surface of the tar surface.

This is not another three-dimensional painting, the depth of which can be seen from a certain angle, but rather a sculpture painted with acrylic paints.

The process of creating three-dimensional masterpieces is long and painstaking - Keng Lai slowly fills plates, bowls, buckets or small boxes with alternating layers of acrylic paint and epoxy, which can be applied a huge number of times until a satisfactory effect is achieved.

A labor-intensive task requires maximum patience and attention to detail, as all elements of the image must be carefully applied and dried, layer by layer.

The author spends a huge amount of time on each work - on average, a month of daily work.

Keng Lai got acquainted with three-dimensional painting in 2012.

At that time, at the age of 48, he had a degree in graphic design, experience as a production designer in advertising and the creation of his own company, but his development did not end there.

Once Keng saw a video of Riuzuke Fukaori, where he worked real miracles with paint and resin, and decided to repeat the exploits of the Japanese. Initially, all of his illustrations were "flat", and the depth of the image was given by the usual layering of acrylic and resin.

In 2013, the artist became interested in whether he would be able to raise his technique to a higher level and began to experiment with the possibilities of hyper-realistic painting, adding three-dimensional objects to the thickness of the varnish.

So one day he included ordinary small stones in his compositions depicting an octopus and goldfish, and used eggshells as a shell for a turtle.

In general, the idea was to give the work of art even more 3D volume, therefore, from any angle, the picture was presented in the best possible way.

The Singapore craftsman is confident that there are many more methods that can be used in art that lies on the border of painting and sculpture, and is tirelessly exploring them.

Admirers of Mr. Lai's work can only wait for the appearance of new results of his activities.

Of course, I am not an artist, but I can depict the underwater world. Especially, I like to convey the underwater world “from the head”, what I really saw. The process of drawing, in addition to pleasure, brings me benefits. For example, I calm down in the process of drawing and can even make important decisions. Drawing has become for me a kind of psychologist who restores and heals nerves.

How to draw the underwater world with paints

If I start drawing, then only paints. I believe that only paints can truly convey the color of sea water and the underwater world with its inhabitants. preparatory activities, what you need to draw:

• dense landscape sheet;
• paints;
• brushes of different sizes;
• additional decorations for fish and octopuses.

For drawing I use gouache. These are the paints that dry very quickly. So, to begin with, portray the sea, painting the entire sheet with blue, blue and turquoise colors. After the paint dries, you can start drawing fish, jellyfish, turtles and other living creatures. My drawing, in the end, turns out to be unpretentious. It only takes me 30 minutes to draw. But I am recovering. After such an art therapy, I can freely keep working, thinking.

How to accurately convey the underwater world

Of course, drawing lovers like me can draw the underwater world from their heads, just by turning on their imagination. But for that to to convey all the beauty of the sea is real, it is necessary:

• visit the sea and see how the underwater world looks and lives;
• view photos on the Internet;
• watch a documentary.

The best thing go diving. This is both pleasant and useful. After seeing the beauty of, for example, the Red Sea, there will be no free space left in the drawing in just 10 minutes. It was not for nothing that I started talking about the Red Sea. And all because it is this sea that is considered the richest and most diverse. There are more than 3 thousand species of fish here alone. Annually for sea ​​world thousands of divers come to see.

Natalya Burmistrova

I present to your attention drawing master class using non-traditional techniques in the senior group « underwater kingdom» .

For work we need:

Album sheet;

wax pencils;

Watercolor paints;

Brushes thin and thick;

A jar of water.

First, on a white sheet in different places, draw various fish with wax crayons. We use bright colors: yellow, red, orange and others. It is better if the fish swim in different directions. Below we draw pebbles in black, brown or gray.

Then we paint over the entire sheet with a thick brush with cold watercolors. flowers: blue, purple, cyan. We take enough water on the brush to get interesting infusions of one color into another and color stretches. The smoother the transition of colors and tones, the more effective the work will look. The image of fish and pebbles will show through, as the wax repels water.

Then, until the blue paint is dry, paint with a thin brush algae in green using the technique "wet". « underwater kingdom» ready!

Here are our children's work:

Thank you for your attention!

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Master class on drawing "Underwater world"

Master class on non-traditional drawing with watercolors and a paraffin candle "Underwater World"

We love to play
But we just can't
Like fish, shut up.
We want to frolic
And I want to scream
We want to have fun
And sing songs
About the blue sea
And yellow flowers
About colorful fish
Let's sing for me and you.
Dolphins swim in the sea
And the whales swim
We bathe too
And he, and I, and you!
Imagine now, as if we were at the bottom of the sea. This is an amazing world, almost fabulous. I suggest you learn how to paint the underwater world with watercolors. And we will use a paraffin candle. But why we need a candle, you will find out later.

Stages of work:

If you want to depict the inhabitants of the sea, the flora of this environment, then you need to know how to draw the underwater world in stages. First you will draw. Then you can draw a turtle, cancer, shark and other inhabitants of the sea and ocean depths.

gold fish

If you want a fish swimming across the canvas, start painting from it. Put it in profile. Draw a circle - this is a schematic representation of the head. Inside it, on the right, draw two small horizontal lines. This is where you start creating the underwater world. The photo will tell you where to draw these segments. In place of the top, mark a round eye, turn the bottom line into a smiling mouth, slightly rounding it.

To the left of the head-circle, draw a small horizontal segment, which will soon become the body. At its end, two semicircular lines symmetrical to each other go in both directions. Connect them with a third - and the tail of the representative of the underwater kingdom is ready.

Now, in a smooth motion, connect it to the head, to the upper and lower sides, thereby creating the body. Draw a large fin on the top of the head-circle and a smaller fin on the bottom.

Color the fish yellow or When it dries, make a few longitudinal lines on the tail and fins with a dark pencil. Now you need to decide how to draw the underwater world further - which inhabitant of the sea kingdom will be next.

Turtle

Start drawing this waterfowl by drawing a horizontal oval. This Draw its lower part On the left side of the oval, draw small back flippers. A pair of flippers should also be located on the right, but a little larger in size. Between them is her head on a rather thick neck.

Here's how to draw the underwater world, or rather, first of all its representatives. It remains to complete the image of the turtle. To do this, draw circles, irregular ovals on it with a pencil or felt-tip pen. On the shell they are larger than on the flippers, neck and head. Do not forget to depict her small but keen eye and make the muzzle at the end slightly pointed.

Now cover the shell with brown and the rest of the body with green paint, let it dry and think about how to paint the underwater world further. The photo will help you with this.

crustacean

Let a hermit crab, half out of its shell, slowly move along the bottom of the ocean. First, we create the basis of this representative of the underwater kingdom. Draw an oval in a horizontal plane, narrow its left edge - this is the end of the shell. The other side is open. To show this, on the desired side of the oval, draw a line slightly concave to the left. A curious muzzle of cancer will soon appear from this hole.

In the upper part are its two round eyes, which are fixed on two muscles. On either side of them are two mustaches of a hermit. Also protruding from the shell were its large upper and thinner lower claws. It remains to make the shell twisted, tapering downwards, paint it yellow, and the cancer - scarlet paint, leave the eyeballs white, and draw the pupils with a black pencil, and the drawing is ready.

Shark

Talking about how to draw the underwater world, you can tell about the image of not only quite harmless, but also its ferocious inhabitants.

First draw 2 circles. Place the first, larger one on the right, and the one that is smaller on the left. Connect them at the top and bottom with semicircular lines. The upper curved is the shark's back. The bottom one is slightly concave. This is her belly.

The left small circle is at the beginning of her tail. Finish this part of the drawing by making the end of the tail forked.

Start drawing the details of the muzzle. The big circle is the base of the predator's face. Draw her cunning in it, a little to the left depict a long, pointed and a little shark. In the lower part of the muzzle, place the sharp teeth of the predator using a zigzag line.

Draw the top triangular fin and two pointed ones on the sides. Erase the guide lines. You don't have to paint the shark - it looks impressive anyway. This is an example of how to draw the underwater world with a pencil.

Collecting the drawing

Now that you know how to draw individual representatives of the ocean kingdom, it remains to talk about how to draw the entire underwater world.

According to the principle proposed above, on a piece of paper, first draw several fish. They can be of different colors and sizes. Place a hermit crab at the bottom. The turtle can deftly get away from the shark.

To make the picture of the underwater world more reliable, place plants on the bottom of the ocean, several corals of a bizarre shape. It is better to first depict the fauna of the underwater world. Then you need to paint over the background with blue or blue paint, let it dry. And only then draw corals and plants striving for light. Then the drawing will turn out realistic and irresistible.