Gyotaku (fish printing) Seahunter style

[Bill]

Awesome work Justin! I will work on converting it to an article.

For more examples check out Ken Okutake's stuff - http://www.okutake.com/index.html

[Seabreeze]

So, I was talking to this incredible artist type painter about fish prints and she hates doing them because she says the fish get distorted....making a round object flat.  Justin's don't look fat, nor does the cabezon on the Okutake site.  Any idea why?

[Aquaman]

That is sweet!  Do you have an album online of all the prints you have done?  I would like to see more of these.

I don't have anything online yet, but Ken Okutake's work is some of the best and his website is pretty extensive.  I would like to add that I use linoleum based printers ink when i print more colorful fish like on this 25" vermillion I speared (which was missing the lower part of his caudal fin).  I also use printers ink to paint in the colors on the eye in the black and white fish prints which makes the fish more life like. 

So, I was talking to this incredible artist type painter about fish prints and she hates doing them because she says the fish get distorted....making a round object flat.  Justin's don't look fat, nor does the cabezon on the Okutake site.  Any idea why?

large cabezon, big salmon, and any tuna are hard to do because they are so round.  When I print them I don't print the entire fish.   I stop short on the ventral side, this keeps them from looking like they are flat.  Also darkening the dorsal side and leaving the ventral side lighter seems to give them a more three dimensional look.  Surf perch are the best fish to start out on.  My first fish print was of a striped perch.  They are flat so there is little distortion, they have relatively large scales that show up well, and they are small so they don't become overwhelming. 

[Seabreeze]

Thanks for the tips.