How to paint a Large mandarin Fish #chineseinkpainting 🐟, by Forest Fine ART on YouTube. 1 min 2 s.
- Video length
- 1 min 2 s
- Time to do it
- 20 minutes
- Difficulty
- Medium
- Steps
- 8
What you need
Steps
Lay your rice paper on a flat, covered surface and put a small pool of ink in a saucer. Keep a water pot and paper towel within reach.
Load the large brush with ink, then dip the tip in water so the bristles hold a light-to-dark gradient. Test on scrap paper first.
Paint the body in two or three broad curved strokes, pressing down at the belly and lifting at the tail. Leave the strokes slightly wet so they blend.
Add the head with a shorter, firmer stroke at the front. Keep it smaller than the body and angle it slightly downward.
Paint the tail and side fins with quick, tapered strokes. Use a drier brush so the fin edges look light and feathery.
Let the body dry for a minute or two, then load the small brush with dark ink and dot the eye. Add a thin line for the mouth.
Draw a few fine lines over the body to suggest scales, working from head to tail. Keep them sparse and light.
Add a light wash of diluted ink under the fish for water, then leave the paper flat to dry completely before moving it.
Tips and common mistakes
Too much water makes the body spread into a blob, so blot the brush on paper towel before each stroke.
Paint the body in one go while the paper is damp so the strokes merge instead of showing hard edges.
Keep the eye small and very dark, since it sets the direction the fish appears to face.
Questions
What kind of ink should I use?
Chinese ink sticks ground with water or ready-made liquid Chinese ink both work. Avoid thick calligraphy ink if you want soft washes, since it dries very dark.
Can I do this on normal paper?
Rice paper gives the best ink bleed, but watercolor paper works if you keep the brush drier. Printer paper will buckle and will not blend.
How do I fix a body that spread too much?
Let it dry fully, then paint a sharper body over the top with a drier brush. The first layer becomes a soft shadow behind the fish.
This guide was drafted from the video's details and general task knowledge. It has not been checked against the full video. Check the video and relevant product instructions before following a procedure. Report a correction.
