Muskies Inc. Back Calendar cover art step by step

ARTWORK COPYRIGHT Charles Weiss2013

 I worked up a rough drawing of a yellow perch escaping from a chasing muskie. I positioned the small fish at the edge of the mouth of the large predator fish to create a dramatic closeness between them.
I sent it over to Musky Hunter magazine. I thought this image would express the tangled underwater world of a variety of plants Richardson pond weed, and potamageton  etc.

 I  re-drew the scene on canvas  of the muskie and perch . I added the shapes of the vegetation and painted with Hookers green, Raw Umber and green gold and yellow ochre. The water has cerulean and ultra marine blue patches  and white added for bubbles.
I left the shape of the perch un-painted . I wanted to create a simple white shape of the canvas. The contrast allows me to clearly see the progress in the design.

 I  use a painted  plastic  head casting of a musky to compare the shape and details of the mouth and head in a similar perspective as the painting

I've added more colour and detail to the shape of the perch and considered changing the Yellow Perch to Bull Dawg Lure.