Singaporean artist Keng Lai creates 3D works of art that balance on the edge of reality, depicting the inhabitants of the underwater world. 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 gone through the stage of hyper-realistic painting, Keng's work went beyond its scope and approached sculpture.

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

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

Keng Lai borrowed the technique he uses 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 inspiration and went further - he forced representatives of the aquatic world to protrude above the surface of the resin surface.

This is not another three-dimensional painting, the depth of which can be seen from a certain angle, it is 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 resin, which can be applied countless times before achieving a satisfactory effect.

A labor-intensive task that 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 became 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.

One day Keng saw a video of Riuzuke Fukaori, where he performed real miracles with paint and resin, and decided to repeat the feats of the Japanese. Initially, all 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 could take his technique to a higher level and began experimenting with the possibilities of hyper-realistic painting, adding three-dimensional objects into the thickness of the varnish.

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

Overall, the idea was to give the work of art an even greater 3D dimension, therefore, from any angle the painting would appear at its best.

The Singaporean 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 he tirelessly studies them.

Fans of Mr. Lai's work can only wait for new results of his activities to appear.

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

How to paint 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 will need for drawing:

• thick album 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, first you should depict the sea, painting the entire sheet with blue, blue and turquoise paints. After the paint has dried, you can start painting fish, jellyfish, turtles and other living creatures. My drawing, in the end, turns out to be simple. It only takes me 30 minutes to draw. But I'm recovering. After this kind of art therapy, I can freely keep working, think.

How to accurately convey the underwater world

Of course, drawing lovers like me can draw the underwater world from the top of our heads simply by using our imagination. But in order to to To truly convey all the beauty of the sea, it is imperative:

• visit the sea and see what the underwater world looks and lives like;
• look at 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’s not without reason that I started talking about the Red Sea. And all because this sea is considered the richest and most diverse. There are more than 3 thousand species of fish alone. Every year on sea ​​world thousands of divers come to watch.

Drawing with cotton swabs. Master class with photos

Master class on drawing "Underwater world"

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, crayfish, shark and other inhabitants of the sea and ocean depths.

gold fish

If you want a fish to swim across the canvas, start painting with it. Place 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 one, 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 very soon become the body. At its end there are two semicircular lines, symmetrical to each other, in both directions. Connect them with a third - and the tail of the representative of the underwater kingdom is ready.

Now, with a smooth movement, connect it to the head, top and bottom sides, thereby creating the body. Draw a large fin on the top of the circle head and a smaller fin on the bottom.

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

Turtle

Start depicting this waterfowl reptile by drawing a horizontal oval. This is Draw its lower part. On the left side of the oval, draw small rear flippers. There should also be a pair of flippers on the right, but slightly larger. 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. All that remains is to complete the image of the turtle. To do this, use a pencil or felt-tip pen to draw circles and ovals of irregular shape on it. They are larger on the shell than on the flippers, neck and head. Don't forget to depict her small but keen eye and make her muzzle slightly pointed at the end.

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

crustacean

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

At the top are his two round eyes, which are attached to two muscles. On either side of them are two hermit whiskers. Also protruding from the shell were its large upper and thinner lower claws. All that remains is to make the shell twisted, tapering downward, paint it yellow, and the crayfish with 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 talk about depicting not only its rather harmless, but also its ferocious inhabitants.

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

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

Start drawing out the details of the muzzle. The large circle is the basis of the predator's face. Draw her cunning in it, draw a long, pointed and a little shark a little to the left. At the bottom of the muzzle, place the sharp teeth of the predator using a zigzag line.

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

Assembling the drawing

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

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

To make the picture of the underwater world more authentic, place plants and several oddly shaped corals on the ocean floor. It is better to first depict the fauna of the underwater world. Then you need to paint the background with blue or blue paint and let it dry. And only then draw corals and plants seeking the light. Then the drawing will turn out realistic and irresistible.