The other weekend, my boyfriend and I took a trip down to Atlanta to visit the Georgia Aquarium. The place was ginormous! They had everything from whale sharks to otters. I did some gesture drawings of the fish there using my pen. Later, I water colored them while waiting for my car to get new rear brakes, eheh.

The cuttlefish were one of the most fascinating fish I saw at the aquarium. They are incredibly mobile. They can choose to use either their fin ‘skirt’ to swim like a regular fish or shoot backwards like a squid. Their front ‘mouth’ area has tentacles for grasping their food.

The Japanese spider crabs were humongous (and looked awfully delicious). I loved how they lumbered through the tank’s floor with their spindly legs. They were so alien-like.

The otters were probably the toughest for me to capture with my pen. It was a good challenge trying to catch their movement since they have the energy of a 5 year old. The one otter I drew was trying to pull out an ice cube formed within a plastic bucket.

The belugas were beautiful. What the sketches don’t fully convey is how ripped they are! They seriously have 6 pack abs. Their muscles were so well-defined that it almost looked like there was a human inside a beluga suit.

One thing I tried to practice was something I read from Walt Stanchfield’s notes: he stressed the importance of using a continuous line when gesture drawing. And I have to say, it really does make a difference. I feel more loose and relaxed drawing in this manner.

Have a Happy Easter weekend, everyone!