The sky was getting too bright and taking away from the focal point, so I darkened it quite a bit. At this point I was happy with the composition and colors, so I increased the resolution to the final size, 3600 by 4800 pixels.
Everything up until this point I tried to paint zoomed out in order to focus on the overall composition. I find it dangerous to focus too much on one element without keeping the whole in mind. But that changes a little after I have reached this point.
When I am happy with the composition, values, and colors of the whole, I start focusing on individual elements. This is where the layers can start stacking up. I use as many layers as I need to render each item. Since I am painting fast and furious, the layers often become a mess. I find the right one by temporarily switching to the move tool (with the auto-select on) and clicking on the area that I want to paint.
I was not happy with the boy’s expression and realized that I needed to find better reference. Since I was painting this as a gift for my nephew, I wanted to capture his likeness. Until I could set up a photo shoot, I moved on to the other elements.
My friend Jason and his children provided reference for the upper half of the mermaid. For some things, like the mermaid's tail, there isn't much reference, so I had to make it up.
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