Reference Pictures

The Steps

Draw most of the colors with watercolor, and the waves are as white as possible.

Use white acrylic color to point highlights and clouds.

Techniques

“Serena (The main character in the book) clutched the notebook in the ocean as waves roll over her, as if they were going to swallow her up in the next second. Salty sea water poured into her mouth and nose, and her face switched between air and water. A big wave hit her, she lost her strength and her consciousness gradually faded. (Translate from Chinese​, Pg. 29)”

• The color under the sea is dark, and the color becomes brighter as it goes up. Therefore, the water in the sea is actually not deep and thick and the waves are not so high because the area where Serena falls into is close to the shore.
• At the bottom of the picture, the dark places are layered on top of each other with watercolor because using watercolor to paint the ocean is the most realistic. The waves are curved when they roll up, especially at the very top, the curves are outlined one by one. After that, these curves are colored in different tints. 

Mood: Despair

Serena (The main character in the book) had a fight with her best friend Nora, then was bullied, and almost lost her beloved notebook of friendship at last. Therefore, Serena’s mood was very upset and depressed at the time, thus even the sky is not a light blue color, but a dark color in the painting. It is also raining in the painting, and the rain is hitting the sea with waves, highlighting Serena’s mood at the moment. Besides, the notebook was swept into the sea, but it was recovered at last fortunately. Therefore, there was some hope in the despair.