In this final phase, I scanned the content at 400 dpi and transferred the scanned image to the iPad and prepared to begin colouring with Procreate. Then, I drew the main shadows of the entire illustration and created a color palette that I thought suited the theme. I colored everything, adjusting the colors as needed, and changed the saturation and hue for more natural tones.

Next, I created an overlay layer for all the light in the artwork and added a Multiply layer with noise to enhance that old summer days nostalgia. Finally, I "turned on" the lamp with a couple of new layers and light effects, drew all the related light reflections, and added the flying glowfish in two final layers.

Although I considered adding the fish from the beginning, I wanted to see how the illustration would work without such a blatant use of fantasy creatures. Not only do I think the fish is a good addition to the aesthetic of the illustration, but I also believe it to be a fundamental piece of an Oasis for me.

I hope you enjoy the submission.

Thank you.

I printed the sketch in non-photo blue hue, and  inked with fineline detail the whole piece with a G nib and Deleter No. 3 japanese black ink.
I also inked some shadows using a  countour hatching technic.

The inking was made with a G-nib because i feel the piece comes out with much more character and subtlety in the line.

I created a personal oasis that shows a very small floating island with two Japanese trees, in the middle of a peaceful seaside mountain scene with small fishing boats roaming around.

My island oasis has a bookshelf with my main book collection with blank papers on top, a strange statue I own, a daruma doll, a big leather armchair , some weights and a hanging string to workout, a small nightstand to hold the essentials to draw, my lamp, and a downward door to return back to reality.
Most of the reference is from objects I own, minus the chair which I still want to buy, and the bookshelf that's from a house of an old fisherman were I used to vacation in as kid. It’s located in a mountain seaside because I get very relaxed by the smell and sound of the sea.

Also I discovered as a child that when looking at my grandmother's goldfish I got a strange sense of whimsical wonder and it got me in the mood to draw fantastical scenes, so I added a fantastical element of glowing flying ghost fish. Ghost fish because I don’t want a flying fish to spill my ink or bump into my face and make me fall.

I drew the first draft digitally, reflecting the image continually in the process to make sure it’s balanced correctly.
After a low detailed of the island and chair, i started with the silhouette of the main element in the illustration, and added from there.

After the island, i moved on to the mountains, sea and clouds.

Finally adding small details in the island and myself sitting on the armchair.