What species of fish do you feel are you weakest at painting?

Pumpkinseeds. Also the tails of white crappie.......is it black on white or white on black??? Tried many ways, never satisfied.

 

Crappie or Walleye. Especially replicas.

 

I know they are transparent Cecil, and skin mounts are easy to "paint by number" over the retained markings. On a replica with the clear fins like I enjoy, I generally paint the backside white, then hit the dark spots on the front. On most black crappie, I use latex for the spots, blow some dark over the front, peel them off, and tweak a bit with the airbrush. It is the darned white crappie that often have a predominance of light, and the spots and webbing are dark. I have tried the latex and painted the back of the transparent fins dark, spotted with latex, then blow a light mist over the front. Sometimes it looks okay when all is peeled off, sometimes not. I am about ready to make my own stencil!

 

According to the many crappies posted on TMIFP over many years, there is only an elite few among us who can replicate the spotting on crappie fins/tails. <Just my opinion of course. And I agree 100% with the previous remarks about pumpkinseeds. They are a super difficult fish to paint accurately.
I would like to add this. There is one among us who stands out to me as having MASTERED the accurate painting of just about every warmwater fish I can think of. I am ESPECIALLY IMPRESSED with his results on crappies (including those spotted fins and tails!) and all other kinds of "panfish.". I just scrolled though 18 pages of all of his posts on this site and I can't find the superlatives that are adequate to praise his fish work that he posted. Apparently every fish painting challenge CAN BE met with excellence, and this artist is one who does it. What I wouldn't give to see a video tutorial of how he paints a black crappie....including the eyes! I seriously doubt that I have the abilities to do what he does and how he does it, but I'd still like to see him in action. His username is TIMJO.

 

All of them! When you're RED/GREEN colorblind they are a challenge. The biggest problem I have is laying down the paint too heavy.....I just need more color to see it. Believe it or not the Brook Trout is probably the easiest. Maybe because I've done so many. My Bass are probably the hardest to get right, especially Smallmouths. Oh well, life goes on. JL

 

I say, all of them. I am never totally satisfied with my paint jobs but, I get to the point that I have to let them go, this is a business after all. I feel that if I am satisfied completely, I should probably stop. It's not that I'm that good, it is that I stopped caring. I have an unwritten rule in my shop, when I paint a fish it hangs on the wall for at least 3 days. If I can tolerate it and not change any thing, then it gets attached to driftwood or habitat and the call is made.

 

none I can't paint one fish to look like what God has created!

 

Speak of the Devil, here is a replica I just did. Not satisfisfied............coud have gone lighter on the vermicuated fins, about as good as it gets for me freehand.

 

From a bub that just does a couple a year I would also have to say all of them. The only ones I feel comfortable with are Rainbow Trout and Northern Pike. Perch and Walleye second. But Brown Trout?? I am still looking at a dried out fish with no paint after painting it about 30 times last year wondering "where do I start"?

 

Pumpkinseeds I just can"t get those dam fish painted right, when I talk to Rick Krane on the phone I told him he should do a DVD on those Pumpkinseeds

 

Pike is a challenge to me. And I'm talking about northern pike...

 

Well I haven't done a many difference species of fish, but the one I've done are in order... White, hybrid, striper Then white crappie.... I can make the black bass look pretty good.

I always get the whites, hybrids and striper too blue & too dark.... and the crappie I can't get the iridescent colors & spots right.

 

Species? That list is too long to type. I can generalize it and just say cold water. All cold water. I suck at cold water. I'll take a crappie over a cold water fish any day!

 

Bluegill/pumpkinseed and their ilk. Hate them.