Art Nouveau Koi Fish Among Curling Water Plants Coloring Page

Two koi curve toward each other on this sheet and nearly touch at the nose, their bodies forming a wide open arc that leaves the center of the page clear. Each fish is scaled in neat overlapping crescents from the gill to the tail, and the fins and long trailing tails are drawn as fans of fine separated rays. Behind them slender water plants rise on both sides, carrying small paired leaves, and a scatter of bubbles drifts up through the gap between the two fish. Real koi are patched rather than solid, and copying that is the fastest route to a convincing page. Leave whole runs of scales white, then drop irregular blocks of orange or red across the back and shoulder and let the edges fall wherever a scale boundary happens to land. A black patch over one shoulder is authentic and gives the eye somewhere to rest. The fins take the lightest treatment on the sheet, just a wash near the body fading out to white at the ray tips. Keep the plants quiet so the fish stay in front.