I chose to do Urashima Taro and the Princess of the Sea. I enjoyed the adventure underwater, and felt I could play around with different versions of the stories I found. The 1949 version, Taro is approached by the turtle after rescuing it on a sunny day while he fishes and is brought to the ocean palace to meet the princess. But, in the 1992 version, Taro is caught in a typhoon and saved by the turtle, then brought to the palace to meet the princess. I enjoyed the typhoon bit a bit more than the original calm demeaner of the '49 version, and found I could make for a more interesting composition. With a chaotic side on one end, and a calm side on the other, both tragic parts of the story. My main focus, however, was to try to keep the attention on the princess and how beautiful she is supposed to be. Her hand maidens on her side bowing as Taro leaves for his home, unaware of the devastating news he is about to receive when he gets to shore (I also wanted to add the face of the old version of taro in the corner, hidden in a darker part of the piece; foreshadowing). The palace far in the distance but still a reasonable size to emphasize how large it was described in the story. And, to move the eye, I tried to create a line the viewer can follow with a path of bubble from the typhoon that transitions to cherry blossom petals from the door of Spring described in the story, then to smoke emitting from the jewel box gifted by the princess.
I stepped a little outside of my comfort zone for this project, but am not unfamiliar with ink and watercolour. Though, I am happy with the ink work and how the lines turned out and how some of the colours blended (in the dresses for example). I should've added more detail to the palace, but felt it would've taken away from the princess and her maidens. Regardless, I am happy with the piece, and I do feel it tells the whole story in one shot.