This is from a series of painting based on James Bond Films. This is a scene from Thunderball.
I used photo reference for Connery's head. A friend posed for the Spectre agent's head and hands. Photo ref for the sharks.
I worked in many layers to achieveve the right color balance, and experimented withe photo filters to adjust the colors universally.
For the luminance around the characters I used the burn/ dodge tool.
I took my time with this piece, working a little each night to get to this level of finish, which I ordinarliy am not accustomed to.
Would love to hear feedback regarding how effective the overall image is.