ALTENEW - Scene Building

Ken - Group 55 - Scene Building

One of my most used Altenew sets is this goldfish trio, and while I’ve made plenty of pop-up cards with them, scene building as part of the AECP course was a rare but exciting challenge.

I started by coloring the fish with alcohol markers, debating whether to create an underwater scene with lotus leaves and aquatic grass. But while searching through my (massive) Altenew stash, I found the perfect missing piece – this tranquil Asian pond die.

For the water, I turned to another favorite: Altenew’s water stencil, inked onto vellum to create a soft, fluid look. The final scene is a birds-eye view of a koi pond, with the goldfish swimming, just below the surface – though, given their scale, they might as well be koi!

Speaking of koi pond – have you ever visited an Asian garden and bought pellets to feed them? These fish can eat, and some of them get pretty aggressive about it too!