First let's look at the Bryce Layout. Numerous Spheres are textured with a smoke texture. I used 3 lights for dramatic effects. All lights had a soft focus and were muted to between 10 to 20 points. The sphere light (Magic Area) lit the head, hands and shoulders while the two cone lights lit the base of the figure and Smoke Puffs and the glow of the magic illuminating the octopus (Octopus Light). 
Unfortunately the smoke puffs didn't render at that well, so we'll have to add that to our Post-Production list. But the base smoke color is there so we'll be able to use that as a basis. Also we'll need to add the sea foam and splashes.

In Painter, I use my to favorite brushes, the "Oil Pastel" and the Grainy "Just Add Water".