#sutherlandart

African Sea Maiden mermaid by SutherlandArt

Jumping on the witchsona bandwagon again this year. Here's mine from last year too.

Thank you for looking

The Beast has moved closer and closer to the shallows, finding itself mainly in brackish waters and estuaries. It’s large, heavily-armored head has become spade-shaped, and the beast has become increasingly flattened out as it moves more inland. Slow moving and massive, it is highly curious with a tendency to put things in it’s mouth to figure out what they are, like a massive armored toddler. 

Now one of the most adept filter-feeders of the sea, the Beast has developed a large, grooved crest that better amplifies its' cries throughout the ocean, and serves the double purpose of an offensive battering ram when meeting predators or rivals. Such heavy plating has slowed the beast down tremendously, and sometimes it's difficult to tell the crest apart from the shells and barnacles that grow on top of it and offer a layer of camouflage when it comes to the surface.

The Beast has now given up flying entirely, moving to the ocean to filter-feed and play, and the rocky shores to nest. They're highly social and have created a complicated method of communication through their echolocation, which they use when hunting in packs: herding schools of fish  and shrimp close together before taking turns lunging in. They've developed a pouched neck, with which they take food home to their young.

In search of bigger prey, the Beast is no longer hesitant to dive right for its' meal. Few fish can escape the cage of its' beak, and the Beast is quick to swim after those that do, with a tail that serves as a rudder both underwater and in the air. It hunts in flocks, calling to each other with a loud bugle that reverberates through the Beasts' crested beak.

I am trying to make up for my ten-day vacation by drawing madly.  Is anyone else interested in an art trade?