Mermay 2023 - 3rd Week
Day 15 - Horror
"The Siren" is a Void Being, a creature born in the absence of what we conceive as Existence.
She sings a tune that feels like greiving, yet is recomforting to listen to. But no matter how alluring she sounds, one shall not follow her, as a fate worse than death awaits the preys of this Void Being.
Day 16 - Celebrity // feat. Sayu
I wasn't interesded in making a real celebrity into a merfolk (which I assume is what most people did for this prompt), so I looked at celebrities in fiction instead.
And Sayu from "No Straight Roads" matches already pretty well with the prompt ! A virtual idol not unlike Hatsune Miku, but with all the charm of a "cutesy-wootsy pink mermaid <3" !
As for her outfit in this drawing, it happens that I got inspired to make her with a "Glamrock" aesthetic after seeing what were the prompts in the previous years. The prompt "Superstar" is what inspired me.
"Glamrock", "Superstar", I think some of you have already understood where I got the association of the two words. =)
Day 17 - Emotion
What if... the others learned... about your past ?
About the monster you used to be ?...
About the monster... you may still be ?
You... You don't... You don't want to...
You don't want it to happen again.
There... won't be any fixes if it does...
You don't want to hurt them.
You hate yourself.
You monster.
You feel...
Basically, just because Humphrey will become a merman in Out of the Abyss doesn't mean he'll be immune to The Angstโข. Far from it !
Day 18 - Deep Sea // feat. Black Pearl Cookie
No one enters the Duskgloom Sea with impunity...
Day 19 - Sunrise
Yeah, the sun is very weird in Shichi's dreams. She herself isn't sure if there is some sort of meaning behind what comes out of it.
Day 20 - Music For A Sushi Restaurant
Ok, firstly : I only know Harry Styles from name. So for this prompt, I went and listened to the song. It's good.
But the video clip, holy heck ! O_O The first and last moments give me anxieties ! (which probably was the point, so good job.)
I already felt it would take this direction just from the title alone, so I can't say I was surprised either. But watching the clip made me think : "yeah, that's DEFINITELY the kind of nightmare Shichi is likely to have !"
Day 21 - Body Positivity
Honestly, it's a good prompt to exercise yourself a making as many varied characters as you can ! And I had plans to make additional characters for the future acts of Out of the Abyss.
Aside from Leviathan and the little dumbo octopus, all of the characters here were imagined on the spot as I made this drawing ! I don't even have names for every one yet. So let's present every one from right to left :
Leviathan, based on the blue whale, is the tallest of them all ! He has scars left by wounds caused by fishermen. To say he's proud of them would be incorrect, but he certainly isn't ashamed of them either. To him, they're a reminder of why he wants to protect his village.
The dolphin merman is skinny, and some could think he is unwell, but not at all. He's just built like that.
Just like the oarfish mermaid in fact. She herself is naturally chubby. (Though unfortunately, I feel like it's not really visible on this drawing. But if we consider that it's the first time I drew her, I'll still be able to improve that the next times I draw her.)
The dumbo octopus merfolk, that I call "Mahu" for now, is indeed an adult. They're specifically based on the "pacman ghost" octopus, which if I'm not mistake is the smallest of all the dumbo octopi. And believe me that dispite their size, they're well respected as the spiritual chief of the village.
The sea turtle mermaid is a kind old lady who has vitiligo. Even if it's possible she might have worried about it in her youth, at her current age now, what does it matter to her if her skin has its whims ?
And finally, the twin sharks. It is indeed impossible to tell they're based on sharks due to their position on the image, but it is the case. And their names are Ka'ahupahau and Kahi'uka. Yes, they are inspired by the hawaiian myth of still-born twins who were resurected into sharks and now protect the seas.
I made Ka'ahu into an albino, which means she is very sensitive to sunlight and has to protect herself from it whenever she goes to the surface. Which is why the wears a cloak (usually traditionally worn by men) on top of the fact "Ka'ahupahau" could mean "Well-cared for feather cloak". (Truth be told, I suppose making her an albino was to justify her wearing a cloak.)
'Uka is very protective of his sister, and this is why he's missing an arm (and has a magic prosthetic) "Kahi'uka" meaning "The smiting tail", it seemed only natural to give him a protective personality, and also based on what I vaguely remember reading about the myth itself.
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*~ Second week || Fourth week ~*
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