I didn't draw a mermaid every day, but on some days I did draw more than one mermaid, so I ended up exceeding the planned monthly total.
I was helped by my executive decision that "sure, it counts" to draw a person with a mermaid tattoo, and considering each tattoo to be one mermaid. Over the course of 23 illustrations, counting tattoos and jewellery, I drew 50 mermaids total - not counting tattoos and jewellery, I drew 35.
I love how the splash and the fins of the eggplant-purple eel mermaid turned out.
I wanted to experiment with poses, so this one is chasing her tail.
Two mermaid tattoos, one on each calf.
I'm especially proud of the stippling used to colour this one. She took four days to complete.
Four mermaid tattoos - one on each calf and two on one arm. This figure has some other tattoos as well - sea shells and an angelfish and a nautilus (a cephalopod, like a squid or octopus, which has a shell).
A mermaid with a fish for a head!
Squid-like and particularly alien looking.
I imagine this mermaid casually flicking her tail back and forth as she lounges on the sand.
I did a storyboard draft of how the animation cycle might look if I knew how to animate stuff.
I'm only counting these eight pictures as one towards my total, because I used copy-and-paste for the torso (including the fins on the hips) and only actually drew the tail for each one.
A
video version of these storyboards can be seen on my tumblr account!
Of this figure's seven mermaid tattoos, my favourite is the one on her left thigh; I think the 'hair combing' pose comes across very well.
Here's a close up of the tattoo in question.
Lobster tails are an interesting shape which I thought could make a creative mermaid tail. Then I added the legs and claws because why not.
Jellyfish are fun to make into mermaids because there are so many different was to incorporate the bell and tentacles.
A selkie, lounging in the 'banana pose' seen in happy seals. I misunderstood my reference for the pose and drew my first selkie resting on her belly instead of her side.
The coastline of the second selkie drawing, featuring 'corrected banana pose', matches up with the first picture's coastline to suggest they might be on the same beach.
Two mermaids kissing - and, as a bonus, one of them even has a mermaid tattoo!
The dress on the model wearing this mermaid necklace doubled as an experiment in illustrating velvet, which made the picture another four-day project.
Here's a close up of the necklace.
Another mermaid necklace picture, this one showing a mermaid putting on a necklace.
She's probably the most ... Disney-like, of the mermaids I drew this month.
These paisley mermaids would make a great fabric print. I tried to pose them so the tile could make a repeating design while still flowing organically instead of looking like a grid.
This mermaid mechanic's tail is based on a seahorse. She can use her tail a bit like a third hand.
Another sleek eel-like mermaid.
A strawberry mermaid swimming in a strawberry margarita, inspired by an art prompt to draw a tiny fruit-themed mermaid swimming in a glass of juice.
An orange mermaid lounging in a cup of orange juice like it's a jacuzzi tub, inspired by the same prompt as above.
And here she is, the last of the school, my fiftieth mermaid and twenty-third MerMay illustration!
