azulemega:
Everyone was doing such awesome Mermay artwork for @setepenre-set‘s amazing fanfic Dangerous Currents, I had to jump in as well. Top pic is normal and the bottom has a purple filter just to make it look more underwater-y or something. I apologize for the quality since tumblr devoured it.
AAAAHHHH THESE ARE BOTH LOVELY!!
I really can’t decide which of these I like better; I’m glad you posted both of them like this–the upper one shows the bright colors in a really pretty way, while the bottom one gives the scene a mysterious, underwater murkiness that’s also really pleasing.
I love the way you can see just a little bit of the surface of the water at the top of the page–looking up through the surface of the water is actually one of my favorite things about being underwater, and it’s a really good way to visually indicate to the viewer that this is definitely underwater.
And the glowing bioluminescent algae is beautiful, as are the reflections of the water surface on everything. I am also very impressed with the way you’ve drawn the shadows and the beams of light filtering through the water; those also give the viewer the sense of Syx and Minyon not merely floating in nothing, but actually being suspended in water.
Minion looks suitably angry with Syx, who looks the right amount of sassily defensive–I’m impressed with the way you indicated that Syx is the one being scolded. Even though Minyon is smaller and lower in the picture, Minyon’s spread fins and glare, coupled with Syx’s hand on his cocked hip, and the way Syx’s eyebrows are raised even as he’s frowning–an expression of distress and defensiveness, rather than simple annoyance–all of that makes it clear that Minyon is the one doing the scolding, and that he’s Syx’s caretaker, rather than the other way around.
All of the details on Syx’s tail make him look very non-human, as well as delicate–the little frilled fins on his hips and the way the scales taper off into his skin there, looking like jewels. And the tattered edges of his tail and Minyon’s main fin give the piece a sense of danger. And you added some Minyon-like bioluminescent tendrils to Syx’s tail, and some of the little glowing balls that top Minyon’s upper fins to the fins on Syx’s hips! I love that!
I like, too, the way the rocks frame the picture; it gives the figures of Minyon and Syx a sense of being grounded in a physical location–which is a difficult thing when drawing figures underwater!
The rocks framing the figures of Syx and Minyon also works very well as a visual cue indicating how trapped Syx feels–hemmed in on all sides by rock walls, with only the little glimpse of the surface of the water to offer escape–which is exactly what Syx and Minyon are arguing about in this scene in the story!
Thank you so much for these; I really like them a lot, and getting them made me very happy! ❤ ❤ ❤