The best way for me to remember something is by making art. <3
This week, I finally concluded my Minecraft Mermaid 100 Days series with the 10th episode. Although my project doesn’t end there. I also was working on this piece, titled “Abyss,” during the production of my series. I wanted to draw my mermaid character in the deep sea, holding the blade and trident that I’ve used throughout all my adventures. This illustration was a way for me to immortalize the Mermaid series long after it ends.
It was challenging to actually get the pose in this composition to work. I wanted the trident and blade to both be visible near my character’s eye-level. So, I had to get pretty creative with the pose and how I held the two weapons. Not to mention working with the tail; it’s hard to know how to fit in a long mermaid tail within a limited canvas. Luckily, mermaid tails can bend.
I also wanted to get all the details just right: the tail texture, the flora accessories, the necklace, the fishnet top. Everything had to be there. The small details definitely took forever, but it was worth it.
Lastly, my biggest challenge was the background. I had to experiment a LOT before I came up with something I was happy with. Then I rendered and painted away until I sculpted a background I was happy with. I was originally going to do a fully black background, but I thought it would be too dramatic. I still wanted the environment to resemble an ocean, not the deepest, darkest parts of the Mariana Trench. In the end, I went with a slight gradient in the water. I made the surface of the water, where it’s lightest, frame my character’s face so it contrasted well with the background. Then, it slowly fades into a deeper and darker blue. Considering how I lived in the shallow coral reefs but had to venture into the bottomless Ice Maze, I feel like the transition of the water is very fitting.
This piece was so much fun to work on, especially since it has so much meaning and connection to such an important series. <3
