MerMay 2020

Posted on May 31, 2020 By halvogirl

A magical break amid the 2020 garbage fire

Note: I literally got an iPad and Procreate in April to do this years challenge justice. (I might be driving my family nuts with the constant drawing

So… What is MerMay?

MerMay is a month-long celebration of creativity, community and above all… MERMAIDS. During the month of may artists of every age, talent, and capability are challenged to draw a mermaid everyday from a list of prompts given by the creator of #MerMay, Disney animator and artist Tom Bancroft.

#MerMay2020 Prompts

Tom Bancroft's official #MerMay2020 prompt list — Tom Bancroft’s official #MerMay2020 prompt list

MerMay 2020 day one: #Celebration

I am so excited for this year’s MerMay challenge! We need a virtual vacation where we #celebrate #creativity and come together with something that is fun and magical. May the mermaids flooding our screens bring you joy and whimsy in these hard times.

MerMay day two: #Warrior

Of course my warrior has to be my favorite princess #WonderWoman. Her example of power, intelligence, kindness, and beauty make her my absolute favorite super hero of all time. One day, I want to work for her.

MerMay day three: #Sunset

I have been lucky enough to grow up in a place where we have beautiful mountain trimmed sunsets. But with my mermaid living on the ocean I had to create a different scene for her.

This was my first time really experimenting with the procreate brushes abilities. It might not be perfect. But I am excited for the possibilities the brushes represent for my artistic future.

MerMay day four: #StarWars

You know this nerd girl was excited for this one! I decided to draw #TheMandalorian’s Cara Dune in what I feel is very on brand from this awesome lady. …
I had so much fun drawing this and love the details; The sneer on her face, the tattoos on Cara, and #BabyYoda showing her his toy ball.

MerMay day five: #Royalty

For today’s royalty prompt I choose to illustrate a ‘mermaified’ scene from Disney’s #Enchanted. Giselle’s curtain dress. I honestly think this film is Disney at its finest! …
To make the dress more #SeaWorthy, I switched out the floral motive to shells and such!

MerMay day six: #Tsunami

I had such a hard time figuring this one out, so I went simple. I always loved the scene in Prince of Egypt, when the Red Sea parts and you see the whale silhouette. So, I that a shoal of mermaid silhouettes in a tsunami would be cool and a good exercise in making identifiable shapes.

MerMay day seven: #Tranquil

I love hammocks and know a mermaid friend would love them also. There is nothing more tranquil sounding to me (particularly right now) then lightly swaying in a hammock, over gently murmuring waves, and soaking up the rays of the setting sun. *Sigh*

MerMay day eight: #Heroic

Supergirl is a great example of a heroic character that has risen from being in the shadow of another, to her own powerful and complex character. I am happy to be able to be a fan of hers.

Yes, I drew another #DCcomics hero. Don’t be surprised. I decided she needed a different tail because she was an alien. I am very happy with how this turned out.

MerMay day nine: #BestBuddy

Of course I had to draw my best friend Yvette and I as mermaids for this prompt today! She is my #MinnieMouse and I am her #DaisyDuck; best friends with drastically different personalities and similar hearts. I am such a better person because of her influence and am proud to be her families adoptive aunt and sister. Thanks for twenty years of friendship!

MerMay day ten: #Ashamed

For today’s prompt I created a piece depicting the shameful way we treat our oceans. I hate that something as commonsense as keeping the world clean is politicalized. It’s a false fight and false choice of division. We all have stewardship over earth and need to find ways to come together and take care of it. *End Rant*

MerMay day eleven: #Outcast

Sometimes being an outcast is just a result of being true to yourself. Figuring out who you are and what brings you joy! That is more important than just trying to blend.
I had fun playing with patterns on this one and was so happy to do a double tail mermaid.

MerMay day twelve: #Fury

I really enjoy greek mythology, so I had to draw a Fury or Erinyes for today! These deities of vengeance punished those who broke oaths. I see this fury as Tisiphone, punisher of murder. I still struggle with facial expressions, but love how this turned out.; She is so done with excuses.

MerMay day 13: #Alien

So, I actually have a love-hate relationship when it comes to a the idea of extra territorials. But luckily my love of mermaids outweighed the fear for this post. I had a lot of fun with colors on this one. I just wouldn’t want to come across her in deep space.

MerMay day 14: #Adrift

Oh my goodness how relaxing does this look! I can’t even begin to describe how much I miss swimming and lounging about in the pool. This was such a fun mermaid to draw. I love how the details turned out with the water and her freckles.

MerMay day 15: #Rescued

Ok, this is a bit of a stretch but it’s what came to me. An Arctic mermaid rescuing the Heart of the Ocean necklace. It has always bothered me that she dropped that beautiful jewelry into the water. I don’t care if it’s was symbolic, that was just selfish.

MerMay day 16: #Deity

My deity for today’s prompt is #Artemis from @usedbandaid’s #LoreOlympus. It is the best comic on @webtoonofficial and free to read unless you “fastpass” the most recent episodes (which of course I do). It’s a beautifully stylized and epically written retelling of Greek mythologies. I am constantly amazed at the creator Rachel Smythe’s skill for storytelling and beautiful art work. It was an intimidating challenge trying to translate her style to my own.

MerMay day 17: #Crustacean

Just a voice lesson from our favorite crab. #LittleMermaid was my favorite as a small child as I also loved to sing and felt like a fish out of water. I had a plastic fork I would comb my hair with as my Dinglehopper.

MerMay day 18: #Wreckage

Sometimes we can explore wreckage and find the treasure of direction. It can be scary facing the negative, but worth the discovery.

MerMay day 19: #Wrath

Oh, she mad. Now it’s just a guessing game over why.

MerMay day 20: #Ancestors

Family history can be an important part of understanding who you are. From cultural heritage to inspirational stories, learning about those who went before you can help guide you in life.
This was a fast one today, hopefully I will find more time for tomorrow’s prompt.

MerMay 21: #Futuristic

I really love the hopeful optimism of retro-future style. I was so excited to incorporate the look here. I have also been learning so much from tutorials and am pleased to be learning so much.

MerMay 22: #Ablaze

I had fun with this one. I really wanted to experiment with color layers and brushes. I couldn’t figure out the flame brush, so it will have to be added to my ’must learn’ list.

MerMay 23: #SirenSong

I love singing. Music is an essential part of my life. I loved the idea of a mermaid just swimming in music

MerMay 24: #Treasure

Pirates of the Caribbean has long been a favorite of mine. And each time we float past the treasure room scene, Dad tells us how as a kid he thought it was real, and if he could just reach out and grab a handful he would be set for life.

MerMay 25: #shark

I just think whale sharks are neat. (But I totally had to trace it)

MerMay 26: #Shore

I ran out of time today, so you get simple style. Just a mermaid on shore building a sand castle. But the question is, does the sun in the corner need sunglasses?

MerMay 27: #Punk

She might look spiky, but she is actually really warm hearted.

MerMay 28: #Bestial

I love the look of the #HarryPotter mermaids. The lake folk always interested me, and how book 4 had some of them with grindylows as pets. Had to draw it.