MerMay Day 10: Shellphone 🐚☎️
Can you tell that I love 1950s, Pin-up era artwork? This is my second drawing with vintage inspiration, and it won't be the last you'll see for this challenge 😉 This one is inspired by a beautiful piece from American Pin-Up artist Alfred Leslie Buell.
Something about this drawing made me realize, probably later than everyone else, just how heavy the Character Design is in this challenge! It makes for the opportunity to ask yourself "Okay... now what would a Mermaid do with a shellphone? What does a shellphone look like?" Or even, for more direct translations, "Now where do I put the tail..." And I'm not surprised, given that "Creating Characters with Personality" by @tombancroft1 (one of the pioneers of MerMay) sitting on my bookshelf 📚
As you can see, I started putting my own spin on Buell's painting when I laid down my line art, coming up with a new vision of who this mermaid would be, and I leaned even further into it when I laid down my color. I LOVE the way she came out, and I had so much fun experimenting with this prompt.
What color Shellphone would you want? 🐚














