Mermista (MerMay Challenge 2019)

So... as usual, due to some setbacks, here's my belated illustration for the MerMay challenge. I know the rule is to draw one mermaid for each day of May, but just like last year, I decided again to post only one drawing. This year it's Princess Mermista from the new version of She-Ra.

First, I have to admit: no matter how big fan of all the Masters of the Universe properties in the 80s I was, this reinvented version of the lost Eternian princess was quite a disappointment for me. I didn't like what they did to most of the beloved childhood characters and even the animation style wasn't very impressive. And then it hit me - it's not a series for me anymore, it's for some new generations and I believe some new kids will probably find their own meaning in it. As for me, the first season was enough. I'm not planning to watch the second or any other seasons.

Nevertheless, for this challenge I chose Mermista for one reason only - the voice actress! Vella Lovell was brilliant as Heather in Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and she copied most of her personality to her character Mermista. The same speech style, the ughhhs and dissatisfied grunts that even became memes - these parts really made the She-Ra show better for me. ♥

And finally, although I didn't really like the show, I'm planning to draw two more iconic characters: Hordak and Shadow Weaver. I also didn't like their new style, but like in Mermista's case, I'll find way to change some things and at the same time still make their features recognizable to the audience.

If you're interested in four steps of my WIP (sketch, lineart, flat colours and again the final illustration with shadows and highlights), here they are:

Mermay 2018

I didn't participate in the #MerMay challenge, but I decided to draw at least one mermaid just to see how it would turn out. Actually, I've always wanted to do it, so the choice of what kind or type of mermaid exactly to draw wasn't too hard, because a few months ago I came across some photos of a statue of Ariel and I fell in love with the design. It was The Little Mermaid Statue from J. Scott Campbell’s Fairytale Fantasies Collection. Google it, I think it looks amazing!

So, the reference for the pose is obvious, although I decided to change some things. As usual, I drew it on a piece of paper, scanned it and finished in Inkscape. I added some shadows and highlights the only way I know - not caring too much about the source of light, but trying to draw what I believe would look effective and interesting and trying to have fun in the process. And the background is simple, of course.

As for MerMay itself, I'm usually interested in different art challenges, but drawing 31 mermaids would just be too much for me. So far I've managed to finish two #Inktober challenges and I'm actually considering joining #JuneToon, although it has already started, so I guess we'll see. I'd also like to congratulate all participants who finished the #mermay challenge, with a special shout-out to @xelgot whose characters and style inspire me to try something like this one day. And to draw more, because you know how lazy I am, even when I have some good ideas (unfortunately, I often give up and never finish some projects if I procrastinate for too long).