Schlagwort: Week 4

The Little Sea Witch and the Finished Mermay

Digital painting, comic style: A swamp and trees; a mermaid based on a manta ray in a deckchair made of plants; violet eyes, chin long straight violet hair; the ray's fins are buidling a cape; a black starfish as pendant on her chest; mud in her face, left eye covered with a cucumber disc, she's lifting another one from her right eye, looking tired to a plant's stalk carrying half of a coconut with a drinking straw in it, magical light floating from her finger tip to it and encompassing it; to her left a staff built from a long belemnite, a hat-like squid holding a sign "Wytch on Vakatin", an "o" added subsequentl, is thrown over its top; left to the sign floating in the air a pink ghostly starfish (Patrick from Spongebob Squarepants), wearing green trunks and red water wings; on her left on some lily pads a small pink frog and a salamander, watching sceptically her doings; in the background behind the trees you can see two giant shadowy snakes, rays from the magical light leading to the first one, forming its tongue, eyes and nostrils; text "Beware of Snacks - Concerning great powers and big side effects".

Week 4: Swamp

When I’m writing these words, Mermay 2022 is over. Well, it’s still going some days and as usual I’m going to do some aftermaths, but the bulk of work is finished, the paintings (or parts thereof) I’m going to share in the course of the next few days are done.

I could start to work on or continue with other projects. However, for the moment, I will just have a break.

Although we created a Mermay that gave room for a lot of flexibility, it still was a though planning. My claim to myself was to share one painting per day or at least a detail of the painting. Since real life also had tough time schedules, that wasn’t always easy.

So I am happy I made it this year again.

In contrast to last week, I will not give the finished 4th week’s painting right away. There are still some days between today’s post and the final one. So, I hid the final one in the diashow below.

If you feel prepared to get spoiled, just use the switch button. Oh, and I also will reveal the title in this PaintLog.

To follow the progress so far, you still can check out my Instagram gallery, or my Ko-fi or Twitter account of of course website’s 4WeeksMermay page. Again, we had some great entries of other artists which you will find under the respective Hashtag on Instagram.

Wytch on Vakation

This time the title found itself quite early. I almost used if for the Witch prompt but thought it was going to be an even better overall title. Since there is a sign in the painting telling the title, my first thought was to not write it in the paintings’s corner as usual but in the final version, it just wouldn’t have been recognizable enough.

With the 4th week’s painting we again meet a character from the last two year’s Mermays: The Little Sea Witch.

In 2020 she got her hands on the Mighty Magic Mollusc’s Staff and … err … played around with it a little bit. In 2021 she tried a conjuring but the summoning went wrong and since then she’s got a sometimes annoying and not that bright but mostly harmless companion.

Perhaps you remember that I’m putting a Spongebob Squarepants reference in every of my Mermays. Well, this he is. He’s no new one but he’s a reference.

  • Digitalzeichnung, Comicstil, monochrom Dunkelblau, heller Hintergrund: Eine junge Meerjungfrau mit dem Oberkörper über der Wasseroberfläche, sie hat kurzes, schwarzes Haar und hält einen Stab in die Luft, der aus einem Belemniten besteht, der eine große, leuchtende Perle hält. Licht und Blitze laufen an ihm entlang und er feuert einen großen Blitz in die Luft. Die Augen der Meerjungfrau leuchten weiß, auf ihrem Kopf hat sie als Hut einen Tintenfisch mit Haut zwischen den Armen. Auf ihrem Rücken sind mantarochenartige Flossen wie ein Umhang und dessen Kopfflossen formen ein schwarzes Halsband um ihren Hals. An diesem befestigt ist ein schwarzer Seestern. See und Himmel sind stürmisch, Regen und Blitze füllen die Luft. Text auf Englisch: Concerning Great Powers and Great Responsibilities.
  • Mermay 8, "Pebbles", digital painting, comic style: A mermaid seen from behind, she has purple-black neck long hair and is wearing a squid as hat, her back resembles a manta ray, covering her body like a coat, in the left hand she is holding a staff in the form of a belemnite holding a glowing white pearl, in the right hand there are some pebbles. On the sea floor there is a pentagram built from stones and pebbles, in the background some dark rock formations, title: "The Little Sea Witch and the Surplus Pebbles"
  • Mermay 17, "Starfish", digital painting, comic style: A mermaid seen from behind, she has purple-black neck long hair and is wearing a squid as hat, her back resembles a manta ray, covering her body like a coat, in the left hand she is holding a staff in the form of a belemnite holding a white pearl. On the sea floor there is a pentagram built from stones and pebbles, above it is floating a ghostly appearance of "Patrick Star" (Spongebob Squarepants). The mermaid is looking into a book with instructions (chapter "Cønjuring") which she is holding in her right hand. In the background some dark rock formations, title: "The Little Sea Witch and the Failed Conjuring"

Now we can watch her relaxing in the spa resort. Ghostrick again by her side. This time I gave him trunks and water wings because they are on vacation (the Bermuda’s are his street clothes, so there is no point to use them for swimming).

The spelling on the sign is on purpose, of course. In an earlier PaintLog I mentioned that the fantasy world my witches OCs are living in is roughly referring to Terry Pratchett’s Discworld witches world.

There like here ortography isn’t mandatory, the old witches who are teaching their apprentices the letters being quite flexible with it. So this adds to this tone.

My witches OC’s universe? Wait! Yeas, she’s The Little Sea Witch, but isn’t she from the Mermay Mermaid’s universe?

Well, if you look close you will spot two familiar amphibians. Yes, you’re right. This painting features a cameo of Raven and Samandra. At the same time it’s a crossover and why shouldn’t they live in the same fantasy universe?

  • A close-up of the frog and the salamander.
  • Digital Painting, comic style: Raven, a young woman with light rosy skin, short white hair in sidecut, barefoot, wearing a golden brown dress, tied with a rope in the middle, a pouch and a necklace with a raven charme, the left hand and the right foot are turned into frog hand and foot, Raven is looking amused towards the right, her her left a small pink frog sitting on the floor, Text: "Raven Frogfeet"

Then there are the snakes …

Perhaos you already spotted a pattern: Whenever The Little Sea Witch dies magic, something goes wrong. She used her magical abilities with the best intentions but again the side effects are getting out of hand.

I first planned to draw the snakes more like the Bone Hydra of the video game Hades but I liked the body forms right after the first drawing of the shadows and then it just wouldn’d have fit anymore. Still, I hope you can freel the same vibes.

Finally, the final makeover puts a llittle bit of glitter on the painting (I didn’t realize what this can add to a painting before!) and another pair of jaws in the foreground. The last one shouldn’t be too obvious because I wantet to lead the eye first to the Sea Witch, then to her companions, then to the coconut and the snakes in the background and only then to spot the fangs that are framing all of this.

Beware of Spoiler: By switching the image you will see the upcoming paintings

  • Digital painting, comic style: A swamp and trees; a mermaid based on a manta ray in a deckchair made of plants; violet eyes, chin long straight violet hair; the ray's fins are buidling a cape; a black starfish as pendant on her chest; mud in her face, left eye covered with a cucumber disc, she's lifting another one from her right eye, looking tired to a plant's stalk carrying half of a coconut with a drinking straw in it, magical light floating from her finger tip to it and encompassing it; to her left a staff built from a long belemnite, a hat-like squid holding a sign "Wytch on Vakatin", an "o" added subsequentl, is thrown over its top; left to the sign floating in the air a pink ghostly starfish (Patrick from Spongebob Squarepants), wearing green trunks and red water wings; on her left on some lily pads a small pink frog and a salamander, watching sceptically her doings; in the background behind the trees you can see two giant shadowy snakes, rays from the magical light leading to the first one, forming its tongue, eyes and nostrils; text "Beware of Snacks - Concerning great powers and big side effects".
  • Digital painting, comic style: A swamp and trees; a mermaid based on a manta ray in a deckchair made of plants; violet eyes, chin long straight violet hair; the ray's fins are buidling a cape; a black starfish as pendant on her chest; mud in her face, left eye covered with a cucumber disc, she's lifting another one from her right eye, looking tired to a plant's stalk carrying half of a coconut with a drinking straw in it, magical light floating from her finger tip to it and encompassing it; to her left a staff built from a long belemnite, a hat-like squid holding a sign "Wytch on Vakatin", an "o" added subsequentl, is thrown over its top; left to the sign floating in the air a pink ghostly starfish (Patrick from Spongebob Squarepants), wearing green trunks and red water wings; on her left on some lily pads a small pink frog and a salamander, watching sceptically her doings; in the background behind the trees you can see two giant undead snakes, creeping out of the shadows, rays from the magical light leading to the first one, forming its tongue, eyes and nostrils; text "The Snaking Dead - Only bodies know what death lurks in the heart of swamps".
  • Digital painting, comic style: A swamp and trees; a mermaid based on a manta ray in a deckchair made of plants; violet eyes, chin long straight violet hair; the ray's fins are buidling a cape; a black starfish as pendant on her chest; mud in her face, left eye covered with a cucumber disc, she's lifting another one from her right eye, looking tired to a plant's stalk carrying half of a coconut with a drinking straw in it, magical light floating from her finger tip to it and encompassing it; to her left a staff built from a long belemnite, a hat-like squid holding a sign "Wytch on Vakatin", an "o" added subsequentl, is thrown over its top; left to the sign floating in the air a pink ghostly starfish (Patrick from Spongebob Squarepants), wearing green trunks and red water wings; on her left on some lily pads a small pink frog and a salamander, watching sceptically her doings; in the background behind the trees you can see two giant undead snakes, creeping out of the shadows, rays from the magical light leading to the first one, forming its tongue, eyes and nostrils; text "Wytch on Vacation".