MerMay 2021
I had a very productive MerMay in 2021 and felt like I’d finally recovered some of my creative groove. I used the monthly challenge to play a lot with line and color, and while there were some experiments that didn’t quite shine, I was quite proud of a few of these merfolk and felt like I’d learned and evolved a bit as an artist (which is always the hoped-for result of a challenge like this, in my opinion). This is quite a motley assortment of mers — a Lizzo-inspired mer pops up not once but twice (with a Chris Evans-ish merman, because they were flirting on Twitter the day I drew this), there is an exploration of the two different types of sirens, and even an undersea creature inspired by No-Face from Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away. This was the first MerMay that I improvised — usually I plan them out so there is a good balance of genders and animal sidekicks. This was definitely an educational May!
MerMay 2021: Warm Up
As a warmup to the official MerMay challenge, I drew this warrior queen mermaid as a way of experimenting with linework and color and shaking off some of the lingering creative slump from 2020. I enjoyed playing with this fierce beauty! An Instagram poll for fave colors resulted in… no clear winner! People really loved the version they loved, it proved quite interesting. I’m glad I did this — I was in much better shape to start the actual challenge once May 1st rolled around.
Six Fan Arts
There is an ongoing challenge to draw a fan art 6up — characters of your choosing, anything goes. I don’t draw much fan art, but I’ve had a lot of fun with these and hope to do more!
Inktober 2020: The Heart of a Witch
My Inktober 2020 output was limited to this very personal short comic, which represented certain significant aspects of my isolated pandemic life and relationships.
MerMay 2020
Creativity during the first wave of the pandemic in early-mid 2020 was elusive. Despite my love for the annual MerMay challenge, I managed only a short comic and a few mer drawings. I was proud of any and all pandemic output. It was a rough time.