swimmin' with a mermaid...

Hello my fabulous friends!

I've never gotten into most of the social media art challenges... The only one I ever participate in is the 30 day coloring challenge... But I have been intrigued by MerMay...  
As I was planning out my projects for may, I was in the mood for something different from what I have been doing, and I remembered the various underwater stamps I have from La-La Land Crafts... Including a mermaid...
So... here's as close as I'll probably ever get to joining in the MerMay challenge...



Paper: Neenah Classic Crest Solar White
Stamps: La-La Land Crafts Sassy Mermaid Molli, Make a Splash, Jaws Because
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Coloring: Copic
Skin- BV25, BV23, C4, C1, C0, V000, BV000, R20
Hair- YR30, RV42, RV63, RV66, RV69, BG75
Tail- RV52, RV63, V12, V15, V17, V09
Seaweed-BG32, YG03, YG93, YG95, YG97, G29
Sea horse- YR14, YR18, E18, YR27, YR24, Y19, Y15
Shells- YR27, YR24, Y19, Y15, E18, Y00
Water- BG000, BG01, BG02, BG05, BG07, BG09, B99
Bubbles- BV0000, V000. BG000


This scene took quite a bit of masking, and a long time to color... I haven't done a card where I pushed myself outside of my comfort zone with colors and techniques for a while... I've been too focused on meeting deadlines... however, I reached a point where I was just too overwhelmed and stressed to function, and my friend suggested a change of scenery, and a bit of a break.. so  I let myself play with this card, and I'm so glad I did! It was so much fun to create just to make something! And challenging myself in my coloring made it both more scary, and more rewarding!


I went with a gray/blue violet skin tone for her... Doing non-human skin tones is always a fun challenge! 

 For her hair, I pulled the one of the pinkish purple tones from her tail and used that to create a new blend of colors, this time pushing more towards the pinks.


For her tail, I went with a purple to pink blend. I didn't want it to be just one color, but I also wanted the blend to look natural. I used stippling (lots of little dots) to give the fin some scale like texture. I also carried the dots up slightly into her waist.. I like my scales to fade into skin instead of having a harsh break between the skin and scale.. It makes it feel more like the tail is part of her instead of a costume.

 Are you more inspired by cards like this (full scene, lots of detail and coloring) or by CAS cards with lots of white space? Let me know in the comments!

See you soon!
~Kassi

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