The Mermacrabicorn

The mermacrabicorn and it's environment continues to take shape. I finally like where the lighting is coming from and the colors seem to working together more now. I need to flush out the face and tale and build up the ice forms around it. Then I want to add some subtle lighting effects around the source of the light and create some bubbles screaming from it's nose. What fun!

I spent the weekend working on the pastel/conte painting of the Mermacrabicorn. I begin by loosely drawing in the layout of the major forms in a blue pastel and then tighten it up a bit with black conte. The softness of the pastel helps the mobility and blending of the conte, which is waxier and doesn't smear around as easily. I experiment with the background and study the relationship of the mermacrabicorn to the forms surrounding it. Then I really push the values using a hatching technique and built up the structure of my underpainting. Once I was happy with that, I come back over the top of that with a bold use of color in a soft pastel and experiment with the temperature of light.

Yesterday I began my first sketch of the Mermacrabicorn for the Radical Nautical show at Gallery Lombardi. After doodling a little bit, I opted for larger, bulkier claws and a more masculine mid section to offset the long proportions in the head. The front claw is going to be more bloated and have weathering marks to make him look a little more battle tested. I'm not completely happy the positioning of the arms and Ryan Parker, illustrator extroardinaire, thought I should open up his stance to see that more of his chest. The tail design was influenced by japanese mermaid drawings I discovered online. Overall I'm happy with the way it's progressing. What do you think? Opinions and suggestions are much appreciated.

The Original Mermacrabicorn

thank you chris johnson and ryan parker for giving me the best tattoo i'll never get... the mermacrabacorn.