Mermaids are my favorite mythological creatures! That’s why every year I’m super tempted, but this is the first time I’ve actually participated in #mermay. I spent a long time thinking about what kind of mermaid I would like to make. After researching many styles, I felt very inspired by the beautiful illustrations of Spanish artist Gemma Capdevila, so I decided to reinterpret her mermaids. In fact, Gemma’s works are all beautiful and poetic, and I recommend taking a look. Here’s a little bit of the step-by-step process:

This illustration is no more than 15 cm wide, and what always strikes me about this type of result is how much beauty can be created with a limited color palette. For the initial outline, I used a UniPin 0.05 pen, and for the filling, Pentel watercolors. It was done on a Canson Mix Media A4 pad.

Finally, I digitally added the boats and the lighthouse, which I painted separately some time ago in another sketchbook.