What would you do if you if you found a soulmate- but they weren't the same species? A fantastical Romeo and Juliet, of sorts but with fins versus lungs, rather than families. Just don't ask me what happened to her mask- maybe he can filter oxygen for her? (really I felt it took away from the stillness of the surprise of the intimacy). It's rather haunting, isn't it?
The picture itself was inspired by the song 'Underwater' by Vertical Horizon, off the album 'Go'. It starts with this repeating of two notes on the guitar and the vocals before bleeding into the music equiviant of the water rushing by your ears. Or maybe I'm just nutters.
I've drawn mermen before (this is specifically based off two of my characters Falair and Mela), even underwater- but never to this detail. I wanted to show this was more than half man/ half fish, so that's where the stripes, webbing and ears come into play. I also figured that if there was going to be less of a fish tail and more of a shark tail, allowing for more streamlining. The background crashed my computer 2 times. I really was working a bit too detailed. Wooooops.
Full working time: 30-40 hours; Pilot fineliner, Wacom Tablet, Photoshop.