


Some look like normal human beings from the waist up, others have fishier “ears,” gills, or other elements. It’s also important to decide how “fishy” you want your mermaid to look. Using references to get the right body positioning might be useful during this step. That is what I have laid out in this thumbnail sketch. In this artwork, I want to allow the mermaid girl to come towards the viewer from the ocean deep through the bubbles with her hair flowing around her. I start with the thumbnail sketch, which is a simple low detail rough drawing showing the grayscale idea of how the overall artwork will look, emphasizing the layout of the scene.

In this step, I will be sketching a magical mermaid delicately swimming in the warm waters near the surface, with the sunlight glistening down onto her from the water surface above.
