This is the Merman. I created this cryptid creature / monster art for Fairytales and Myths.
Mermen are sea spirits and, physically at least, the male equivalent of mermaids. Collectively the two creatures are often called Merfolk.
Creating the Merman was the most time-consuming part of the entire project since it took multiple attempts before I was happy with the result. The first attempt I scrapped entirely.
The second attempt was this unfinished Merman character design with the modern shipwreck. The fish, sharks, reef, and misc. details still needed work, but it was coming together well enough. I just felt like I wanted a more dynamic scene that felt like it was in motion.
For the third attempt, I took that Merman character, gave him the classical fish body, and put him on a wave. It’s a little rough but this version was almost finished.
But I still wasn’t happy, so I recreated the scene from the ground up in a realistic style using a combination of tools.
The “Fat Thor mermaid” came to life at the request of a relative… and perfection was born!
Check out the Merman page for more details.