Starfish - 7 Legged and Otherwise.

Illustrating scary creatures has increased my tolerance of them.  However if the goal of this exercise is to actually swim in the ocean, I may have to mix in some pretty with the scary.  If I concentrate only on the terrifying, I doubt the outcome would be favorable.  So here are some starfish to join the crew.

Nautilous Illustration

I struggled to establish a twilight feel but in the end decided to keep this piece vibrant to fit with the series.  Soft murky shadows really made the nautilus creepier. (If you can believe that.)  So this illustration is done and he waves goodbye to us with up to ninety tentacles. Adieu nautilus, adieu!

Nautilus In Progress

As A.K. pointed out in the last post's comments, Nautili are most active at twilight.  So I've surrounded this one with an inky sea.  I still have to layer in the color on the shell and tentacles, but so far I am pleased by this little beastie. In particular I like the nautilus' eye.  It looks so bizzare because it is actually open to the sea around it.  Like a pinhole camera, there is no lens only a hole for the light to flow in and photoreceptors inside the hole to catch the light.  The two small tentacles on either side of the eye are uses for smell, which the nautilus uses to make up for poor eyesight during the hunt for food.

Nautilus Pencil Drawing

To be honest, I was more familiar with the riveted submarine Captain Nemo piloted in Ten Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, than I was with the creature it was named after.  This is it- the nautilus.  Unlike it's cousins the octopus and squid, it is protected by a beautiful shell as is jettisons around the ocean.  I used H6 and B2 pencils for this drawing, and increased the contrast in curves after scanning.  My favorite part of drawing this was hearing my young daughter say "Don't like Naughtyluss, he grabs everybody."

Sea Turtle Illustration – Finished

Finished!  I introduced the seaweed to give him scale and balance the composition.  I wonder if their shells feel hard or leathery?

Sea Turtle Illustration In Progress

I've imported the scanned drawing and started adding color. 

At this point it reminds me of my favorite bag from Seaside Cloth and Grass

I may have to make a print at this stage for myself. 

Sea Turtle Drawing

After the hammerheads, I wanted to to take a break from scary for a bit.  I felt guilty shirking the face your fears duty, so I asked some friends over on the Regretsy forums to vote for either the moray eel, starfish or sea turtle. They voted for the sea turtle, so here one swims.

He's quite attractive, and while he might lop off a finger or two in that beak, he's more likely to just swim by. Bemused as only a creature with such a long life span can be.