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CuriousCucumber — Betta Amethyst
by-nc-nd
#oc #iressart #bettafish #mermaid #curiouscucumberart
Published: 2017-01-15 20:11:31 +0000 UTC; Views: 2192; Favourites: 134; Downloads: 0
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Description
If you thought I had forgotten about my mermaid-AUyou are very much mistaken XD
Nope, this story is very much alive and at last getting much needed attention...
ahem...
Anyhow - Ame is a betta fish (or a fighting fish)
magnificently beautiful even for fish standards but unfortunately very much a hermit
- as one of the few fishes with an actual occupation, Ame is a record-keeper or a librarian of the reef (no they don't have books)
her duty is to remember and keep safe whatever there is important to remember.
She lives outside of the reef and Mercury is practically the only one who knows she is there
since he is kind of an apprentice of hers.
Loves her job, has no intentions of finding a mate whatsoever ... nope
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Comments: 93
Haha spot on ;D she's a bit of a hermit who keeps to herself and has very little contact to other fishes.
She's a betta, hence the hair-like fins. I wanted the fins and the hair to match and if you look at the picture of the actual fish
it has very flowy fins. And I wanted to keep the bg simple due to this being more of a reference picture than a scenery portrait and I did try
several different colors before choosing this one and personally I like the muted tone of it ^^
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From ProjectComment
This is really a lovely looking piece. The blue and purple colors work together really well and make for a lovely image. There's a lot of flowing lines in the image, which reinforces the general idea of a mermaid very well. In general the anatomy looks very nice too and I think you did a nice job in conveying the textures in your image. I really like how you drew the fins and hair both very wavy, while still very clear in their general shapes. The slight touch of added ribbons further adds to the whole look.
The biggest thing that takes away from the piece is the background. I read below that you kept the background simple because this piece is meant as a reference; it just feels a bit weird to have a rendered image like this on a fully flat background. Not a huge issue, but I think it does take away from the piece itself.
The right forearm looks a bit off; though that has been pointed out below as well. I feel her face is a bit too sharp and front-leaning. That might be your style, though if that's not intentional, perhaps look into that. It just feels like the upper half of her face is dominant and leaves her mouth/chin very little room.
I quite like how you have her hands still purple and scaly, though be a bit careful when you overlap these areas with other scaly areas. That way the hands get lost easily in the other scales. Perhaps adding a small rimlight on her hand can help to make the hand stand out on its own with only a small amount of artistic license. If I'm being a bit nitpicky, I think the lighting source isn't very clearly defined. There are a few areas where I feel like she's lit from behind, but other areas where there are highlights coming from the front. Or perhaps this was meant with multiple light sources; though without background that's very tough to discern as a viewer.
Don't get me wrong though; I really love how this image looks. You definitely did an awesome job in designing this character and drawing her in an eye-catching and interesting way. I wish there was a bit more visual storytelling going on in the actual image, but that's a bit tougher to do when doing character references. Keep up the good work!
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Thank you so much for your comment!
I get the background feedback, but personally I enjoy the simplicity of this ^^ I feel like fully rendered background would take away from the character,
but next time I'll surely draw her in a scenery!
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It would be very cool to see her in a full scenery. And to be fair it was a bit nitpicky, but the character really is very nice!
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Hello from ProjectComment!
This mermaid has caught my attention by a captivating color scheme and nice flow. I like the general design as well, especially that she has scales on her dorsal side, very neat and well-executed.
Her anatomy is very convincing, and I especially like her hands, they look very graceful and natural. However, I feel that her right forearm is bent unnaturally: the bone would not allow it to bend this way. Another minor thing are the lines on her right elbow and left shoulder that are supposed to show the bend on the skin, look slightly unnatural. On the elbow, I suggest getting rid of the line entirely and to add a bit of darker shading. On the shoulder, the change between the arm and the armpit is more subtle: she does not have deltoids of a bodybuilder 
I love that she has gills, and from her slits I assume she is a shark and not a member of Actinopterygii, but her tail says otherwise XD (excuse me, I am a biologist). This is not a problem in any way, but just an observation.
Her hair is very well-painted and I like the reflected light on the sides. The only thing that bothers me is her temple: usually people have hair slightly in front and above their ears, unless they shave it. because of this temple she looks as if she is wearing a wig on a bald head.
The color scheme is nice and cohesive, the reflected light complements the main light source well. However, I feel that she might benefit from some color variation. Here is what I mean:
some variation in hue and saturation can make your artwork more interesting, and adding some toned-down colors can help bring the colors together for more complex scenes. There is a great channel on youtube www.youtube.com/user/marcobucc… he explains these concepts very well (I am not a fan of his painting style with cartoony monsters, but he is a great teacher).
I guess I am done nitpicking
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Thank you very much for your comment and feedback 
Now that you mention that foreart *stares* I mean what? I could do better! Oh well, next time!
And you have no idea how much trouble I had with that left boob! It just wouldn't come right the way I wanted it XD so if they are only slightly different in size
I'm glad that's the only issue with those!
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This piece looks really lovely, I like the vibrant color sheme you used, and that even though you used a lot of puple every element is still very visible. You gave her a lot of detail, and everything is very polished and plesant to look at. I also really love the way you drew her face, it's really, really pretty! I somehow wish the background was in a blue tone instead, it would create the illusion of her being in water and also would close the color sheme on blue+purple aesthetic. You drew the hands very well too, overall I don't see much anatomy or proportions issues probably just how the shoulder could be a bit smaller, and how her left forearm is bending down, which shouldn't happend because, well, bones.
I'm really happy I could see this work~ Very well done!
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Heya, thank you so much for your comment :3
I like the water themes bg idea of yours - this was mainly to be a reference sheet, so that's why I chose a color to complement her color scheme and make her pop out.
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Uau! She is amazingly beautiful! Her colors, her delicate expression and hands.
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It's all my favorite colors up there
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It looks so shiny! The colors are nice too.
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All my favorites 
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Love the flow of her hair and fins... and the colors work well with each other... great drawing...
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I just looove playing around with her long and luscious hair
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I had a pet betta fish when I was little. Unfortunatley, I only had her for 4 days before she died. I was sad for a week after that.
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I've only ever had cats - hence fishes wouldn't have really matched
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Then just 2 years ago, my grandpa died due to lukemia and dementia. Then just 6 days afterward, my families house cat had to be humanely euthanized due to a UTI. I miss both of them so very much. 
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Such things always seems to happen in a row ... I feel for you I had a similar situation years back too
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OOOH DAMN
NOI HIUKSET!
Nätein kala-palkinto menee kyl Amelle XD
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Samaa mieltä XD mut se onkin mun tiimin kaunotar
- ja tässä AUssa se on erakko koska se ei jaksa perässään uiskentelevia kuolaavia mieskaloja XD
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Thankies
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Omg your comment I snorted water
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I never stop loving purple >u<
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Ahhhh my childhooooood *_*
Seriously i had notebooks FILLED to the brim with mermaids. I am so obsessed with them Q_Q
Such a pretty design! I really love how different it is from the usual sea shell bra and low cut mermaid tail :"D lol
It really has that vintage mermaid/siren feel! I've been super into looking at vintage mermaid illustrations so this is a lovely inspiration <3
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Hahah ah the nostalgia XD we used to play mermaids with my sister in our summer cottage lake - like eeevery summer all the time.
I'm happy you like it >u< hopefully you'll enjoy all the more to come too!
My mermaids aren't quite like the Disney-type ;D
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Beautiful, but will kick your butt if messed with
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Yeah I hear bettas can be rather aggressive - Ame is everything but that
so perhaps that explains why she generally avoids the other fishes of her kin
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Joku vähän sekosi noiden hiusten ja evien kanssa, näemmä...XD
O u O
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Evät oli kyl tosi simppeliä suhimista vaan
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this is so beautiful, irish!!! 
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Isn't she always ;D
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Wonderful picture! I love the colors and I love this fish. ^^
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Thank you >u< this one has been in the making for so long and I'm happy to have finally finished it!
and it turned out looking great too!
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Yoooooo *O* I'd heard about and seen the betta fish before, they really are so pretty >w< The textures here are so crisp!
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They are
I hear bettas are rather aggressive (which would explain why Ame likes it alone - since she's anything but aggressive)
but this choice was just too obvious
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Actually with the comparison to bettas' aggression, I'm just trying to imagine a feisty Amethyst XD Like, almost Black Widow, just more verbal than physical.
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Well you don't need to further than my fantasy or pirate AUs X'D
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