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Jakegothicsnake β€” Guide to properly drawing mermaids Pg.5

Published: 2011-11-25 22:11:22 +0000 UTC; Views: 11140; Favourites: 91; Downloads: 64
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Description Page #5 of my mermaid drawing guide.

This one deals with how the mermaid's hands and ears can be done.

For ears, you can go with regular human ears, or you can make them fin-like. But for Heaven's sake, don't give them elf ears! I have seen some drawings on here with elf ears drawn on, and I just don't see how that would make sense. Unless you're making it so that merpeople are an offshoot of the elven race, sort of like how the naga are an offshoot of the night elf race, than I guess that could work.

For hands and wrists, you can just have just regular hands, or you can make the arms and wrists scaly, have their hands webbed, or have fins gorwing on the sides of the arms. Heck, you can even go crazy and give you'r mermaid's hands and arms all three! LOLXD

However, i only recommend long, ugly hands for scary, monstrous mermaids.

P.S. I know this isn't pictured here, but whatever you do, don't make your mermaid's hands be flat-out fins instead! Fins for hands can't be very functional other than just mobility.-_-;
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Comments: 16

Sweetheartbetta1997 [2018-08-24 01:40:06 +0000 UTC]

I draw merpeople with elf-like ears to diversify which they descend from: the short pointy eared merpeople were atlantean descent (I was inspired by the pointed pectoral fins of some fish that I thought it would be the shape of their ears) while the long pointy eared ones would be descendants of minor sea gods like the Oceanids. The humanoids ones were descendants of formerly humans-turned merpeople like Glaucus and the fish-like merpeople are descendants of evolved fish who became merfolk. Β 

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b3g-cry [2018-05-13 12:10:02 +0000 UTC]

or, y'know. let people have fun with their drawings? There's nothing wrong with people drawing mermaids with elf like ears if they want to. they're not hurting anyone, so chill, my dude.

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sandcastler [2018-03-08 21:53:47 +0000 UTC]

I love mermaids with webbed fingers & armfins like the green ones depicted here!!

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trainguy112 [2017-08-27 12:43:34 +0000 UTC]

I agree on not giving merfolk elf ears. The only exception would be if you were making a race of mer-elves.

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Mariposabutterfly [2017-03-29 13:18:23 +0000 UTC]

The fin ears I use on mermaids are similar to the fish's pectoral fins.Β 

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Kaderpow [2016-07-18 07:19:18 +0000 UTC]

only way I can accept a mermaid looking like the 3rd and 4th drawing is if she was like an alien or some hybrid made by this mad scientist or something

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Atlanta-Hammy [2015-12-31 10:18:34 +0000 UTC]

Naga's are not elves, nor do they even come close to being let alone based off them, they are Hindu mythological creature, that is half snake, an half human, they are ether a god, a spirit, or demon depending on the lore of the region....Β 

Where did you even get the information they where an off shoot to the Dark elves? (No really, Dark elves are Nordic, all elves are. Naga come from India mythos)

I'm sorry I really shouldn't be commenting on old art, but the incorrectΒ informationΒ is driving me up a wall ;v;

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Jakegothicsnake In reply to Atlanta-Hammy [2016-01-07 23:27:49 +0000 UTC]

Yes. I know naga come from Hindu mythology and elves come from Norse mythology. However, when I was talking about naga being related to elves, I was talking the elves and naga from the Warcraft videogames. Plus I said NIGHT elves, not dark elves.

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Atlanta-Hammy In reply to Jakegothicsnake [2016-01-08 00:49:07 +0000 UTC]

Ahh that makes more sense, made this sound like it was a general mythology thing.
Night & Dark elves are typically the same thing or interchangeable depending on where you go honestly, prolly why i put that by mistake.

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purplelemon [2011-11-25 22:14:06 +0000 UTC]

This is interesting but what are you basing it on?

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Jakegothicsnake In reply to purplelemon [2011-11-26 03:53:45 +0000 UTC]

Well, one of the reasons why I'm doing this is because I tend to see alot of art featuring mermaids insipred by Disney's Ariel, and I have seen certain pices of art depicting mermaids in a more exotic or unique way. Another reason is because I got inspired through this one artist's tutorial on how to draw proper centaur bodies.

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purplelemon In reply to Jakegothicsnake [2011-11-27 01:07:05 +0000 UTC]

Oh okay

The only reason I ask is because the way you stated some of the tips seemed like there was really only a few ways to draw it, and that there was a definitive "right" and "wrong" way

For example, I tend to draw most or all of my half-breeds with pointed ears, but it has nothing to do with them being or not being elves or what, but more to show that they aren't quite human, even in their human-looking parts.
I also tend to draw mers with streamlined bodies, much like a dolphin or shark and without any scaly delineation between the human and fish parts. Mine are kind of a cross between a human, marine mammal, and fish.

I agree with the Little Mermaid thing, it's kind of annoying seeing that style all the time, even if it is popular enough for a lot of people to base it off that movie XD

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Jakegothicsnake In reply to purplelemon [2011-11-27 03:29:55 +0000 UTC]

Ah, I see. That does makes sense. Giving a magical being pointed ears simply to make them look less human. that's actually what i do with my dwarves! lol

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purplelemon In reply to Jakegothicsnake [2011-11-27 19:16:51 +0000 UTC]

Plus there's different variations of pointy ears; long, short, pointed up, out, or down, sticking out from the head or positioned more like humans, etc. So the variations are endless ^^

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Jakegothicsnake In reply to purplelemon [2011-11-27 22:34:51 +0000 UTC]

Very true. I have a drawing featuring various pointed ears as well. ^_^ lol

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purplelemon In reply to Jakegothicsnake [2011-11-27 23:12:18 +0000 UTC]

That's good

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