❝MerMay 2025: ABRACADABRA

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inspiration MerMay 2025
materials copic multiliner (black), Ohuhu brush tip metallic markers, Ohuhu brush tip markers

Text Cut: used markers

120 Black
B070 Tahitian Blue
CG020 Neutral Grey 02
E160 Soft Sun
E470 Tea Rose
G490 Viridian
G5 Turquoise Ink Green
PB10 Turquoise Green Light
R190 Bougainvillaea
R290 Cardinal
RG110 Red Grey 11
RV350 Crimson
V050 Pearl Violet
V060 Amethyst
Y2 Sunflower
YR190 Cadmium Orange

I really debated going with something more sinister (inspired by a certain Unforgivable Curse, specifically) but once I started sketching and landed on the idea of an octopus... everything shifted. The gears started turning and the concept quickly evolved into a mermaid performing multiple magic tricks all thanks to her many tentacles. I'm really glad I followed that instinct as I don’t think I’m quite up to the challenge of portraying something dark just yet. My style definitely leans more on the cutesy side.

❝MerMay 2025: BIOLUMINESCENCE

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inspiration MerMay 2025
materials copic multiliner (grey & black), Ohuhu brush tip metallic markers, Ohuhu brush tip markers

Text Cut: used markers

B030 Frost Blue
B050 Robin's Egg Blue
B070 Tahitian Blue
B080 Process Blue
B110 Crystal Blue
B190 Ultramarine
E240 Chamois
E260 Leather
PB4 Napoleon Blue
R110 Sardonyx
R26 Honey
R28 Colocasia
R30 Pink Cherry Pink
Y010 Primrose
Y030 Lemon Chiffon
Y040 Calamansi
Y070 Acid Yellow
Y13 Chestnut Brown
YR1 Dark Yellow
YR240 Cream
YR6 Primary Yellow
YR92 Chocolate

I immediately thought of deep-sea creatures and how their glow brings a sense of warmth to such a dark, mysterious world. I was especially inspired by the anglerfish and the sea angel. Once again, I leaned into a more cutesy interpretation rather than portraying them a light (pun maybe slightly intended) that they actually use their bioluminescence. I really loved playing with the glow effect in this one even if I was terrified of doing it at the start I usually leave the backgrounds for the end, but with this one I needed to do it first and started with the anglerfish mermaid's little light bulb and worked out from there. For sure helped me sort where on their bodies to add some glow accents.

Also really love the effect of using non black multiliners this go around. It really softens the sea angel and helps create the illusion of her glowing. The brown with the anglerfish also has a similar effect and really draws attention to the lighting effects.

❝MerMay 2025: CLOWN

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inspiration MerMay 2025
materials copic multiliner (black), Ohuhu brush tip metallic markers, Ohuhu brush tip markers

Text Cut: used markers

B070 Tahitian Blue
E050 Lipstick Neutral
E130 Copper
E240 Chamois
R190 Bougainvillea
YR5 Terra Cotta
YR190 Cadmium Orange
YR212 Milk White
CG020 Neutral Grey 02

New favorite alert? Possibly. Probably because I was watching a channel on YouTube doing a reaction to Finding Nemo, but clown made me immediately think of clownfish and away we went! Wanted to have them ~clowning around~ as well and while I initially was basing the boy mermaid off Naruto...somewhere down the line he ended up looking like an orange Goku Especially proud of the shading with this one ― it was pretty tricky because the orange I used did not stack at all so I found a burnt orange from my collection and was careful with my blending and the result surpassed my expectations.

❝MerMay 2025: AQUARIUM

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inspiration MerMay 2025
materials copic multiliner (black), Ohuhu brush tip metallic markers, Ohuhu brush tip markers

Text Cut: used markers

B220 Pale Greyish Blue
CG II 04 Cool Grey II 04
CG030 Neutral Grey 03
CG050 Neutral Grey 05
CG070 Neutral Grey 07
G340 Horizon Green
P1 Vivid Purple
PB10 Turquoise Green Light
PB9 Cloud Blue
R19 Barely Beige
R20 Powder Pink
R7 Old Red
RP1 Vivid Reddish Purple
RV010 Water Lily
RV180 Hollyhock
WG0.5 Warm Grey 0
YR91 Natural Oak

It’s been a whirlwind couple of days with school commitments for the kiddos—yesterday was my eldest’s sports day festival (a big deal on its own), and as vice chair of the public relations committee, I spent the entire time on my feet snapping photos and gathering quotes from everyone. Sooooo I’ve fallen a bit behind, but I’m hoping to catch up today!

As for this piece, uuuuuuuuuuuuum I’m not sure I fully pulled off the vision I had in mind The concept was meant to flip the typical aquarium experience...mermaids visiting humans on display in an underwater exhibit, the inverse of how we usually visit sea life on land. Buuuuut I think I got a little lazy with the coloring and the idea didn’t quite come through. Maybe it reads more like an optical illusion now...where it’s hard to tell who’s visiting who?

❝MerMay 2025: PSYCHEDELIC

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inspiration MerMay 2025
materials copic multiliner (black), Ohuhu brush tip markers, Sharpie Acrylic Markers

Text Cut: used markers

0 Colorless Blender
120 Black
B050 Robin's Egg Blue
B070 Tahitian Blue
B080 Process Blue
B190 Ultramarine
R10 Pastel Pink
RP1 Vivid Reddish Purple
RV010 Water Lily
RV160 Thistle
V370 Blue Bell
YR220 Yellowish Shade

I've never played League of Legends, but I was completely captivated by both the character design and arc of Jinx from (especially season one) of Arcane. I think her color scheme of neons and graffiti aesthetic is perfect for encapsulating sensory overload, and Jinx herself feels like a manifestation of altered perception — chaotic, unfiltered, and emotionally raw. First time in a long while, if ever, that I attempted a piece with manic energy a a more sinister looking expression. I really leaned into into her signature palette...well...the two colors that jump out the most to me...with shocking pinks and toxic blues, while adding the swirls and graffiti symbols the the show often uses to depict the constant noise inside her head. I gave her a shark-ish tail because, well, if you know then you KNOW

Pretty darn proud of this one

❝MerMay 2025: STITCH

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inspiration MerMay 2025
materials copic multiliner (black), Ohuhu brush tip markers, Sharpie Acrylic Markers

Text Cut: used markers

B030 Frost Blue
B050 Robin's Egg Blue
B070 Tahitian Blue
CG030 Neutral Grey 03
G140 Horseradish
G340 Horizon Green
R170 Lipstick Red
RV010 Water Lily
RV180 Hollyhock
V230 Viola
V370 Blue Bell
V390 Dark Slate Blue
YG040 Yellow Grey 04

Originally, because we were going to Tokyo Disneyland, I wanted to do Stitch in his sand pile but the sand pile had been shaped into a mermaid's tail. Well, me and a lot of the MerMay participants I follow on Instagram had the exact same idea and since I was late to the party getting to this prompt I decided to change gears and go with a rag doll theme instead.

❝MerMay 2025: WATERCOLOR

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inspiration MerMay 2025
materials copic multiliner (grey), GELLY R@LL (white)Ohuhu brush tip markers

Text Cut: used markers

B030 Frost Blue
B050 Robin's Egg Blue
B070 Tahitian Blue

I was immediately inspired by The Watery from Cardcaptor Sakura and I based this mermaid design on that Clow Card — especially her striking, dragon-wing-like ears! She is my my first attempt at following a water texture tutorial using Ohuhu markers and for most of the process I genuinely thought it was going to flop. Once I added the finishing touches with a white gel pen everything came together, however, and I absolutely fell in love with the result. I'm now extra motivated to keep practicing water effects and pushing myself further with limited palettes.

❝MerMay 2025: TSUNAMI

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inspiration MerMay 2025
materials copic multiliner (black), GELLY R@LL (white), Ohuhu brush tip markers

Text Cut: used markers

BG1 Turquoise Green
G340 Horizon Green
G5 Turquoise Ink Blue
PB10 Turquoise Green Light
R170 Lipstick Red
R290 Cardinal
Y2 Sunflower
YR33 Melon Yellow

Because sometimes the tsunamis are internal

❝MerMay 2025: MEMORY

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inspiration MerMay 2025
materials copic multiliner (grey), Ohuhu brush tip markers

Text Cut: used markers

G220 Lime Green
G240 Beige Green
GG020 Green Grey 02
R26 Honey
R28 Colocasia Tomoimo
R290 Cardinal
YG040 Yellow Grey 04
YR10 Brun
YR148 Thin Persimmon
YR91 Natural Oak
YR92 Chocolate

Midnight, not a sound from the pavement
Has the moon lost her memory?
She is smiling alone
In the lamplight, the withered leaves collect at my feet
And the wind begins to moan
Memory, all alone in the moonlight
I can smile at the old days
I was beautiful then
I remember the time I knew what happiness was
Let the memory live again

❝MerMay 2025: OASIS

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inspiration MerMay 2025
materials copic multiliner (grey), Ohuhu brush tip metallic markers, Ohuhu brush tip markers

Text Cut: used markers

0 Colorless Blender
B030 Frost Blue
B220 Pale Greyish Blue
B250 Light Blue
B340 Lavender Mist
BR2 Potato Brown
CG020 Neutral Grey 02
CG050 Neutral Grey 05
E220 Sand
G220 Lime Green
G240 Beige Green
R190 Bougainvillea
R250 Antique Fuchsia
RV260 Pink
V050 Pearl Violet
V060 Amethyst
V370 Blue Bell
Y010 Primrose
Y070 Acid Yellow
YR209 Hazelnuts
YR212 Milk White
YR6 Primary Yellow

Daily (at least twice and sometimes thrice) oasis: a cup of tea.

❝MerMay 2025: GEMINI

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inspiration MerMay 2025
materials copic multiliner (black), GELLY R@LL (white), Ohuhu brush tip markers

Text Cut: used markers

0 Colorless Blender
B120 Pale Blue
B140 Aquamarine
CG020 Neutral Grey 02
CG030 Neutral Grey 03
CG050 Neutral Grey 05
G340 Horizon Green
PB4 Napoleon Blue
R3V350 Crimson
RG110 Red Grey 11
V060 Amethyst
V330 Prune
WG0.5 Warm Grey 0
YR34 Yellow

Inspired by two characters from another anime that absolutely changed my life (...definitely wrote my college entrance essays based on the titular character), Miki and Kozue Kaoru are the enigmatic twin siblings from Revolutionary Girl Utena. Together they embody the duality central to the astrological sign Gemini of mirrored identity, inner conflict, and the balance between intellect and instinct . Miki is the soft-spoken prodigy who seeks order and purity, while his sister Kozue is impulsive and provocative and thrives on emotional chaos. They are both Geminis themselves which adds to the theme too. Far from my favorite characters in the series, but my adoration for this series was rekindled recently thanks to an e-mail from my dad in which he watched the movie version recently and offered his thoughts about it and recollected fondly of watching this series together with me back when I was still young.

❝MerMay 2025: WICKED

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inspiration MerMay 2025
materials copic multiliner (black), Ohuhu brush tip metallic markers, Ohuhu brush tip markers

Text Cut: used markers

120 Black
E210 Brick Beige
E310 Dark Brown
G110 Mignonette
G270 Moss
G300 Dark Olive
R18 Pastel Peach
R190 Bougainvillaea
RV010 Water Lily
RV260 Pink
Y13 Chestnut Brown
Y2 Sunflower
YR1 Dark Yellow
YR6 Primary Yellow
YR91 Natural Oak
YR95 Burnt Sienna

I mean...what other option WAS there?!

Come with me
Think of what we could do together
Unlimited
Together, we're unlimited
Together, we'll be the greatest team there's ever been, Glinda
Dreams the way we planned 'em
If we work in tandem
There's no fight we cannot win
Just you and I defying gravity
With you and I defying gravity

They'll never bring us down

❝MerMay 2025: EXOSKELETON

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inspiration MerMay 2025
materials copic multiliner (black), Ohuhu brush tip metallic markers, Ohuhu brush tip markers, Sharpie Acrylic Markers

Text Cut: used markers

120 Black
B030 Frost Blue
B070 Tahitian Blue
B110 Crystal Blue
B190 Ultramarine
B250 Light Blue
CG020 Neutral Grey 02
PB Napoleon Blue
R120 Light Prawn
R190 Bougainvillaea
R290 Cardinal
R4 Deep Red
RV350 Crimson
Y030 Lemon Chiffon
Y070 Acid Yellow
YR33 Melon Yellow

Oldest kiddo went through a phase where he really loved dwarf shrimp and kept several and would just spend hours watching them swim around - admittedly, I would too because they were just so stinkin' cute, especially when they reproduced and then there were even tinier little shrimps swimming around. So here is a little scene of some dwarf shrimp inspired mermaids playing tag

❝MerMay 2025: SERENITY

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inspiration MerMay 2025
materials copic multiliner (black), GELLY R@LL (white), Ohuhu brush tip metallic markers, Ohuhu brush tip markers

Text Cut: used markers

B030 Frost Blue
B050 Robin's Egg Blue
B070 Tahitian Blue
CG020 Neutral Grey 02
E010 Pale Fruit Pink
E090 Eggshell White
G320 Jade Green
G340 Horizon Green
R120 Light Prawn
R190 Bougainvillaea
RV030 Light Hot Pink
RV130 Queen Pink
V230 Viola
Y010 Primrose
Y030 Lemon Chiffon
Y230 Deep Cream
YR030 Carmine Red
YR33 Melon Yellow

MerMay has officially come to an end, and I felt utterly spoiled with the final prompt being serenity. I somehow had blinders on throughout the challenge, focusing only on the prompt of the day, so it was such a lovely surprise to realize I’d get to wrap up this month of mermaids by connecting it to another art challenge I completed earlier this year: Inktober.

For Inktober, I designed each prompt through the lens of Sailor Moon, so it really is a full-circle moment to conclude MerMay with a tribute to the same inspiration. After aaaaaaaaaaaaall... Sailor Moon is the reincarnation of Princess Serenity and her future self is Neo-Queen Serenity… so how couldn’t I reimagine her as a mermaid?

This specific design is also based off an absolutely breathtaking cosplay by Mermaid Sirenity and eh eh, check out her name―it really was meant to be.