Another Character Study/ Timed Challenge For Myself- Went A Half Hour Over What I Planned And Hit 2 Hours

another character study/ timed challenge for myself- went a half hour over what I planned and hit 2 hours (goal was 1/2 hr sketch and 1 hr paint)

Where's Ghiaccio? Or Gelato and Sorbet for that matter. It's sorta suspicious that they weren't even mentioned by the other assassins... Did something happen to them??

Actually, to be totally honeat with you, I like??? Deadasa forgot that Ghiaccio is part of La Squadra. His battle was one I slept through because I was sleep deprived, and I couldn't bring myself to rewatch it before I finished the rest of Golden Wind.

As for Gelato and Sorbet? We'll have to find out, now won't we?~

“AHHH-HAHAHA!” a squeal of surprise from being suddenly lifted up turns into a full belly laugh realizing what Mista has done.  “MISTA! A little warning next time!” the heat of the comment is lost with how hard I’m laughing. I’m giggling and treading water for a second while I try to calm down, finally able to speak “Well I guess the best first step to knowing you all better is to hang out on your terms… I know I cant keep up with any of you in the water but…” I hold out my hands palm up to the cluster “who wants to go for a swim?” 

So many things I want to know! I guess top question is we know a little about male/initiating courting rituals- is there a proper way to reciprocate? Do I need to go get some courting gifts for them?

Bruno hums, tipping his head upwards while flicking his small barracuda fins around. “Well… As the receiving party, it’s not exactly mandatory for you to reciprocate.” You frown, a little put off by this. You tell him that it seems weird that it would be all on the male to try and press a female, and he smiles fondly.

“Yes, I can see how it would be strange for humans, but you do have to keep in mind: Merfolk are only a hair’s breath away from being just animals. A lot of these courting behaviours are remnants of a time when merfolk were less talkative, and when our lifespans were shorter.” Bruno twists gracefully, reaching out to gently cup your face in one hand. “However, in recent decades, some merfolk have found small ways to reciprocate.”

Flicking his tail, Abbacchio leans over Bruno’s shoulder. “Don’t forget, Bruno. It does depend on the size of the cluster.”

“Mhm, yes it does.” A little more excited, you lean forward. “Now, you know the normal way to accept a courting cluster. ’Accept whatever gifts they bring, offer some things of personal value back’ and so on.” You nod. He grins back at you, shifting. “Well, depending on how big that cluster is, you can be a bit more proactive.”

“Yep.” Abbacchio grumbles. “If you want to actively court/flirt back with a bigger cluster, it generally requires you to get to know them really well. Bigger clusters appreciate when you figure out details about them, and act on them.”

“That may be a little bit mire difficult with humans, but… Well, that procedure is already a bit outdated.” Bruno seems uncomfortable with that train of thought, shaking himself to rid his mind of it. “Anyway, smaller clusters tend to like material things. Really, small clusters are more likely to break the traditional “male brings gifts to female” trope.“

final style test for my comic adaptation of Merfolk Mating Rituals are Confusing by @zippers-flowers-and-wine. A mix of hand painting and 3D work. also here is the first look at our female main character (original story is reader insert)

bonus render I thought was cool

CHAPTER 12 HAS ARRIVED B I T C H E S

(Had to post this early bc I won't be around to post later)

testing out my pc’s capabilities again. 

hypothesis: if I save as a image sequence I can start and stop the render and use photoshop to compile it later.  conclusion: true

now on to actual renders for Merfolk Mating Rituals! finally have enough 3D assets made to start chapter 1. WE’RE OUT OF PRE-PRODUCTION!!