Masters of the Sea

Good things come to those who wait... and Zee, you justified your place on my favorite artists list with that request idea of yours. What was it, several months ago when you asked?

Anyway. Zee requested a drawing of merfolk some time back (as a contest prize, I recall). But not just any ordinary, traditional, "half-and-half" merfolk, something with more of a science fiction twist to it. Without further ado, these are them: The Shiorens.

And an interesting race they are. For starters, they aren't even fish! Mammals, actually: their thick skin insulates them in a layer of body fat, and without gills, they rely on their large lungs and hold breath when diving; and with their streamlined shape, they can move through the water faster than they can run on land.

Like many species, the differences between males and females in Shioren society is more subtle than obvious: Females tend to have larger fins covering their ears, the condition of which is seen as a mark of beauty, and the ventral opening between their legs has a slightly different shape than males' -- compare a typical Shioren male (center) with the female (right side).

Shioren society has its own forms of technology including hydraulic power and a limited amount of electrical science, but those are considered an art, used and explored mainly by the higher classes of their society. Other Shioren are more content with a simpler life closer to nature, hunting and fishing with their kin as needed.

This tradition is reflected in their views towards clothing: by far, Shioren live out their lives completely nude, save for special occasions -- such as ceremony, where their choice of clothes reflects their social status; or hazardous work, where protective clothing is worn as a rule. Yet even in those cases, they only wear clothing to dress the upper body. They consider their tails sacred (which is considered to start at the waist, about stomach level) and do not make garments to cover the tails with -- notice how the Shioren male at left is dressed only from the legs up. By the way, that's diving gear used in their commercial hunting trade he is wearing; the stripes and colors on the aquatic suit indicate his rank among fellow divers. (He's not a legend or anything, but he's not second-class, either.)

And, finally, Shioren do have their own alphabet and language. At the top-right is the name of their clan, "Shioren". The print by the center Shioren reads as "male", and the print by the rightside Shioren reads as "female with child".

And the Shioren letters at the bottom? Those are just my initials, 'tis all. ;-)

IMPORTANT: Sorry to do this, but because the Shioren species is my creation -- my muse -- I will NOT allow you to use, draw, or recreate Shiorens (or their alphabet) in ANY context without my prior expressed consent. I will be keeping watch on this matter and reporting any violations to FAC site staff for removal, so if you would like to try drawing a Shioren, you need to ask me first, or simply not draw them at all.

Medium: Colored pencil
Time: About seven hours of work. Not counting all the early planning phases and concept sketches though (I probably spent three hours developing their alphabet)
Scale (full view): 60px/in
Other: a 2nd place premium at the 2005 Tillamook County Fair (Lot 22 - Fantasy)