Evolution of a Merpeople

As I hinted earlier in my Shioren drawing ("[url=pic-218640.html]Masters of the Sea[/url]"), I put a lot of time and thought into the Shioren as a race before actually sitting down to create the drawing. How much time, you ask? I lost count... but I did keep their conceptual sketches lying around, which detail the thought processes I went through in designing them!

- The initial concept (top, left), drawn on a page torn from a day-by-day calendar. My guiding phrase for the Shioren race was something that appeared "part human, part fish" -- and without the traditional, "half-and-half" interpretation commonly used for merfolk. So I imagined a great spectrum with 'human' on one end and 'fish' on the other. I sketched a human profile at the left, then a fish-morphic profile on the right (which I'd estimate at 1/3 fish, 2/3 human in shape), and sketched a blend betwen them in the center.

- Early concept sketches (top, center). I decided early on that the Shioren should use the same between-the-legs tail placement as my Dracans and reptile-anthros, so I sketched out front and back profiles here to work from. I also started picturing what the head and face should look like....

- More concept sketches and poses (top, right). Basically some swimming poses to get the proper 'feel' for the Shiorens in profile. Their body shape needed to be rather streamlined, their lower body in particular (critical to underwater maneuvers, thus justifying their large, reptilian-style tail and shorter legs). I also sketched out the basic gender differences between the sexes -- the shape of their ventral opening, and, for the female, mammary location. (I deemed the Shiorens should be mammals, not fish.) Note the tail decor as well.

- Head and facial structure (bottom, left). Their neck needed to be flexible to allow them to see forward both when standing upright, and when swimming. I also wanted the face to show some 'human' like qualities here, and I took some inspiration from the Zora race in Ocarina of Time for this. I decided on fins over their ears, a slightly animal-shaped nose, and a scallop-like decor for their cranium. Look closely at the angle shot and you can still see some of the guiding sketch lines I started with.

- Hand and arm structure (bottom, center). No surprises here, their arms and hands are very humanlike. Their large nails and webbing between their fingers were the primary differences, justified by the fact that they swim a lot, so their hands need to be useful as 'paddles' for steering.

- Leg, lower body, and tail structure (bottom, right). A close-up of their hindquarters area detailing exactly how their legs connect to the tail (that's right: It's not the tail that connects to their legs, it's their legs that connect to the tail!) Note the more animal-style feet and toe structure, such as how their first toe (which, on a human foot would be the 'big toe') is smaller than the second (their 'big toe'), similar to dewclaws on an animal. Though I did not include that detail here, their tails do bear a small fin at the end for decoration (and, of course, underwater steering).

There is much more I could say about the Shiorens as a race and what I went through designing them... I probably spent as much time searching for a decent name as I did designing a decent physiology!

IMPORTANT: Keep in mind that the Shioren race and physiology design are my creation, my muse (and copyright), and may NOT be used or reproduced in any context unless I specifically give prior permission to do so. If you'd like to draw the Shiorens yourself, ask me for permission before trying, and give credit afterwards; otherwise, I will be reporting it to site staff for prosecution and removal.

Medium: Standard 0.7mm pencil, inked for clarity before scanning, cleaned and arranged via computer
Time: Unknown (several hours at least)
Scale (full view): 60px/in