Scammermaid
It's nothing personal, and more than treasure what most her marks want is for someone to listen to their stories. That's what she tells herself, anyway.
I'm really happy with how this one turned out. It's a busy picture, but it's still easy to read with every element serving a purpose. Nothing extra here.
Mermay Day #29: Scammermaid
It's rare to have a perfectly vivid image in your mind before you begin an illustration, and even more rare for an illustration to turn out exactly how you pictured it, but this whole composition is exactly what I pictured.
Here's the quick thumbnail sketch I did to determine whether this idea would work like I was picturing it in my mind. I found a 3D model of a rowboat, made by https://www.artstation.com/mrtherich, to use as the basis for the pirate's little vessel.
I went through a few faces for the mer-fake before I got one I liked. I didn't want her to look like she was up to something, and I also didn't want her to look unintelligent. She's cunning veiled in sweet and her eye contact is the key to the whole con.
Here's the 2nd pass linework along with the digital pose-doll actors I employed.
Ultimately, this gag worked best on Twitter mobile, where it only showed you this much of the image until you tap to view the full image.