MerMay 2018: A Roundup of Great Mermaid Art

When creative people come together and decide to make art around the same idea, for no reason in particular, just because they can, I get excited. Last month, comic artists and illustrators around the globe came together daily to post mermaid art. That’s right, MerMay. MerMay is pretty straight forward: post a drawing, sketch, illustration, painting—whatever!—of a mermaid, every day in May. Many artists used this as a chance to try out different styles and techniques, and now we can sit back and revel in the massive creative output. I’ve compiled a selection of great entries for a MerMay 2018 roundup, and it was so hard to whittle it down to one piece for each day. Be sure to check out the MerMay hashtag on Twitter and Instagram for more!

✧ Pretty & Ruthless ✧ Happy first day of Mermay! I’m not going to be able to do all 31 days but I’m aiming for half at least. That way I can put my favourites from this year and my favourites from last year together in a zine! xo#JijiKMerMay2018 #MerMay#MerMay2018 pic.twitter.com/xRxvvm15Xd

— 👁‍🗨「j i j i」@ HeroesCon ♡ (@jijidraws) May 1, 2018

gonna dip in #mermay for a week lol

Day 1: Mangkukulam Philippine mythical magic ladies who stick needles in voodoo dolls to put curses/hexes on people :^0#mermay2018 #artph I have a lowkey phobia of sea urchins lmao pic.twitter.com/T1Gc035ZSx — Ibong Adarne 🌻🐸 (@LianneAdarne) May 2, 2018

secret beauty tip #mermay pic.twitter.com/vB0LoTLDpr

— Isadora Zeferino (@imzeferino) May 3, 2018

Mermaid Queen. 🔱 #mermay pic.twitter.com/M9edgI1zxj

— Little Paper Forest (@LtlPaperForest) May 4, 2018

Got some requests for mermaid couples, so here are two bubbly girls in love #mermay #mermaid #art #sketch pic.twitter.com/Vc61XsrIXv

— Samantha Mash 🌾 (@anamericanghost) May 6, 2018

Día 3 #mermay #mermaychallenge #mermay2018 #illustration #ilustracion #sirena #siren #damthia #chile

A post shared by @ damthia on May 6, 2018 at 6:08am PDT

Day 5: Mythology!⚓️ Of course I was going to do a manatee merm for one of the days, I thought the old sailor stories of beautiful women in the water (who were actually just manatees chillin’) went well with this prompt #mermay #mermay2018 pic.twitter.com/pOiYTDIK9Z

— Jenn St-Onge (@princess_jem4) May 7, 2018

Golden mermaid for #mermay day 8 pic.twitter.com/7CJGmKWjBd

— crumbum (@beebooties) May 8, 2018

(7/31) guess this ones for the the night crowd!! little fisherman girl really wants to keep her catch to show her classmates she has a cool mermaid boyfriend but he’s apprehensive…made him a stringfish since they’re big and rare river fish!! 🌺#mermay🌺 pic.twitter.com/L8BCsGyG6A

— gwen! @ mer🧜‍♀️may (@mrpibmo) May 9, 2018

MerMay day 10… An underwater squirrel?!? #mermay #mermay2018 #squirrel pic.twitter.com/qN0iJllNqR

— J. L. Meyer 🐇 (@JenniferLMeyer) May 10, 2018

A mermaid and her followers. Day 11 of #mermay pic.twitter.com/UGXIxU2EsG

— Gabrielle Kari 🗡 (@gabriellemkari) May 11, 2018

Happy weekend! Here’s another #mermay #sketch for you. This one has hair that ensnares prey, almost acts as a filter to catch the tiniest creatures in the water in which she feeds. Bigger creatures that find themselves trapped get stuck and drown. #sketc… https://t.co/MCRbeUxk0T pic.twitter.com/KoBub5JoP3

— 𝕴𝖗𝖎𝖘 𝕮𝖔𝖒𝖕𝖎𝖊𝖙 (@artofeyeris) May 12, 2018

a bit late but here’s our favorite mermaid knight ✨✨#mermay #metgala #metgala2018 pic.twitter.com/Emc7YnYQwA

— cain stan (@starkstorms) May 13, 2018

#Mermay day 14. Long dreads! Also lion fish inspired. With this I complete week 2! I’ll post a summary later. Hope you like it! 🐟🦁💪 https://t.co/rDt4F9Iigl#mermay2018 pic.twitter.com/EBtnOgM9Hv

— Xelgot (@xelgot) May 14, 2018

Gibson girl mermaid for #mermay! pic.twitter.com/Wda2clsVqC

— Lois van Baarle (@loishh) May 15, 2018

#mermay2018 Day 16: I guess she’s mad at her little fish friend 🐟 🧜🏽‍♀️ @tombancroft1 @procreate @procreateapp #art #artist #mermay #meikearts #digitalart #digitalartist #digitalpainting #mermaid #characterdesign #animation #illustration #procreate #procreateapp #procreateart #ipadpro #applepencil #apple #fish #disney #waltdisney

A post shared by Meike Schneider (@meikearts) on May 16, 2018 at 11:13am PDT

Got one in for #mermay. Cover for a new zine, here’s hoping that it would be done in time for AN pic.twitter.com/5EQldpr4wy

— Jennee (@draa_) May 17, 2018

mer-cuties 👯‍♀️ happy Friday! ✨ #mermay . . . #mermay2018 #queerlove #queerillustration #kidlitartist #illustratorsoninstagram #procreatesketch

A post shared by ✏️ Kate Alizadeh ✏️ (@katealizadeh) on May 18, 2018 at 7:57am PDT

A goth black goldfish mermaid getting ready for goth activities #mermay #mermay2018 pic.twitter.com/qULTMQ1ldo

— Amanda Kiefer (@ImagineAmanda) May 19, 2018

#mermay Day 20. The otter found something a bit more cozy to snuggle in than seaweed 😂😴 . . . . . . #mermaid #mermay2018 #afro #otters #otter #seaweed #californiacoast #sleep #digitalart #ipadart #ocean #mermaids #procreate #sketch #drawing #draw #kidlitart #childrensbooks #friends #artoftheday

A post shared by Raissa Figueroa (@rizzyfig) on May 20, 2018 at 7:01am PDT

Mermay 🐠 Today Mermay and beautiful marine piece by @edrielle_shop . . #mermaychallenge #mermaid #mermay2018 #print #dibujantenocturno

A post shared by Dibujante nocturno (@dibujantenocturno) on May 21, 2018 at 11:00am PDT

Mermaid Frida Kahlo #Mermay 22 #sketch #Mermay2018 #mermaid #sea #art #Draw #quick #art #digitalArt #digitalInk #Siren #fantasy #merfolk #digital #ink #Fridakahlo

A post shared by Lucas Werneck (@lukaswerneck) on May 23, 2018 at 3:13pm PDT

deep dive 🌊 day 23#mermay pic.twitter.com/qeleUjoruL

— itsa me, vicki 🌵 (@vickisigh) May 23, 2018

Exhausted but… #Mermay 12/15 💪 #Mermay2018 pic.twitter.com/4MItiOUEj6

— Srta.M✨ (@m_atelier) May 24, 2018

An adult tiki leafy sea dragon mermaid haha#mermay #mermay2018 #tiki #fireemblem pic.twitter.com/xiDngClZ9t

— Maybels (@MaybelsArt) May 25, 2018

Is there such thing as a ballerina mermaid? #mermay #cutiesaturday pic.twitter.com/qWCrYHBirr

— Giulia wants coffee (@guillylia) May 26, 2018

Day 27 of #mermay as the waves crash around you, a glitter of seafoam catches your eyes. And there she is the daughter of triton herself. #mermay2018 #mermaid #illustration pic.twitter.com/Q8cADRwXJ3

— Sophiralou@YCC (@sophiralou) May 27, 2018

Dancing in the dark. 🔮Last days of the #mermay #contest #love #mermay2018 #illustrator #illust #drawing #cartoon #character #design #digitalart #illustration #picoftheday #characterdesign #painting #doodling #doodle #mermaid #ioert

A post shared by I R I N A & O L G A • E R T (@ioert) on May 28, 2018 at 7:24am PDT

Little catfish doodles for today #mermay #mermay2018 Hahahah 🤣🤭 I wanna make one of these into a pin!

A post shared by 🌸 Catherine Kay 🌸 (@katnippillustration) on May 29, 2018 at 10:01am PDT

a shy poet always throws her work into the ocean letter-in-a-bottle style, prompting a local mermaid to become a huge fan of the girl that keeps chucking bottled poetry into her backyard — for #mermay :)) pic.twitter.com/fArNHY3VSd

— Nor🌱☀️ (@pidgebbi) May 30, 2018

Here’s the whole, darn pool party! #mermay #mermay2018

A post shared by Emma Steinkellner (@emsteinkellner) on May 31, 2018 at 1:45pm PDT

  Looking for more bookish mermaids? Check out The Aquatic World: 5 Books About Mermaids and Of Mermaids and YA Fiction.