🌊Splashing Around with the Water Dragon: Neptune!

Hello everyone!

First off, a huge thank you to everyone who came out to Friend Fest and said hello! It was an absolute blast. We love the chill vibes of all the attendees and vendors at this show.

Today, I want to take you through the design process for Neptune, the ocean dragon. 

Fun facts: Did you know Neptune is 17 times the mass of earth? That’s massive! It’s also named after the Roman god of the sea, which is why its symbol is a trident.

Let’s dive into art!

The idea for Neptune actually started while I was sketching concepts of Earth. I initially played a round with a turtle design for Earth, but it just didn’t feel right. I had to think about it. Maybe the design might fit Neptune a bit better? So, I ran with the idea.

Next came the rough sketch. Something about it felt fishy. The shell design wasn’t clicking. So we experimented with a few different options.

Eventually, we landed on a seashell design. It tied together the ocean theme beautifully. From there, I moved on to inking and working on the mandala. I kept ocean waves in mind while adding lots of swirls to mimic the motion of water.

IT'S READY!...Well not quite. Something still bothered me about it. Ryan pointed out that the head design wasn’t hitting the mark. So, I went back to the drawing board and sketched out a bunch of different heads.

We ultimately settled on a whale head. Why? Because it’s friggin’ cute and packed with personality! Who says dragons have to be so serious? 

Let’s fish up the final design.

Neptune’s shell will feature a nice pearl effect on the shell to really show it off in the light. This might be similar to how this effect works for our elemental fox pins.

If you’re excited for the campaign and want to help out, please share the campaign around. We super appreciate your help in making this set of pins a reality.

Next week we’re off to Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle March 6th - 9th! If you happen to be around, we’d love to say hello!

Thanks again for being a part of the adventure, and have an amazing weekend!

Arielle + Ryan