The possible biologies and ecological roles of merfolk tickle my head. Predators? Omnivorous? Lungs or gills or both (but how)? Scales and mucus or skin of some kind? Electrical sensitivity and bioluminescence? Do they have schools or pods or swim singly? Eyes like us or seals or dolphins or fish or octopi or crabs? Swim like fish or like seals?\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u00a0I can see future humans biomodding themselves into merfolk of one kind or another (via genetics and\/or surgery or….).<\/p>\n
My favorite ideas include sapience, but nonhuman social structures and motivations. I do not at all know enough about ocean-dwelling species with measurable cognition. So much to learn and know and make an imaginative glorius pool of ideas with!<\/p>\n
Post 2 of 4 Mermay sketches. Three will be public (though patrons get to see them first) and one will be patron only.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As you see each one, please tell me if you’d like to see it as a coloring sheet or worked up into a painting!\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The possible biologies and ecological roles of merfolk tickle my head. Predators? Omnivorous? Lungs or gills or both (but how)? Scales and mucus or skin of some kind? Electrical sensitivity and bioluminescence? Do they have schools or pods or swim singly? Eyes like us or seals or dolphins or fish… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-949","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-art"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phmexg-fj","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1784,"url":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/sketchbook-green-merfolk\/","url_meta":{"origin":949,"position":0},"title":"Sketchbook \/\/ green merfolk","author":"Kir","date":"26 May 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Pretty sure I've been influenced by Manelle Oliphant and her wonderful Mermendium. On my end, this is just messing around as I have been this month. Nothing like trying to make good art; just trying to do something and play a bit.The left eye is recovering well from the cataract\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art"","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/category\/art\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.metasilk.com\/wpages\/wp-content\/uploads\/c2c16aa898269b24590f5691a5840bfe.jpg?fit=820%2C820&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.metasilk.com\/wpages\/wp-content\/uploads\/c2c16aa898269b24590f5691a5840bfe.jpg?fit=820%2C820&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.metasilk.com\/wpages\/wp-content\/uploads\/c2c16aa898269b24590f5691a5840bfe.jpg?fit=820%2C820&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.metasilk.com\/wpages\/wp-content\/uploads\/c2c16aa898269b24590f5691a5840bfe.jpg?fit=820%2C820&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1021,"url":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/sketchbook-a-pod-of-merfolk\/","url_meta":{"origin":949,"position":1},"title":"Sketchbook \/\/ A pod of merfolk?","author":"Kir","date":"15 June 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Actually these three probably wouldn\u2019t get on very well.Do you have a favorite?Is there one you'd like me to try doing as a painting?Ok, now to to museum work \/ more art \/ other sketchbook pages \/ bookkeeping for freelance work (I hates this precious) \/ cleaning up things for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art"","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/category\/art\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1601,"url":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/sketchbook-holding-two-tusks\/","url_meta":{"origin":949,"position":2},"title":"Sketchbook \/\/ holding two tusks","author":"Kir","date":"13 October 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"This really needs a better name.Drawn while streaming Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Letterkenny, and Once Upon a Time. Wonder if they influenced things or not. Not if, how, really!About 3\u201d x 5.5\u201d (estimating unless I get out a ruler and edit this\u2026)Next two images are the worked-more-then-scanned-it-clean image and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art"","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/category\/art\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.metasilk.com\/wpages\/wp-content\/uploads\/15868198c9fe1822c9db670dabf8b149.jpg?fit=500%2C893&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1078,"url":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/coloring-goodness-mangrovians\/","url_meta":{"origin":949,"position":3},"title":"Coloring goodness \/\/ Mangrovians","author":"Kir","date":"8 July 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Deep in the mangroves lurk defenders: oddly-trained manatees, strange-shadowed merfolk. They are allied with the alligators...sometimes. They speak to the trees often and to the humans rarely. Will-o-wisps occasionally carry their messages. Don't ask me how I know. The Mangrovians seek invaders of all kinds, and do what they can\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art"","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/category\/art\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1759,"url":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/painted-fish\/","url_meta":{"origin":949,"position":4},"title":"Painted fish","author":"Kir","date":"17 April 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"One of my tasks this winter was to touch up some places in the fall and spring wetlands exhibits at work. Whilw we had the fall one dismantled, my boss gave me permission to add a few things; I painted some fish!The water in Lake Champlain is, based on all\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Art"","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/category\/art\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.metasilk.com\/wpages\/wp-content\/uploads\/ace8cc35f250ad31dfa409c0fad46140.jpg?fit=820%2C1093&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.metasilk.com\/wpages\/wp-content\/uploads\/ace8cc35f250ad31dfa409c0fad46140.jpg?fit=820%2C1093&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.metasilk.com\/wpages\/wp-content\/uploads\/ace8cc35f250ad31dfa409c0fad46140.jpg?fit=820%2C1093&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.metasilk.com\/wpages\/wp-content\/uploads\/ace8cc35f250ad31dfa409c0fad46140.jpg?fit=820%2C1093&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1958,"url":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/sketchbook-fish-in-a-hat\/","url_meta":{"origin":949,"position":5},"title":"Sketchbook \/\/ fish in a hat","author":"Kir","date":"11 April 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"As you know, I like critters in hats.Doodling while fam watches (and I listen) to Blacklist","rel":"","context":"In "Art"","block_context":{"text":"Art","link":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/category\/art\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.metasilk.com\/wpages\/wp-content\/uploads\/fba66fc7b7a3b534876ffe53eef5f46e.jpg?fit=820%2C632&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.metasilk.com\/wpages\/wp-content\/uploads\/fba66fc7b7a3b534876ffe53eef5f46e.jpg?fit=820%2C632&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.metasilk.com\/wpages\/wp-content\/uploads\/fba66fc7b7a3b534876ffe53eef5f46e.jpg?fit=820%2C632&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.metasilk.com\/wpages\/wp-content\/uploads\/fba66fc7b7a3b534876ffe53eef5f46e.jpg?fit=820%2C632&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/949","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=949"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/949\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=949"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=949"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.metasilk.com\/wd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=949"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}