Swordwhale Walking: Illustration, scrivenings & photography

Viking longship Sae Hrafn hangs out at Solomon's Island, MD, the main vessel of The Longship Company; a group of serious (and fun-loving) amateur historians of the Viking Age. I had been chasing Sae Hrafn around the creeks off the Patuxent, shooting photos from my sea kayak, Makenuk's Fin, when I saw my friend's kid lean over and stare at the water in a kind of "zen of being there" moment.

The ship photo was simply adjusted on Photoshop (with a new, less cluttered sky replacing the one which has marina elements in it). Everyone was already in period costume. Part II was painted on Photoshop. I used a patch of water from the original photo, turned upside down, for the water surface in Part II. I asjusted the colors in Part 1 to match the painting. A dolphin sketch I did from dolphins at the National Aquarium in Baltimore became the dolphin to the left. The "biggest dolphin" (orca) was sketched and painted directly on Photoshop from models and photo reference. Morgan the Merrow started with a photo of a martial artist, and Peterson's Field Guide to North Atlantic Fishes (swordfish). The red cap is a bit of ancient faerie lore (I found a reference in Brian Froud and Alan Lee's "Faeries"); merrows' red caps connect them to the sea and allow them to live there.

Sky, ship and water are three different photos.  The wave horses are pulled straight up out of the water with Photoshop's smudge tool. The wild black mare was painted on Photoshop separately. The ship is 1812 era privateer 'Pride of Baltimore II' firing her cannon. For more about Pride, double click on the helmsman below.