The Phantom Inker

Maya stared in shock. Trevelius had told her his home was different and his family was different, that she should expect the unexpected... but this? She'd dated him for a month and had no clue that he was really hiding... this. And what had she become? What had that pendant of his made of her? A horse? A fish? She had no idea what to even call herself. She reached out with one hand, unsure whether to touch the scales of her new tail or recoil in horror from it.

"Come," he said, "don't wait here; there's so much more you have yet to see!"

His hand tugged at hers, and when she looked up, he was barely suppressing a boyish grin, and those beautiful, deep eyes of his were shining. She took a deep breath. There was only one thing she could say in reply...

So this was an example of what I can draw in six hours straight if I get properly inspired. I was explaining to someone this morning that fish-centaurs like these are properly called "hippocentaurs" or "icthyocentaurs," when two facts struck me: First, that my wife absolutely adores this species, and second, that I'd never drawn them. In just a flash, this idea was born, and as usual, I intended to just do a rough skeleton, and instead did it up to almost complete linework with all sorts of details.

So six hours with CorelDRAW and a mouse, and widescreen because I've never done widescreen before. I dunno if I'll ever color this, but it's pretty neat as it is.