By: Max Cao

Every year, artists around the world draw a mermaid every day for the month of May and post it online with the hash tag #Mermay. Over the years, this became known as the Mermay art competition.

When Former Disney artist Tom Bancroft posted a picture of two mermaids lounging on rock on social media, it went viral. Bancroft thought, “Wow! People really like mermaids! There’s not a lot of people tapping that area of fantasy.”

Bancroft came up with the idea of having a different list of daily prompts each Mermay to inspire artists. (Hey! Very much like how EWJ gives their staff writers prompts every day!) On day 13, the prompt was “cyberpunk”, which immediately made artist Silvia Brunetti think of seahorses. Bancroft said many people enjoy this part of the challenge, where they can see the day’s prompt and how other artists approached the prompt.

Some people, like illustrator Liana Hee, don’t follow Mermay’s prompts. Hee finds ways to entertain herself in Mermay. In 2022, Hee made all her paintings in mini gouache frames that are each only 2.5 by 3.5 inches long. She thinks it’s wonderful to connect with artists online, having a little group like this. You can draw by yourself, but when you connect with other people, it’s is a lot more fun since you can talk to each other about your works as well as give and receive advice from other people. This way, it’s more inspiring, just like what Hee said, “It really is artists supporting artists.”