Someone pointed out to me that I've been calling this one Manta but then in the art it says "Sting Ray." I feel that this was an accurate critique (I mean, how could I deny it?) but I also am not going to change my ways. Setting that aside, Manta is definitely one of the top most difficult coloring experiences in my drawings. I was seriously concerned at one point that the colors were going to be really flat and too primary. I wanted to create a partially transparent effect between the character and the text. But when working with markers, it's risky to try that stuff because you have to fully commit which means potentially ruining everything too. You have no idea how fast marker coloring can turn to mud if you screw up and there's no erasing. But I went for it and tried to flow with the color combinations that evolvedd into a swampy green and brown tone for the character which complimented the warmer tones on the text. I walked away happy, the world was a better place.
If you look closely you can see the moment where I was letting it get to primary and finally said "screw it, let's go."
