Beneath the Waves

This series received an honorable mention for the Artstation Beneath the Waves Keyframe challenge. Process documented here.

They emerge at low tide: strange glass pods threaded with metal, flush with foreign vegetation. The nearby shores are barren, without a trace of who engineered them.

You collect samples of water and leaves. The salinity varies in them and the surrounding waves- a system for hydroponics? The sun climbs higher, and you notice a shimmer of scales and fins, circling. The motion isn’t quite piscine.

The ocean is clouded with algae and silt; an undersea gloaming. The tide is rising, and as the creature retreats to open waters, your curiosity bids you to follow.

Currents ripple through billowing vegetation. Your boat catches on them. As you reach to untangle it, fins unfurl, and a hand grasps yours to pull you under.