With a series of three 12 x 12 framed collage pieces, I’ve depicted the remnants of the fabled city of Atlantis, lying at the bottom of the ocean, now the domain of mermaids and mermen. This underwater world has a steampunk twist as I imagined the merpeople would adopt the Atlantean's technology.
A statue of Poseidon stands guard over the ruined city while mechanical fish and crustaceans swim through the water and walk on the ocean floor.
A statue of Poseidon stands guard over the ruined city while mechanical fish and crustaceans swim through the water and walk on the ocean floor.
Last year I create a series of mermaid-themed collage sheets. I thought I would add to the series this year with a merman-themed collage sheet.
This set is packed with 110 merpeople (mermaids & mermen) and sea-themed images. Most of the images are also found on the Mermaid Garden Collage Sheets and the Mermen Collage Sheet. But since this is a digital image set, it allowed me to include several images not in any of the previous collage sheets. All of the images in the set can be re-sized for your project as they are high-resolution (300dpi) PNG formatted images. Images found in the set:
Mermaids (4), Mermen (3), Pearls (4), Shells (29), 12 x 12 Ocean Backgrounds (3)
22 – Architectural, Relic & Miscellaneous Images, which include: Diver Helmet, Fantasy Clock, Helmets (2), Chariot, Architectural Ruins (4), Rocks, Fountain, Frame, Pots, Shell Chair, Shell Throne, Trident, Compass, Medallion, Statues (4)
45 - Sea Creatures which includes: Sea Horses (10), Fish (8), Crab, Squid, Octopuses (2), Sea Anemone, Sea Urchin, Star Fish (7), Sand Dollars (2), Seaweed, Coral (10)
The collage sheet contains 32 tails of various sizes and colors.
THE DETAILS
GENERAL NOTES:
- The mages you see in the three framed pieces are from the Mermaid Garden digital image set. You can also find many of the images on the series of Mermaid Gardens collage sheets and the Merman collage sheet. The only exception is the gauges on the large steampunk seahorse, which are from the Steampunk Elements collage sheet or the Steampunk Elements digital image set.
- The background images are from the Mermaid Garden digital image set.
- To create more dimension, I popped all of the images using double-stick foam tape.
- Each piece is showcased in a shadowbox frame that has a 12 x 12 opening. Many times you can find these frames in stores that carry scrapbook supplies as they are used to frame a 12 x 12 scrapbook page. I removed the glass so that the view of each piece is not obstructed by a glare.
THE GATE TO ATLANTIS
I added spinners and a rondelle to the compass on Poseidon's chest.
At the top of the colonnade is a steampunk clock. I used Glossy Accents in the middle to create a shiny dome effect. Flanking the clock are two statues.
Swimming in front of the columns is a steampunk fish. The body of the fish is a piece of brass filigree (it comes in a set ) rubbed with Patina Gilders Paste. I used filigree fans as fins, a skate key as the tail, a brass drop for the face, a rondelle (painted silver), and an olivine cat eye bead for the eye and watch parts for the nose and face.
Sleeping on the balustrade is a merman guardian with his partner sleeping nearby. The balustrade is made from a die-cut chipboard painted with stone texture spray paint.
On the left-hand bottom of the picture below, you’ll notice some 3-D shells.
The shells are made from paper clay and a silicone mold. I painted the shells with various colors of Liquid Pearls paint. I incorporated some of these shells in each of the three pieces.
The columns are wrapped with fibers resembling seaweed, and Mica flakes are underneath.
The sparkly coral and seaweed you see in all three pieces are the die-cut chipboard I painted. Next, I dressed them up with mica flakes, glass chips, and microbeads.
THE TEMPLE OF THE SEAHORSE
In the background, I used stencils to paint seaweed on the right and left sides of the piece.
On the pediment of the Temple of the Seahorse are a painted brass shell and a brass patina seahorse. Hanging over the temple is fiber seaweed.
The body of the steampunk seahorse is an image. Along the length of the body are rondelles. On top of the rondelles at the tail is a swirl hook. I attached watch parts at two positions on the body and then glued propellers on top of the watch parts. To the back fin, I added a bronze skate key. The eye is a rondelle and a cat eye domed sticker. Behind the seahorse is more seaweed-like fiber.
At the bottom of the piece is a steampunk lobster. The body of the lobster is made from a piece of filigree.
The tail is a Victorian drop or handle and a propeller. The legs are brass flourishes that hook into the holes in the filigree and are glued in place. The claws are lobster claw clasps, and the eyes are black glass rondelles. The body is painted with Garnet - Metal Patinas Paint.
THE MERMAID QUEEN
The base of the large steampunk seahorse is made from die-cut chipboard. It comes as a two-part set.
I painted the solid back piece a metallic blue color and the intricate top piece a metallic copper. I attached gears to the face, a dome bead cap, and a watch part to the snout. Various watch parts are in the center and at the base of the tail. I also used gauge images from the Steampunk Elements collage sheet. I added Glossy Accents to the gauges to give them a 3-D appearance. I used pen nibs to accent the fins. Behind the pen, nibs is a piece of vellum that I cut in a semi-circle and then accordion folded.
To dress up the chariot, I added Glossy Accents to the center of the medallion. I printed the chariot twice on paper and once on vellum. I added the extra paper and vellum wings to the chariot to give it a fuller look.
The queen’s crown is made from a brass starfish and beads.
The body of the fish is made from a piece of filigree that is part of the same filigree set as the first fish. All of the pieces in the filigree set would make great fish. The fins are brass flourishes. The tail is made from a gear and an octopus charm. The face is made from watch parts, a bead, and a domed cat eye sticker.
I used die-cut chipboard feathery flourishes as seaweed to accent the columns.
At the base of the columns are Mica Flakes.
