Here's my entry for the BreyerFest 2021 Best Customs Contest! This is "Serenity", a Reef Hippocampus. He's a different take on the mythical hippocampus, with bony armor (like his smaller seahorse cousins) and leafy appendages (like sea dragons) that help him blend into the coral reefs and seagrass meadows he inhabits. Unlike the smaller seahorse, the Reef Hippocampus has a tail fin and finned forelegs to help him move and navigate around the reef. He protects the coral reefs by keeping them free of seaweed, his favorite foodstuff! These majestic sea creatures were revered in Greek and Roman mythology.

He's customized from a Breyer Classics Quarter Horse foal and is just 9" tall. I used LaDoll Premier air-drying clay to sculpt the body, and Luna Clay (from Japan) for the fins.

I didn't plan for him to be this color, but the first few coats of paint turned out really ghastly, so I painted over it until I found a color I liked. I ended up going for ocean blue, and tried painting the reflections of sunlight in the water, shimmering across his back.

This sculpture was the winner of the fantasy division of the 2021 Best Customs Contest!