Mola Mola

People often ask me which are my favorite fishes to illustrate. Hands down: the weirdos and oddballs. Fishes that don't look like your average Joe fishes, don't behave like your average schooling Joe fishes, fishes named after other animals! Batfishes, Frogfishes, Squirrelfishes! Fishes that walk, crawl, croak, and otherwise do their fishy thing in their weird fishy way. See: Searobins. (So cool.) I also love illustrating fishes that mimic bottom glop, or sponges, seaweeds, or... other fishes. Colorful, crazy, messed up fishes.

Then there is the Mola. It's super boring in terms of color. It's body and fins are not challenging to render. No crazy scale rows, no intricate patterns. It's kind of dull. Except... it's NOT!
This is one of the coolest and most highly evolved fishes in the sea.

Here's an amusing little primer on this super cool fish: