Commission - Beaded Manta Ray

This is a commission for a regular customer where I work. She saw me wearing a small bumblebee pony-bead critter that I made & requested for me to make her a couple of black & white Manta rays.

This took me quite a while to get right. I couldn't find a pre-made pattern for either a Stingray or Manta Ray on the net, so I had to make a custom pattern of my own. Turns out, this was much easier to build sideways, as opposed to right-side up, which is how I originally perceived myself building it. Had I thought of that sooner, it would have saved me hours of frustration.

These were a pain in the ass to make! They don't look like it, but the bigger one, strung with a thick thread-like string, is about 40 beads & the smaller one, strung with thin wire is over 30 beads.