Part of a Challenge in designing characters based on Phobias.

I always had in mind making an Elemental like creature for this one. If it's water that brings the fear, it's water that shall be feared, so for that water itself would be coming to live to bring the fear.

For it's overall design I tried to imagine a fusion between a tidal wave, a shark and the Kraken.

My idea for this one it is that, much like a storm or an enraged beast, it would rise just to destroy the only safe way someone would have to cross the sea only to then either swallow them like a raging wave or simply drag them down to the depths, pretty much as people struggle in vain.