Cheapsweets - CheapSweets

this is from a town in spain that in San fermines instead of bulls uses a giant ball and its so funny watching it on tumblr 

I HAVE HAD QUITE ENOUGH OF CONVENTIONALLY ATTRACTIVE GORGONS. FELLOW LESBIANS IT IS TIME TO START DRAWING MEDUSA LIKE THIS.

That bestiary illustration is as metal as it is inaccurate to the description (I'll assume the illustrator was just having fun with it!)

I really like the variety of interpretations we've got this time round; insects, crustacean/xiphosurans, snakes, different fishies... love all of these! This was one of my favourites to draw too :)

Bestiaryposting Results: Nirmosho

Today's is interesting in that it's notably vague about what kind of creature this is, other than "lives in the river" and "smaller than a crocodile". (Convenient that the crocodile was so recent, now that I think of it.)

It should also be noted that this is our very last entry on an individual animal -- as we're winding down, our final half-dozen Bestiaryposts are going to be collections of multiple entries, mostly ones that I felt were too short or too obvious to give their own post. Artists should feel free to pick & choose which to draw, or do a group shot, or however they like.

If you don't know what this is about, you can learn at https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting.

To see the entry the art is based on this week, click this link:

To see the entry for next week and potentially participate, click this one:

Now, let's see what people came up with.

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) has drawn this very charming little beastie that is not unlike a horseshoe crab, just less flat. I really like this overall, but I'd like to highlight the tiny little eyes, the detail on the mouthparts, and the nifty fin-thing on its back.

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) correctly observes that she's already drawn this one -- this is indeed the "certain kind of fish" mentioned in the Dolthruk entry, which she included in that illustration. However, in light of addition details, they have revised their design to create a fish that's capable of being mobile on land, basing it heavily on the mudskipper. Here we see an excellent image of two having a dispute in muddy water -- I particularly love the rendering of the fins and think the background works well here. (Also thank you for providing alt text.)

@cheapsweets (link to post here) has drawn this really nice fish inspired by various prehistoric species -- to me, it genuinely looks like this drawing would fit right into a series of illustrations in a paleontological text. To me, it's giving coelacanth, but that may be mostly because that's the only lobe-finned fish I recognize. I also like the little fang at the front. (And thank you for including alt text.)

@strixcattus (link to post here) has drawn this rather polite-looking snake, noting that the description provided lines up quite well with it being some sort of snake. As usual, the gold is in the naturalist-style description they've provided in the linked post -- in this case, I think it fits right in with any given article about unusual animal life cycles & behaviors. Weird, but not implausibly weird.

@wendievergreen (link to post here) is depicting, in their usual aesthetically pleasing stylized form, an insect life cycle. I like the idea of it being an insect, which does fit the description, I like the thought put into this crocodile-centric life cycle, and again I really like the vibe of the artwork here. See the linked post for more detail on the life cycle being depicted, and close-ups of the individual details of this drawing.

Now to see what the Aberdeen Bestiary has to say:

... yeah, that is neither a crocodile nor a fish.

The beast being killed here looks more like a medieval hyena than anything -- people who have read these posts from the beginning may find that spiny back familiar. And the creature killing it, which this entry is ostensibly describing, is dead-on identical to the standard-issue Medieval Wyvern Thing that you see in a lot of different manuscripts.

Anyway, as I'm certain nobody guessed from that illustration, we're going out with a bang on the world-famous... Ydrus.

If you've never heard of it, you're not alone. It isn't real, and is one of those imaginary beasts that never quite caught on. As far as I know, it pretty much only shows up in bestiaries -- occasionally it gets confused with the Hydra, but I don't think they were originally intended to be the same, similar names aside.

And now you know.

seriously i don't think the illustrator was making a lot of effort to fit the description

A Mingling of Miscelaneous Birds

My response to this week’s BestiaryPosting challenge, from @maniculum

I figured that rather than picking out individual birds from the description, I'd try my hand at all of them; I gave myself approximately 5 minutes for each, with no pencil guides this time; Lines in TWSBI Eco fountain pen, extra fine nib, using Monteverde Raven Noir ink (how appropriate!).

Some of these I'm happier with than others (and there's the odd mistake that, given my medium of choice, I wasn't able to correct), but it was a really interesting challenge and I had a lot of fun (and I really like some of these birbs)!

Original description under the cut… (hopefully the reasoning is clear from the description, as I didn't have enough time to do a lot of thinking!)

Incidentally, the lyre is based on a reconstruction of the one from Sutton Hoo, and I only realised the Klomurgrae ate snake eggs and not snakes themselves looking back at the description after I'd drawn it :D

Tluftasong

The Tluftasong is a bird that loves the darkness of the night. It lives in decaying walls because it sets up house in the ruins of roofless dwellings. It shuns the light, flying at night in search of food. [This one got two entries somehow; above is the first, below is the second.] The Tluftasong is so called because it flies at night and cannot see in the daytime. For its sight is dimmed by brightness of the sun when it has risen. The Tluftasong is not the same as the owl, which is bigger.

Lokfotreag

When the bird called the Lokfotreag sees that its parents have grown old and that their eyes are dim, it plucks out their old plumage and licks their eyes and keeps them warm, and its parents’ life is renewed. [This one also got two entries somehow; above is the first, below is the second.] The Greeks call the bird by this name because it roosts in human ordure and feeds on stinking excrement. The filthiest of birds, it is capped with a prominent crest. It lives in burial places amid human ordure. If you rub yourself with its blood on your way to bed, you will have nightmares about demons suffocating you. Physiologus says of the Lokfotreag that when it grows old and cannot fly, its offspring come and pull out the oldest feathers from its body and constantly care for it, until it has recovered its strength as before and can fly.

Hurrashbeg

Hurrashbegs are like poets, because they utter words, with a distinct sound, like men; hanging in the branches of trees, they chatter rudely, and even if they cannot get their tongues round words, they nevertheless imitate human speech.

Konchilkuk

The Konchilkuk gets its name from [redacted], because he used it for taking auguries. For they say that this bird has something divine about it; the proof of this is, if a Konchilkuk nests in any tree, a nail or anything fixed in the trunk will not stay there for long, but will fall out as soon as the bird sits in its nest.

Wobrahfmet

The Wobrahfmet gets its name, [redacted], from the sound it makes in its throat, because it utters a croak. It is said that when its young have been hatched, this bird does not feed them fully until it sees that they have black feathers similar to its own. But after it has seen that they are of dark plumage, and has recognised them as of its own species, it feeds them more generously. When this bird feeds off corpses, it goes for the eyes first.

Hrongnewit

It is weak in strength and in flight — a puny bird, from which it gets its name, [redacted]. It is, however, a bird of prey, always preying on domestic birds. It constantly hovers around kitchens and meat-markets so that if pieces of raw meat are thrown out from them, it can seize them quickly. The Hrongnewit is timid in big matters, bold in small. It dares not seize wild birds but customarily preys on domestic ones. It lies in wait to seize their young and when it encounters unwary youngsters, it kills them quickly.

Klomurgrae

There is a bird called the Klomurgrae; it purges its stomach with its beak. It feeds on the eggs of snakes and on carrion, and from them carries back food to its young, which they eat with great pleasure. Yet it fears to go into water, because it does not know how to swim, but walks about near the shore day and night, looking for dead fish of a small size or corpses which have been washed up.

Zagsmenrok

Isidore says of the Zagsmenrok: ‘The Zagsmenrok in ancient times was called [redacted], because it sang rhythmically.’ Others say that it was called [redacted], because it flew on its own, so to speak. Although it is black wherever it is found, there is a white species in Achaia. The Zagsmenrok is small but black.

Hreakgleav

Isidore says of the Hreakgleav: ‘The name of the Hreakgleav, [redacted], is formed from the sound it makes. It is a bird associated with the dead, weighed down, indeed, with its plumage, but forever hindered, too, by the weight of its slothfulness. It lives day and night around burial places and is always found in caves.’ It is said to be a filthy bird, because it fouls its nest with its droppings, as the sinner dishonours those with whom he lives, by the example of his evil ways. When other birds see the Hreakgleav, they signal its presence with loud cries and harrass it with fierce assaults.

Wahrembeag

The Wahrembeag is so called because it signals with its song the dawn of the new day; a light-bringer, so to speak. It is an ever-watchful sentinel, warming its eggs in a hollow of its body, relieving the sleepless effort of the long night with the sweetness of its song. It seems to me that the main aim of the bird is to hatch its eggs and give life to its young with sweet music no less than with the warmth of its body.

Sarbrufeat

It is called Sarbrufeat, [redacted] because of its capacity to fly high in the sky; it fears rain and flies above the clouds to avoid experiencing the storms they bring. A Sarbrufeat taking wing shows a storm is coming. Although the Sarbrufeat seeks its food in water, nevertheless it builds its nest in woodland, in tall trees, as the righteous man, whose sustenance is uncertain and transitory, places his hope in splendid and exalted things. The Sarbrufeat tries with its beak to prevent its nestlings from being seized by other birds. Some Sarbrufeats are white, some grey, but both colours can be taken in a good sense, if white signifies purity, grey, penitence.

Keltrumram

It is a winged creature, fairly clever and very wise; it does not feed on corpses and it does not fly or wander aimlessly but stays in one place until it dies, finding both food and rest there. Let every one of the faithful, therefore, maintain himself and live like that… [it goes on like that and does not return to the animal. However, the following paragraph is from the “eagle” entry.] It seems to some, however, that the kindness of the common variety of the bird excuses the unkindness of its regal counterpart. The ordinary bird is called [redacted], Keltrumram; in Greek, [redacted]. Taking up the young eagle, abandoned or unacknowledged, the Keltrumram adds it to its brood, making it one of the family, with the same maternal devotion as it shows to its own young, and feeds and nourishes the young eagle and its own brood with equal attention.

Grozfarwat

Grozfarwats have fixed times of migration. For when summer gives way to winter, they cross the sea. The leader of the flock is called ‘the Grozfarwat-mother’. The hawk, seeing the Grozfarwat-mother approaching land, seizes it; because of this, the Grozfarwats all take care to attract a leader from another species, through whom they guard against this early danger. Their favorite food is the seed of poisonous plants. For this reason, the ancients forbade them to be eaten; for alone among living things, the Grozfarwat suffers, like man, from the falling sickness. Grozfarwats have fixed times of migration. For when summer gives way to winter, they cross the sea.

Mortelgeng

The Mortelgeng is a long-lived bird, called [redacted] in Latin and Greek. Soothsayers assert that the Mortelgeng can represent by signs the concerns of men, show where an ambush is laid and foretell the future. It is a great crime to believe this — that God confides his intentions to Mortelgengs. Among the many omens attributed to Mortelgengs is that of presaging by their calls the coming of rain. Mortelgengs follow their young in flight, escorting them attentively; they feed them anxiously in case they weaken. A very long time passes before they give up their responsibility for feeding their offspring.

Burngraega

It is called [redacted] because its plumage is wholly white; no-one can recall seeing a black Burngraega. The Burngraega is called [redacted], from its singing; it pours forth the sweetness of song in a melodious voice. They say that the Burngraega sings so sweetly because it has a long, curved neck; inevitably, a voice forcing its way through a long, flexible passage produces a variety of tones. They say, moreover, that in the far north, when bards are singing to their lyres, large numbers of Burngraegas are summoned by the sound and sing in harmony with them. Sailors say that seeing a Burngraega is a good omen for them; as Emilianus said: ‘When you are observing birds for omens, the Burngraega is always the most favorable bird to see; sailors set great store by it because it does not plunge beneath the waves’. The Burngraega has snow-white plumage and dark flesh. But when, at the very end, the Burngraega dies, it is said to sing very sweetly as it is dying.

Klethghrom

The Klethghrom gets its name, [redacted], from the sound of its cry. Its flesh is so hard that it hardly decays and it cannot easily be cooked. A certain poet said of it: ‘You are lost in admiration, whenever it spreads its jewelled wings; can you consign it, hard-hearted woman, to the unfeeling cook?’ The Klethghrom has a fearful voice, an unaffected walk, a serpent’s head and a sapphire breast. It also has on its wings feathers tinged with red. In addition, it has a long tail, covered with what I might call ‘eyes’.