AlphaBooks A - Aravis Tarkheena

Monday marked the start of AlphaBooks, the new weekly challenge by Ben Towle, Andrew Neal & Rich Barrett.

"AlphaBooks is the name of the game. We will be drawing ficitonal characters from books every week - one for each letter of the alphabet. On the first day (Monday, May 21), everyone will draw characters whose names start with the letter “A.”  The following monday, we’ll draw characters whose names start with the letter “B.” And so on!"

Continuing in the flavor of my AlphaBeast series of detailed black & white sketches with an element of story and/or background, I originally thought I would choose all (or mostly) animal characters from books… because, well… that's my thing. And although Aslan was on my list of ideas, I had accidentally looked at the AlphaBooks page and saw he had already been claimed… more the once. So I went for a lesser known, but still a strong character from the Chronicles of Narnia, Aravis from The Horse and His Boy. An exempt from Wiki:

Aravis is a young Tarkheena, a female member of the ruling nobility of Calormen. With her horse, Hwin, who is revealed to be a talking beast from the land of Narnia, she flees from her home, in her brother's armor, in order to escape an arranged marriage. Aravis is a strong character, whose confidence, bravery and loyalty are offset by arrogance and self-centeredness. She is also an amazing storyteller.

It's been years since I read the book, but it's one of my Narnian favorites. I knew I wanted to do more than just a 'portrait', but not necessarily a 'scene' from the book. After looking up visual references (below) to get the ideas for her overall dress going, I just started doodling and eventually found a pose/situation that suggested a more than a mere portrait would.

Rough Sketches, looking for ideas… "hit it" over on the right.

Original unedited scan, col-erase pencil

References include various web & movies!

Any excuse to watch a movie, I tell you. ;)

So, what do you think of my Aravis? Does she look like her description?

T is for Timingila, The Whale Swallower

The Timingila is said to have been the most formidable predator in the oceans. It was enormous in size and its favorite food was said to have been whales. Some whales reach up to 60 feet in length, like the Whale Shark of the Indian Ocean. The Whale Shark is actually a whale that physically resembles a shark but is not a predator. The Timingila, on the other hand, was a fierce predator and used to eat whales in one giant gulp. gosai.com

S is for Scitalis** / Illustration Friday: FLUID

The Scitalis is a serpent from Medieval bestiaries with such marvelous markings on its back that its appearance would stun the viewer, slowing the person down so that they could be caught. Its bodily heat was so great that it shed its skin even in the winter.

F is for Fiffer-Feffer-Feff*

BIG F
little f
F . . f . . F

Four fluffy feathers
on a
Fiffer-feffer-feff.

*more fanart - from Dr. Suess's ABC Book

I really wanted to complete this drawing, but at the same time I really struggled with it… which is why it's so late in being posted. NOW I can move on to the G beast. :)

F is for Fandango** / Illustration Friday: VANITY

If the fancy Fandangos seem stuck-up and snooty,
It is because of their exquisite beauty.
They're most often seen with smug smiling faces,
By a crustal clear pond in a jungle oasis.
There they linger for hours with nothing to do
But sip the sweet water and admire the view.
And the view they admire, as you might well suppose,
Is their own reflection, right under their nose.

from NO SUCH THINGS, by Bill Peet

*This week I got to combine my extracurricular blog posts, and it was all do to kismet! I originally thought of doing a Dr. Suess creature (I still am, working on it!), so I ran to the library to grab a couple of the books I didn't have - and on display were a couple Bill Peet books I was not familiar with (I am a true Bill Peet fan from childhood - when we went to the books store, I was always asking for a new Bill Peet book), so I snatched them up and brought them home not even really paying attention to what they were about.
One of those books, NO SUCH THINGS, just happens to be a book of made up creatures! It was just perfect. I looked at the cover thinking, I really hope those horse-like creatures start with an F, because they are just so cool -- and they DID. And apparently they're extremely vane creatures, which totally fits in with Illustration Friday's theme this week: Vanity. Such lucky and fun discoveries this weekend. :)
**and also FANART

E is for Enfield

The enfield is a mythological beast most commonly (when seen at all) used in European heraldry especially in England and Ireland. It is most famously used in the heraldry of the London Borough of Enfield.

The enfield it has the head of a fox, the chest of a greyhound, the body of a lion, the hindquarters and tail of a wolf, and forelegs like an eagle's talons. The enfield is a creature of Celtic cultures, which has given meaning to the various parts: the head of the fox represents craftiness or cleverness. The chest of a greyhound suggests swiftness and endurance. The body of a lion means royalty and bravery. The hindquarters of a wolf implies fraternity and loyalty to family. Finally, the forelegs of an eagle's talons conveys strength, nobility and hunting prowess.



The creature had a role in legends as being a guardian of chieftains or leaders who had fallen in battle. The Celts believed strongly in making sure that their honored members and loved ones received what they considered to be proper funeral rites so that their spirits could rest in peace. Enemies would try to carry away bodies, especially of enemy leaders, so that they could tear them apart and use them to demoralize the enemy and serve as a warning. This was distressing to Celtic peoples and they believed the spirit of people debased in this way would haunt the world of the living until they were avenged.

Exerpted from Squidoo

*Gotta admit I struggled with this one… it's taken days and I really had to force it along in the end. Pretty happy overall, but only a scratch on the surface of where I initially wanted to go with it.

D is for Demiguise

The Demiguise is found in the Far East, though only with great difficulty, for this beast is able to make itself invisible when threatened.

The Demiguise is a peaceful herbivorous beast, something like a graceful ape in appearance, with large, black, doleful eyes more often than not hidden by its hair. Demiguise pelts are highly valued as the hair may be spun into Invisibility Cloaks.

quoted from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, ©J.K. Rowling

B is for Byangoma (Part II)

Long overdue - Byangoma are supposed to have the ability tell a person's future, it's their magic… so when I drew the original group of them standing around, or "at rest") - I intended to include an imagine of one ACTUALLY performing this feat, or "on display". It took an week, but here he is at last.

C is for Capricorn

Sea goats came from the first sea goat, Pricus, who was created by the god Chronos, and they could speak and think and were favored by the gods. The legend goes that eventually all the sea goats made their way to up onto land where they became the four-legged goats that we know today, leaving Pricus as the sole sea goat and the figure in Capricorn mythology.

This, naturally, explains why there are no sea goats today.

* abbreviated, from Gods-and-Monsters website.

Mood Music: Sting, The Soul Cages

B is for Byangoma

Byangoma are birds who can tell fortunes, though they are renowned for their finicky nature, helping only those they deem worthy.  Scholars have debated for centuries whether the Byangoma are intelligent beings, or if they merely have a magical instinct.  The species originated in modern Bangladesh.
Every person experiences this fortune telling differently.  Some claim to hear a voice, others receive visions. The most common experience is to hear the birds song, and suddenly have an intuition about a future event.

These are my "resting" byangoma… I have plans for a "fortune-telling" byangoma as well (in other words, "on display"), but as usual I am up late working on this because I can't seem to work ahead of schedule. LOL

A is for Alphabeasts

A is for Amphiptere
I don't really know where this project originated, but it's right up my ally. :) Hope I'm not too late for today's deadline!
Check 'em out: Alphabeasts

Random Sketches

Practice, practice, practice.

Actors, Chloe Moretz and Kodi Smit-McPhee from Let Me In, a mediocre remake of the original, Let the Right One In. But, this one is set in 1980s Los Alamos, NM, which was kinda cool. ;)

I've never been much of a portraitist, likenesses are so difficult, maybe that's why I prefer drawing animals? But I've kind of given myself the assignment of drawing more kids lately… so here are a couple from the big screen. It's experimenting too - pencil sketch vs. pen and ink (I like the sketch better - sometimes the line of pen & ink is just too harsh for me - something to work on). Although usually kids tend to look OLDER in drawings, I somehow made Kodi look younger - I think I shortened his nose a bit. LOL. Ah well, now maybe I'll try some more styled versions.

New: Drawing Morning Pages (Doodle Edition)

Next installment (post dated because I've been traveling).
I love patterns and line, and that seems to be where my mind was wandering to during these few days. I was looking at some henna patterns most specifically. I just love those designs and they look so beautiful on hands and feet. Of course there was a detour looking at amebas too. ;)
JUN 17-20 2011

Illustration Friday: SWEPT

Admittedly, this is more "windswept" than just "swept", but this is my story and I'm stickin' to it. Below are the various sketches I made in the process of arriving at the final drawing. I started with sand dunes because they're constantly swept by the wind, shaped in fact… and then I stumbled upon the Sand Cat, a critter I had never heard of before. They're pretty darn cute and I had a lot of fun drawing them over and over.



Update: Revision Comparison

New Work: Aesop's Follow-Up

Just finished this little guy for the back of my new promo card, such a little cutie. I was drawing for a good part of the day and I didn't even notice the time going by - I LOVE that feeling. :) Tomorrow, I'll be figuring out where/who to send these to… while trying to not to breathe in the smoky haze drifting over us from a forest fire in Arizona!