Deadline for all Acipenser action to be sent to magicalcreaturesproject@
Sunday, December 1, 2013
December 2013/Creature #33: Acipenser
In the 16th and 17th century, explorers sailing the northern seas gave this name to a giant fish whose scales were on backwards, opening towards the front instead of the rear. This caused it to swim much more slowly than other fish; yet it was so vast that no one seems to have attempted to capture one. Stories of this kind almost always seems to arise from sightings of whales or, in this case, possibly giant surgeons, the fish from which caviar is extracted.
Monday, November 4, 2013
November 2013/Creature #32: Tangaroa
Tangaroa is the Polynesian god of the ocean who breathes only once in 24 hours, causing tidal motion. In the Tahuata (the Marquesas Islands) he is known as Tanaoa, the god of primeval darkness. In fine weather, Tangaroa turns into a green lizard.
Deadline for all Tangaroa action to be sent to magicalcreaturesproject@
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
October 2013/Creature #31: Big Owl
Among the Apache of North America, the Big Owl is a cannibalistic monster who, like the Basilisk, petrifies victims with his glance. Among the Lipan Indians, Big Owl is a giant, a son of the Sun, who tires to marry the daughter of a hero in order to kill him. According to the White Apache, Big Owl tries to kill all the created people but was in turn slain by his own brother.
Deadline for all Big Owl action to be sent to magicalcreaturesproject@
Monday, September 30, 2013
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
September 2013/Creature #30: Qiqirn
In Inuit mythology, Qiqirn is a bald dog spirit. It has some hair on it's feet, ears, and mouth and tail-tip but is strangely denuded elsewhere over it's head, body, and limbs. It is a large animal which puts great fear upon men and dogs; however, it is also fearful itself and tends to run away when anyone makes a sound.
Deadline for all Qiqirn action to be sent to magicalcreaturesproject@
Thursday, August 1, 2013
August 2013/Creature #29: Laminak
In The Laminak are faires who inhabit the Basque regions of southern France and northern Spain. They live in underground casltes of great beauty, much as the Irish Sidhe live in the Hollow Hills. One such being is called a Lamia, not to be confused with the classic Lamia. .
Deadline for all Laminak action to be sent to magicalcreaturesproject@
Monday, July 1, 2013
July 2013/Creature #28: Ngarara
In Maori legend, the Ngarara was an atua or divine being. She was a beautiful woman with a long tail, rather like a mermaid. When she wished, she could retract her tail and assume legs and feet. She may have been a water-lizard woman with amphibious tendencies, if the story about her encounter with a young man called Ruru is anything to go by.
Ngarara lived on an island with her two servants until a man called Ruru landed and saw her fire smoking. He was invited to share Ngarara's meal, but he forbore to eat when he realized the food has Ngarara's scales in it and - had he eaten - he himself would have taken on serpent's scales. The two servants tired to prevent his escape ut he makde it back to his boat and told his brothers. Taking advantage of the mist, the brothers fashioned statue in the likeness of Ruru upon the beach under the shelter of a reed hut. When the mist rose, Ngarara came and wound herself about the statue. The brothers set fire to the hut so that Ngarara sas only able to escape by leaving her tail behind. Purified by the fire, she lost her malice for ever after.
Deadline for all Ngarara action to be sent to magicalcreaturesproject@
Saturday, June 1, 2013
June 2013/Creature #27: Cipactli
In Aztec mythology, this fish-like crocodile was the primordial sea monster out of which the gods created the Earth. The god Tezcatlipoca sacrificed his foot to Cipactli in order to help form the Earth itself.
Deadline for all Cipactli action to be sent to magicalcreaturesproject@
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Magical Creatures Project: Starting Again June 1st!
The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures the ultimate a - z of fantastic beings
from myth and magic
by John & Caitlin Matthews
The book is exactly what the title describes, 682 pages of alphabetically ordered magical creatures each with a short description and set of defining facts.
Using this book as a base, we will post a magical creature a month then post the drawings based on that magical creature.
The rules:
1. We'll post a creature and it's definition on the first of each month with a deadline (the last day of the month).
2. Send your drawing to magicalcreaturesproject@gmail.com, any time before the deadline. We'll post the drawings we get the next day.
3. A new creature will be posted, repeat steps 1 - 2.
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