#maniculum bestiaryposting

[elodieunderglass]

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

For a hundred miles through the desert repenting…

His bright invulnerability

Captive at last;

The chase long past,

Winded and spent,

By the king’s spears rent;

Collared and tied to a pomegranate tree -

Here sits the slagzogg

In captivity

Yet free

Something told the wild slagzogg

It was time to go

Slagzogg appear high over us,

Pass, and the sky closes. Abandon,

As in love or sleep, holds

Them to their way, clear in the ancient faith: what we need is here. And we pray, not

For new earth or heaven, but to be

Quiet in heart, and in eye,

clear. What we need is here.

The Slagzogg marks the watches of the night by its constant cry. No other creature picks up the scent of man as it does.

Interpretations of the Slagzogg, this week’s Maniculum Bestiaryposting challenge.

(Wild geese, Mary Oliver / the Unicorn in Captivity, Anne Morrow Lindbergh / something told the wild geese, Rachel Field/ what we need is here, Wendell Berry)

#slagzogg #maniculum bestiaryposting

[rautavaara]

Wutugald of the translated bestiary

#wutugald #maniculum bestiaryposting #my art

[silverhart-makes-art]

Pretty sure I have a good guess as to this week's Bestiary Posting animal, so I'm just gonna go totally off the rails for this one.

My thought process was as follows: Three rows of teeth means it must be a shark. And it would be fun to draw a fish, since I haven't done one for this challenge yet. But oh no, it has 'powerful feet'. Fish don't have feet. You know what does have powerful feet though? Mollusks. Mollusks have feet. It's described as having eyes though. What mollusks have eyes? That's right. Cephalopods!

Hence, the Mlekragg is a cephalopod.

Yes, it is a stretch, but sometimes with this challenge I like to imagine I'm an alien illustrator with no concept of what animals humans would regularly encounter. While most humans would probably assume this is a terrestrial mammal, there's no reason an alien would. In fact, considering how many more invertebrates there are then vertebrates, it makes sense for an outside observer to assume any animals described by humans is an inveterate, unless it says otherwise. It's all very sound alien logic, and not just me making wild leaps because I want my imaginary bestiary to have some more variety beyond my favorite birds and mammals. I'm really trying to use this challenge to be more imaginative and crazy with creature designs, and think outside the box when I can.

Anywho, the cuttlefish and nautilus were my main points of reference, though I did look at some reconstructions of prehistoric cephalopods for inspiration. Then I simply took all the elements of the Mlekragg and slapped it onto that body form. The triple row of teeth can't be seen in my drawing, but it is located where a cephalopod's beak would typically be. The 'face of a man' is actually a pattern on it's hood it uses to fool predators. Behind the hood flares out a 'lion's mane', which it uses for display and also to disorient it's prey when it snatches it up. It has a pointed "tail" with a stinger. It doesn't look much like a scorpion's tail - took a bit of artistic liberty and decided it just stings like a scorpion's tail, rather then looks like it. I've decided to interpret 'powerful feet' and 'good jumper' as two different traits. So it's 'powerful feet' are it's tentacles, but it uses it's stinger to leap. Why does a sea creature need to leap? Well, I imagine they live near coasts and occasionally get stranded in tide pools or on land and use their stingers to propel themselves back into the water. It kind of works like a springtail's little 'tail'. Much like the description says, no obstacle can keep the Mlekragg in!

On the bottom right I've drawn a picture of one using it's stinger to leap, and on the left I've drawn a cartoon version of it that accentuates the lion shape/human face idea. With it's tentacles and mane laid back and it's fins hanging down it does look like a little leaping lion. I also gave it a little grin in keeping with the cartoon tradition of putting cephalopod mouths on the mantle, which we know is incorrect. It does make him look like a very personable little gentleman though.

I feel if I were a bit more confident in drawing cephalpods and knew more about mollusk anatomy I could've maybe taken this in an even wilder direction. Maybe I'll revisit it in the future.

#maniculum bestiaryposting #mlekragg

[maniculum]

Bestiaryposting Results: Basekhwa

Interesting one this time, in that we've got a lot of details, but not a lot of specificity as to what it looks like. The most we get is phrases like "with a tap of the hoof" which can cue us into the fact that it has hooves. Mostly we hear about things it does. So, before we see what people did with that, the obligatory links.

If you are confused as to what this post is about, please see https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting. The specific entry this week's artists are working from can be found here:

And now, art below the cut in roughly chronological order.

@sweetlyfez (link to post here) got hers in first this week, and it's a really charming creature. I think the colored-pencil medium gives the drawing a little extra something. A really clever interpretation here, I think, is that it has a trunk for catching snakes -- which makes sense if you think about it. The first thing we're told about them is:

Basekhwas are the enemies of snakes; when they feel weighed down with weakness, they draw snakes from their holes with the breath of their noses and, overcoming the fatal nature of their venom, eat them and are restored.

If an animal is luring snakes out by putting its nose against their hidey-holes, it seems entirely sensible to have the nose do double duty as an appendage for dealing with the snakes when they come out. I also enjoy the long flappy ears and the tapir-like coloration. This one, it seems, has been shot -- the entry does say they're an easy mark for archers -- but that's what the snake is for. (And thank you for the alt text.)

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) notes that a creature that is mentioned to have both hooves and horns is surely an ungulate. I don't know enough about taxonomy to comment, so sure! They've picked a couple different ungulates to mix together for this design -- for details on that, see the linked post -- and given it a horn structure that's ideal for scooping up snakes from the ground, which I like. They describe it as turning out quite "feral unicorn-esque", which I can definitely see.

@cheapsweets (link to post here) brings us another detailed pen drawing. In their laudable drive to incorporate as much of the material as possible, we can see that they have found a creative way to show us additional scenes in this animal's life: in little vignettes on the Stylized Tree. Another fun nose on this one, too -- CheapSweets notes that it's inspired by the saiga antelope. All of this is very good, and the baby hidden in the bush is adorable. For detailed discussion of this art and how it relates to the entry, please see the linked post. (And thank you for the alt text.)

@pomrania (link to post here) regrettably was unable to do a final version, but posted their doodles. Given that I'm tagged in the post, I assumed they were meant to be put here. I kind of like the glimpse here into their process, with all these different scenes from the entry being brought in to toy with. Also I think the one labelled "frozen" is quite funny, and I enjoy that one is labelled "baby".

@strixcattus (link to post here) gives us this rather chimeric creature that kind of makes me think of an okapi if you turned the "different fur patterns in the front and back" thing up to 11. What I really like here is the horn asymmetry -- there's a little of it in CheapSweets's entry, in the middle vignette if you look close, but Strixcattus is taking it to another level. Both artists seem to have been inspired by the same part of the entry, i.e., this sentence:

Of their horns, the right-hand one is better for medical purposes.

If one horn is better medicine than the other, it's pretty reasonable to think they might look different. What I think is interesting here is that CheapSweets decided the medicinal horn should be the longer one, but Strixcattus made it the shorter one. Much to think about. (Oh, and the way it's posed so that the horns frame the sun is also really cool in my opinion.) As usual, please check out the linked post for Strixcattus's modernized description of this beast; I think this week's is particularly interesting actually.

Side note: I did a quick google to make sure that the okapi was indeed the animal I was thinking of and this was the first suggested question in the results (note that I just searched "okapi", no other words) :

... oh dear. The way search results are changing really is going to be a problem, isn't it?

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) has drawn something I find delightful. (And not just because I like her medieval-inspired style.) I actually laughed out loud seeing this one just because it's such a fun take. Here we have a Basekhwa "weighed down with weakness" and "draw[ing] snakes from their holes with the breath of [its] nose." I think everyone else went with "the breath is a lure and then the Basekhwa grabs/stabs/stomps/bites them", but Coolest-Capybara decided that it's not exhaling, it's inhaling, and it just hoovers the snakes out. I love it. Both the tired-looking Basekhwa and the rather panicked-looking snake are amazing. (And thank you for the alt text.)

Anyway, to the Aberdeen Bestiary:

... um.

Yeah, there are a few of these -- I think this is the second we've seen so far. Someone cut out an illustration at some point. So we're going to look towards the "sister manuscript", the Ashmole Bestiary:

So this one is... a deer.

I didn't know any of that stuff about deer, did you?

Not much I have to add here, but let me share a folk etymology I redacted for this entry.

The offspring of the deer are called hinnuli, 'fawns', from innuere, 'to nod', because at a nod from their mother, they vanish from sight.

I just... I don't think that's true.

#maniculum bestiaryposting #basekhwa

[qwertyprophecy]

The Wutugald

#for a challenge to draw animals described in the Aberdeen Beastiary without knowing what they are #wutugald #maniculum bestiaryposting #sketch #creature design

[mobileleprechaun]

The huge and ravenous Choglaem, with a helpful diagram for all its Choglaem parts (ft. a special guest)...!

#Choglaem #maniculum bestiaryposting #my art #turned into sort of a dinosaur snake tsuchinoko? #could have made it more like a worm but the blowhole-tongue thing hooked me for chordate #i'll try some invert rep for the next one #the wutugald counts! :P

[gradling]

Don’t ask me why my interpretation of Wutugald ended up being so unsettling; it just did

#maniculum bestiaryposting #wutugald #jam posts

[coolest-capybara]

A bit earlier this time: the third Maniculum Bestiaryposting entry, the Choglaem!

A big snake with a small mouth, a crest and a long tail for wrapping around things seemed very straightforward, so I decided to add some wings to help it cause "the air to become turbulent" when coming out of its cave.

Obviously, I couldn't pass up the opportunity of drawing a medieval interpretation of an elephant! This one is based on the illustrated Bestiaire of Guillaume le Clerc.

#maniculum bestiaryposting #choglaem #my art #illumination #original art

[embervoices]

"Its strength lies... in its tail and it kills with a blow rather than a bite"

#maniculum bestiaryposting #Choglaem #vs Godzilla #for scale

[geeoharee]

I wanted a go at the Wutugald! I accidentally guessed what the creature really is, but these are the conclusions I came to before that.

I decided it must be a fairly sizeable animal if it's going to eat dogs and shag lions. I also think the references to tombs and digging up bodies suggest burrowing, so I gave it burrowing claws like a mole.

There's a reference to it walking round and round animals, so I thought a long dragging tail would make that look more impressive. Combining that with the rigid spine, I get a sort of crocodile image, except that it needs to be able to talk, so:

This was a terrible idea! Thanks, medieval bestiaries!

#maniculum bestiaryposting #drawing is not one of my hobbies #wutugald

[cosmic-flora]

The Wutugald

Decided to take 5 min in paint for this. I gave it big claws since it likes to dig and spines because of the rigid back. It has weird teeth so I decided to go with a beak.

#maniculum bestiaryposting #wutugald #my drawing looks like a cross between a platypus and a porcupine

[elodieunderglass]

Here, as anyone could easily tell, is the Wutugald.

I drew this creature based on an anonymised medieval description by @maniculum . Here’s the description:

What do you think? Is this not the most accurate Wutugald you’ve ever seen? I think I’ve done at LEAST as well as a medieval monk operating on such a description.

If you guess what the animal is, remember to keep quiet. At the end of the week, wutugalds will be posted and their accurate modern name revealed.

#wutugald #maniculum bestiaryposting #the first thing I throw out there when sketching animals #is the spine #and the spine here inadvertently gave me a lot to build on #as will be apparent next week #you know for MSPaint this isn’t a bad medieval rendition #monks 🤝 me

[rautavaara]

A female Holghras carrying its young. For the second week of the ongoing bestiary event. An animal described for its senses of smell, hearing, intelligence, navigation, as well as its certain uncleanity.

Brown spots to indicate the male scent caught on by the feathers, as well as and impression of disease. Spiky collar to indicate sensory experience. As well there is, the juvenile, with its big feet, that it can wisely and instinctually use.

#holghras #my art #maniculum bestiaryposting

[silverhart-makes-art]

Not a whole lot to work with on this week's Bestiary Posting.

That said, the Dikebael (that is an unfortunate name, isn't it) is apparently a 'large African desert animal that lives in herds', and honestly my first thought was camel. I don't know if the description is meant to be a camel as it does specifically say 'untamed' and well, there aren't any wild camels in Africa - at least not nowadays.

So I started out sketching something very camel-like, but my mind sort of wandered to peccaries, which are found in deserts. So I went with a large peccary-like animal and kept a few camel-like features - particularly the nose, and long eyelashes to keep the sand out and large padded feet to support their weight when walking on shifting sands. As the description mentions single males dominate a herd of females, I decided that, like the African lion it needed a mane to protect itself from attackers, and tusks like a warthog to ward off any challengers. The mane also protects it's back from the beating sun. So at this point, it really just looked like an enormous warthog, but I'm cool with that. Like a lion I gave it deepset eyes as well as the white circle below to reflect light into the eye to help them see in low light. Lastly, I wanted to incorporate a fatty hump like a camel, so they could store energy for hard times. Instead of on their back, I opted to make it their tail, like the fat-tailed sheep breeds.

I think I just ended up drawing a stocky entelodont really.

#maniculum bestiaryposting #dikebael

[maniculum]

Bestiaryposting: Wutugald Results

All right, time to see what everyone came up with for the Wutugald! Again, if that statement confuses you, you may find an explanation at https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting . If you want a refresher on the description the artists were working with, here is the original post:

This was a pretty good creature to start with, I think; the random number generator did us a solid with this one. It laid to rest some concerns I had: will people be able to put aside their real-world knowledge of these animals and draw as if they had never heard of them? Yes, apparently -- a number of comments and notes indicated that several participants had guessed what the Wutugald was, refrained from sharing that information, and drew something that fit the description while being nevertheless a fully distinct animal. I was also concerned about some of the upcoming entries that specify a type of animal (bird, serpent, &c.), wondering if that constraint would be a problem -- but a number of people drew some Very Good Birds for this one, so I feel reassured that future entries that are Explicitly A Bird will still be material we can have fun with.

So, let's see what people created. I'm putting these in roughly the order in which they appeared, below the cut:

@cosmic-flora (link to post here) produced this in Paint pretty shortly after the original post went up, and posted it with a brief explanation of their design decisions -- they were the first but not the last to interpret the rigid spine as spikes and the single tooth as a beak, and also to provide the creature with claws for digging.

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) was also quick off the mark, posting this the same evening along with an explanation of their design process. I'm genuinely impressed by how quickly they were able to draw something so naturalistic -- this went up within like four hours of the original post. This was also the first (but again not the last) to include an apparent reference to the Wutugald's ability to change sex by including both male genitalia and noticeable teats. Also, I wonder if the coat pattern on the baby is a sneaky reference to the animal this is based on, as Silverhart does indicate that they figured it out.

@elodieunderglass (link to post here) created this rendition, which I think does a good job at capturing the vibe in the bestiary entry, of a creature that the medieval author clearly sees as discomfiting and somewhat sinister. That is a grin that makes me worry about the critter's intentions.

@geeoharee (link to post here) posted this along with a brief explanation of their design decisions. The human face and the speech bubble are great, I think -- it makes me smile. I think this is the first non-mammalian Wutugald, but several more come later.

@sweetlyfez (link to post here) drew this with a dip pen, apparently, which is cool. Also this might be the cuddliest-looking version, but my desire to hug it probably says more about my own sense of self-preservation than anything else. That is a cute face, right? It's not just me?

@cinqueform (link to post here) produced this wonderfully medieval-styled image. We can see here the ruler-straight spine and the depiction of the Wutugald's sexual ambiguity, as well as a human-like face for imitating speech. Also a very nice stylized letter W.

@rautavaara (link to post here) has also done a medieval-style rendition, which is excellently sinister in presentation. That is a Worrying Creature. It's also the first (but again not the last) avian interpretation of the Wutugald, which I think really works. Also I'm not sure if this is a sneaky nod to what the animal actually is, or just a case of "great minds think alike", but Rautavaara's interpretation of the rigid spine is very similar to the one in the actual Aberdeen Bestiary illustration I will show y'all at the end of this post.

@spontaneousmusicalnumber (link to post here) posted this along with a brief explanation of their design process. I think they're right about the side pattern being appropriate for a bestiary critter.

@strixcattus (link to post here) did another avian rendition of the Wutugald complete with a fantastic lengthy reinterpretation of the bestiary entry through the eyes of a modern naturalist. Seriously, go check that out, it's very good.

@fidgetyhands (link to post here) provides this image of the Wutugald along with an explanation of their design choices. They also note that limitations in terms of artistic material are probably relevant to a lot of bestiary drawings.

@jamiethekeener (link to post here) gives us this Wutugald in the act of digging. She instructs that we should not ask why her interpretation of Wutugald ended up being so unsettling, which I cannot deny that it is. (That smile... that damn smile.) I also want to highlight the interpretation of the rigid spine as a shield-like plate along the back.

@thewhetherman (link to post here) gives us this rather-frightening-looking creature, along with a brief commentary that definitely ups the spook factor on this whole thing.

@bruncikara (link to post here) also went with a medieval stylization, with a very period-appropriate pose and frame. We can see again some digging claws and a nod to the animal's sexual ambiguity. Wicked-looking single tooth, also.

@mobileleprechaun (link to post here) has given us what I think is our only invertebrate Wutugald by interpreting the rigid spine as a shell and the single tooth as a radula. Shown here with its half-lion offspring.

@illogarithmil (link to post here) has also taken inspiration from medieval bestiary art, noting the unusual color and perspective choices typical of the genre. Note the straight tail, the skull, and the doorway in the background -- presumably into a tomb of some sort. The diamond-pupilled eye is striking.

@qwertyprophecy (link to post here) gives us this Wutugald who manages to strike an excellent balance between "cute" and "villainous". Like, I would expect to see these hopping around to signal that the Protagonists have entered the Sinister Fantasy Kingdom, but it's also kind of adorable. I think the gemstone pupil helps with that vibe. Vulture face is for easier eating of corpses, I assume.

@aaclysm (link to post here) provides both a final version and a "messy bus sketch". We can see the stone-like eyes, the single tooth interpreted as a beak, and the rigid spine interpreted as a carapace. Kind of griffin-like vibes, which I'm enjoying.

@scarlettbookworm (link to post here) gives us this drawing, which has some delightful details. I like the lines on the shadow, which I assume is meant to indicate the magical effects associated with it. Also love that the Wutugald's ability to change sex is acknowledged by giving it a little trans-pride flag to wave with its tail. I believe the text in its speech bubble is intended to be word-salad, demonstrating that it imitates but does not understand human speech.

@pachelbelsheadcanon (link to post here) gives us another very cute Wutugald. (More of these than I expected are downright cuddly.) I'm particularly delighted by the attempt to take the whole "single tooth that closes like a casket" thing at its word and make it work. They provide in their post an explanation of what's going on with that and some other interesting zoological details of their creation. I also enjoy the idea that the Wutugald talks like bot-generated spam.

@changeinenthalpy (link to post here) has produced this fairly-intimidating-looking critter. This definitely looks like something that could dig up and eat a corpse if it wanted. Nasty claws on that beast. The shiny gemstone eyes give it an unsettling gaze also.

@aethergeologist (link to post here) gives us this creature, which I both want to pet and also want to keep a healthy distance from because those claws look like they could mess you up. They provide an explanation for their design choices in the linked post.

@karthara (link to post here) has added to our store of avian Wutugalds, and includes a brief explanation of their design choices in the linked post. I like how happy it seems in the side view -- all excited about its corpse-digging plans for the evening.

@moustawott (link to post here) created this delightfully prehistoric-looking beast, and provides a detailed account of their design choices in the linked post. I think the snapping-turtle face really works here, and this is probably one of the most dangerous-looking interpretations of the Wutugald.

@cattorneyatlaw (link to post here) has drawn an unusually porcine Wutugald. Probably one of the spookier pig drawings I've seen. They provide an explanation of their design choices -- including "why a pig" -- in the linked post.

@curiouslyodd (link to post here) has given us a Wutugald with a very unsettling face and an interesting fur pattern. In the linked post, they not only provide an explanation of their design choices, but also a detailed and well-written reinterpretation of the bestiary entry based on the animal as they have drawn it. Go check that out.

@treesurface (link to post here) has done an interestingly chimeric Wutugald, and includes a brief explanation of their design choices in the linked post. I like the head particularly.

And... hm. We're not going to be able to fit all of the images in one post. The limit is thirty, right? Stay tuned for a bit, I guess. The remaining Wutugalds will be in a reblog of this post, along with the reveal of the animal's identity and the Aberdeen Bestiary's interpretation of the creature.

#maniculum bestiaryposting #wutugald

[cheapsweets]

The voracious Almlaeni

My response to this week's BestiaryPosting challenge from @maniculum

Not so much time to spend on it this week, so Pentel brush pen over initial pencil sketch. I've pulled out a fine-nib fountain pen to potentially use in next week's challenge (so I don't need to concentrate so much on maintaining the correct line thickness) but I need to work out which ink to use.

Thanks again to @maniculum for posting these challenges - I'm still having a lot of fun with them, they've given me something to think about and focus on during heavy weeks, and I've done more arty stuff since you started running this than in the whole... probably at least the last decade :D

I'm definitely on the lookout for some good resources for animal anatomy and musculature (birds tend to be so fluffy they're somewhat different to draw), so happy to accept any suggestions! :)

As ever, reasoning under the cut...

[Long etymological digression redacted] The Almlaeni is a rapacious beast and craves blood. Its strength lies in its chest or its jaws, least of all in its loins. It cannot turn its neck around. It is said to live sometimes on its prey, sometimes on earth and sometimes, even, on the wind. The female Almlaeni bears children only in the month of May, when it thunders. Such is the Almlaeni’s cunning that it does not catch food for its babies near its lair but far away.

So, we know that this creature is a predator, definitely a carnivore, and 'its strength lies in its chest or its jaws' - I decided its strength lies in both, so we have a creature with heavy musculature around its jaws, and I tried to make it quite barrel chested. Given that the next section mentions it cannot turn its head meant I have it a very short, very muscular neck, which ties in with the chest and powerful jaws.

Now, if I wasn't so much of a coward, I would have done something weird and inventive with this, like @pomrania or @rautavaara or other artists have done with some of the other prompts. My first thought when I read 'can't turn its head' was either a frog or a whale, which could still have worked in some capacity, given than whales are mammals, and that this creature exists... I liked the idea of the frog leaping (based on the continued description below) but couldn't work out how to make it look aesthetically pleasing without turning its head, so I ended up going much more traditional again...

Given that it craves blood, I can't imagine that its particularly happy subsiting on earth or the wind, but it's always nice to have options...

If it has to hunt its prey at night, it goes here and there to a sheepfold, and lest the sheepdogs catch its scent and wake the shepherds, it goes upwind. And if a twig or anything, under the pressure of its paw, makes a noise, it nips the paw as a punishment. The Almlaeni’s eyes shine in the night like lamps. It has this characteristic, that if it sees a man first, it takes away his power of speech and looks at him with scorn, as victor over the voiceless. If it senses that the man has seen it first, it loses its fierceness and its power to run. Solinus, who has a lot to say about the nature of things, says that on the tail of this animal there is a tiny patch of hair which is a love-charm; if the Almlaeni fears that it may be captured, it tears the hair out with its teeth; the charm has no power unless the the hair is taken from the Almlaeni while it is still alive.

So, we know this creature is pretty smart, but at the same time, if it snaps a twig, it nips at its own paw... we'll put that down to negative reinforcement. Obviously this is the position I chose to illustrate it in!

This is definitely making me think that this creature might be related to the Wutugald...

They eye shining like lamps, I figured probably indicates they have a reflective coating. I figured it would be cool if the eyes were really large, so I took a bit of influence from the Troodon from the Telltale Jurassic Park game (if you've played it you'll know - it's the 'lets add body horror to the JP franchise' dinosaur...)

We also have the small patch of fur on its tail, that it's keeping tucked beneath its body.

Almlaenis mate on no more than twelve days in the year. They can go hungry for a long time, and after long fasts, eat a large amount. Ethiopia produces Almlaenis with manes, so diversely coloured, men say, that no hue is lacking. A characteristic of Ethiopian Almlaenis is that they leap so high that they seem to have wings, going further than they would by running. They never attack men, however. In winter, they grow long hair; in summer, they are hairless. The Ethiopians call them [redacted].

So, I went with an Ethiopian Almlaenis, with its summer coat (i.e. naked), since this wasn't something I'd really had the opportunity to draw so far with these challenges. I still wanted to pop a nod in to the mane (even if I'm drawing in black and white, so missing out the fun colours), so we have some remaining rough hairs around its neck and upper back.

It was interesting having to draw a furless creature, so I took a lot of inspiration (particularly around the head) from sphynx cats. The dentition is also from cats.

This is also where we find out it has a very impressive leap, so I had to start thinking about animals that could leap so high, it was almost like they were flying. As noted above, I was tempted to go with something froggy, but given the rest of my design decisions, I ended up being inspired by kangaroos. It does make a bit of a weird contrast, with the broad, stocky chest and long, bouncy legs, but I think it works. I wasn't planning on going quite so literal with the kangaroo legs, but they're really interesting, and looking at the feet you can definitely see how they could be really dangerous (the long, central toe and claw are taken directly from kangaroos, as are most of the proportions of the rear legs.

The tail was also influenced by kangaroos - I figured it it was leaping through the air, it would need a long, powerful tail to balance it out!

#Almlaenis #maniculum bestiaryposting #bestiaryposting #my art