#aethereaii

[aethereaii]

"What would an ice age unicorn look like?"

Little concept sketch I made of a proto-unicorn. Put some bits of yak elements, smaller horse stature, and overall fluffier fur. Would you risk petting this boi?

[wearemercs]

Contact your local broker dwarf to request these items from the mountainhome! by Aethereaii

[maniculum]

Bestiaryposting Results -- Gligglae

Sorry this is later than usual; traveling for the holidays makes it difficult to keep up with this sort of thing. The smart move would have been to write it up a couple days ahead of time, then on Monday just update it with anything new that had been posted since, but see, what happened was that I did not do that. Instead, I tried to type this up Monday evening in between various family obligations, realized I didn't have time to do it properly, and just shoved it in my drafts. Then all of Tuesday was taken up with the long drive back home from where my family lives, and now you're getting it on Wednesday.

(Also, don't worry, I followed all CDC guidelines appropriate for someone who had recently had covid, and wouldn't have traveled for the holidays at all if I hadn't been without a fever for 48 hours prior to departing. Plus I drove instead of flying, didn't visit anyone but immediate family, and had a mask the whole time, so even if I am still contagious somehow, exposure was pretty minimal.)

Anyway, the entry that our artists are working from is here:

And, of course, all previous material on this matter can be found at https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting.

I think a larger number of people than usual identified the animal in question right off the proverbial bat, because this one has some pretty blatant tells, but as always I appreciate everyone trying to put it out of their minds.

So, anyway, in rough chronological order:

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) (thank you for providing your own alt text, I really appreciate it) brings us her usual impeccably medieval-stylized rendition -- the swirls and curves in this one give it a really interesting vibe, I think. We can see the Gligglae in full-body profile on the left there, and a group of them doing their cluster behavior on the right. The, like, griffin/cockatrice/vampire look is pretty great, also. I enjoy the overall design, which you can find some discussion of in the linked post. Gold foil also a nice touch.

Coolest-capybara also notes that the entry is very interested in the ways in which the creature is "almost, but not quite, entirely unlike a bird," and I can explain why that is. It is because this entry is in the Bird section of the bestiary, so officially this is a bird -- I mean, it flies, what else can it be -- but it's sufficiently un-bird-like that it really sticks out to the authors, so they need to explain the ways in which it's Doing Bird Wrong. Everything else in this section does X, so we need to point out that this one does Y, kind of thing.

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) has drawn an absolutely adorable little Gligglae. (Adorable if you have my sense of aesthetics, that is -- I suspect if you're among the portion of the population that finds aye-ayes more creepy-looking than cute, that might apply here as well.) There's an explanation of design decisions in the linked post, including a number of references to real animals that provided inspiration. I like the decision to play up the "lowly" and "mean" part of the description by making it small and kind of scruffy. And the general concept of blending "gliding rodent" with "nocturnal primate" to make an arboreal mammal with elements of both really worked out well here, in my opinion.

@aethereaii (link to post here) has done this beautiful piece in a style that kind of gives "19th-century naturalist" vibes. (Actually, it makes me think of James Gurney, but I suspect that association says more about my childhood reading habits than anything else.) This is a great design in my opinion, and you can find some brief discussion on design decisions as well as an earlier version of the Gligglae in the linked post. The earlier design is also very good, but I agree with Aethereaii that this one is a step up, particularly with the Anomalocaris-inspired faux-wings. I also really like the inclusion of the juvenile Gligglae (Gligglings?) clinging to their parent's back in the corner there.

@karthara (link to post here) decided to go in a reptilian direction with this one, which (a) works well and (b) caused me to spend a chunk of time reading about flying snakes on Wikipedia just now. So in this version, the "rowing motion with its skin" is a description of the Gligglae flaring its ribs and undulating through the air -- which I genuinely think really makes sense. The entry seems to legitimately disagree with itself about whether this critter has wings (or, taking it entirely literally, it has wings but flies through a completely separate method that specifically does not involve said wings, which I think we're justified in deciding is Wrong), so I think going with such a non-wing-like flight method works here. Also like the concept of making these very cuddly (and apparently loving, according to our bestiary author) creatures into a type of animal that usually isn't seen that way. The linked post also contains some brief notes on design decisions.

@strixcattus (link to post here) has, as per usual, provided a really excellent modern-naturalistic description of the creature they've designed in the linked post, and you should definitely go check it out right now. I'll wait.

... back? Okay good. I particularly like their interpretation of the "grape-cluster" behavior as a social group that's specifically not a kin group; and also the fact that said group is officially referred to as a "cuddle". The choice to make it a whole genus and show us several different wild and domesticated species, also very good, love it. As with several of these drawings, Strixcattus's Gligglae (Gligglaes?) are extremely cute -- which, really, does also fit the description provided in the entry. They're like tadpoles crossed with sugar gliders.

@cheapsweets (link to post here) credits Ken Sugimori's Pokemon illustrations as a stylistic inspiration, which I suppose explains why the Gligglae cluster seems to be hanging from a Sudowoodo. The linked post also draws certain parallels between medieval bestiaries and the Pokedex, which I think is actually pretty insightful. There's also a breakdown of their design decisions there, go read it. I think this is a pretty good rendering of something that is like a flying squirrel but distinctly not a flying squirrel, and I like the shaggy look of the fur.

Also, thank you for providing your own alt text.

@pomrania (link to post here) is, I think, the only person to take the bestiary author at their word that this animal has wings but flies through some other, non-wing-related method. You can see the tiny useless wings at the shoulder there. I really think that's fascinating as a concept: what evolutionary pressures would produce an animal that (a) has wings and (b) flies but (c) those two things are unrelated? Although this many appendages on a fur-bearing creature puts us firmly in the "alien biology" territory, so maybe it's silly to expect it to make sense by the standards of terrestrial biology. Regardless, I like it, and I think the decision to run with the "rowing" description by giving it those oar-shaped appendages is a good & creative one. The post linked above contains a fair bit of information on design decisions and the drawing process here -- there are sketches and everything.

@vindikat (link to post here) has interpreted this in a way I find really charming. The art is of course excellent, very well drawn, and I appreciate the effort that went into doing these different poses. However, I really like it from a worldbuilding perspective: this gives me the impression of a small species of griffin that's adapted to urban living, more pigeon/cat than eagle/lion. (Come to think, both pigeons and cats are examples of feral populations finding a successful niche, rather than wild ones that adapt to a city, so maybe we can speculate that these guys are also descended from domestic ancestors.) Also the Gligglae under the eaves there remind me of pictures of chimney swifts that have made the rounds on Tumblr.

The design is also generally very appealing; I think the extra wings and the long tail really work here. The linked post includes an explanation of the design decisions that I think is worth taking a look at.

@moustawott (link to post here) has given us another very cuddly version of the Gligglae. I particularly like the wing design here, how it's kind of a mammalian version of a pterosaur -- Moustawott indicates that they were specifically trying not to draw the animal that they're sure this is, and I think the pterosaur-squirrel design here is a great way to make something that could fill kind of the same niche while being an unmistakably distinct creature. The little round head and eye markings remind me of a chipmunk, also, which is cute.

@rautavaara (link to post here) continues to do interesting stylistic stuff with their contributions. I like how the limited color palette here makes this look kind of like a single-block woodcut or similar relief printing. Like, you could plausibly see this as a design someone's carved into a wood block, then printed on mustard-yellow paper with purple ink. (I'm actually not 100% sure that's not what it is; I would just be surprised if someone actually went the extra mile of breaking out the engraving tools for my little bestiaryposting thing.) Very dynamic scene, also, and a charming creature design; love the huge mouths with pointy little fangs.

All right, these are all the ones that come up on the search; if I missed yours, let me know please.

(I have to apologize here for another delay that's absolutely my fault -- I would have had this out a few hours ago, but I got derailed by impulsively deciding to check out that Hbomberguy plagiarism video everyone's talking out, and... yeah.)

Anyway, as a number of this week's artists indicated, this one was really easy to guess, so the reveal seems a little pointless, but we have a format, so:

Obviously, this was the sheep.

What? Look, you can't make assumptions with these things. Some of these medieval bestiary entries are really counterintuitive. Medieval Europeans believed there was a species of small, highly-social, flying nocturnal sheep native to Ethiopia.

Really, it's in Pliny the Elder.

...

Yes, fine, I'm just lying to you for fun. It's the animal you all think it is, there are no flying sheep to my knowledge. Here's the Aberdeen Bestiary illustration.

Yep, it's the bat. Oddly human face on that one, and generally I don't think this was drawn from life, but it's definitely a bat.

I do kind of find the way it's described in this entry kind of interesting, though. The confusion about whether bats count as having wings (even after having been placed in the "bird" category) is kind of odd, and the "rowing" description is not one I would have ever thought of. I very much like the declaration that the way bats huddle together is "an act of love of a sort which is difficult to find among men"; it's a sweet way to talk about a creature with a generally negative reputation, which contrasts interestingly with the fact that the author also thinks of them as "lowly" and "mean". You kind of get the idea of a creature that's a bit wretched but in a sympathetic way. "Scrungly", one might say.

[aethereaii]

Fairy Grypus

"Most commonly referred to as 'Pidgegriff', the Fairy Grypus is a family of small monotremes that mainly live in the northern hemisphere. These animals vary in shape, size and form depending on the environment which they're in. No matter where I find these little critters I find that they have an uncanny ability to nest in any location; from sheer cliff faces to exposed pipes. Nature's embodiment of sheer audacity." -Eitr Veingar, Naturalist

It's a rat pigeon. I wanted to make a rat pigeon in my world.

[aethereaii]

break bread for... biblically accurate pigeon?

[aethereaii]

Network Relay Stations

With how massive Ormauk is, even the largest cities can only feasibly stretch their data networks out so far. This especially becomes an issue when trying to connect cities which are millions of kilometers apart. The discwide network is only successful due to the support given by the numerous Network Relay Stations in between major settlements. These buildings are designed to be self-sufficient and far extends the lengths at which data can be sent throughout Ormauk. It is not uncommon for these Network Relay Stations to have small communities to grow around them as they are an excellent lifeline for new settlements just trying to take root in an otherwise wild region.

[aethereaii]

🌞 Solarpunk Wizard Gang 🌞 Continuing to draw some character concepts for Yatiuan citizens, specifically some employees at the local Network Relay Station. I started with the idea of "retro disco wizard".

I really wanted to push for a tall beanie for the hat, but I couldn't quite make it work. Maybe I'll revisit that in the future.

I've decided that the more magical a character is, the more I'll deviate from the streetwear X solarpunk tribal patterns that I've followed so far.

[aethereaii]

Some character concepts I did for Network Relay Station curators from Yatiua City. Going to try a more urban wizard concept for the next few sketches I'll be doing

[aethereaii]

Environment sketch for Ormauk! Imagine all the different creatures living in this kind of biome. If you're interested, I'm posting creatures weekly trying to fill up this world with lil guys.

[aethereaii]

Finally completed this first set of character explorations for Yatiuan "Speakers". You'll find speakers in every Network Relay Station, and their skills will vary depending on their line of studies. The most interesting ones are those who are able to communicate with base elementals to conjure magic via rhythms. For this set, I started with the initial idea of "solarpunk wizard" and I basically wanted to explore the full cycle of a speaker's educational career; From young students to mature interns and finally tenured speaker.

[aethereaii]

Some colour exploration for the next entry into the Encyclopedia Ormauk. A marine reptile that is wrongly attributed with shipwrecks and bad luck

[aethereaii]

Lineart for my the next piece. Really trying to channel Moebius on this one. Really wanted to balance the aesthetic of rural "run-down"-ness, urban fantasy and solarpunk technology. I didn't want it to lean too much into futuristic cleanliness.

[aethereaii]

Gligglae

Based off of @maniculum's Bestiaryposting series, I wanted to start contributing to these very interesting prompts to practice my creature design skills and pushing me to colour more.

I initially had a more mammalian looking version of this guy (see below), but wanted to give it more bouba vibes instead of kiki which resulted in the the more "circular" theme going on above. The circular silhouette was a result of the description "...it supports itself by making a rowing motion with its skin...". I had the anomalocaris in mind when I saw this part of the prompt and immediately tried some more flow-y appendages.

Anyways, hoping to see more of these prompts in the future and I'm looking forward to draw some more!

[aethereaii]

The first iteration of Ormauk's world map!

The setting for the artwork I've been making since the end of last year. It's based off of an Alderson Disk. Ormauk is a disk megastructure built around a sun that bobs up and down. The distance between the star and either of the Spindles is 720,000,000 KM. The idea is that these Spindles have been weaving the disks for billions of years.

A combination of the sheer size of the setting and the effects of wild magic on nature pushes societies closer together. Leading to very tight-knit communities and mostly environmentally-reverent inhabitants.

[aethereaii]

More Inktober stuff!

This latest one is for Day 14 - Castle

[aethereaii]

Inktober Day 5-6-7-8

Missed a couple days so I decided to put em all in one sketch!