#artist: creature feature

[haveyoulistenedtothisalbum-poll]

Tracklist:

The Greatest Show Unearthed • Buried Alive • Aim For The Head • Six Foot Deep • A Gorey Demise • Look To The Skies • How To Serve Man • Bound And Gagged • The Meek Shall Inherit The Earth • A Corpse In My Bed • Such Horrible Things

Spotify ♪ Bandcamp ♪ YouTube

[noxhawthorne]

Abaia

Imagine, if you will, that you’ve gone on a quiet vacation to the islands of Fiji. Feel the sand under your toes, the sun on your skin, the smell of saltwater. You take an excursion, and find a beautiful, deep lake, surrounded by lush greenery. It’s a sweltering day, and the lake looks so inviting.

You walk into the lake, the cool water stinging pleasantly as you go deeper. Eventually you’re floating, unable to feel the ground beneath you. It’s calm, soothing. The local birds sing, the breeze rustles the leaves… you’re relaxed enough to let your eyes close and just drift…

Your feet touch a slippery rock, slick with grime from centuries of being submerged. You pay it no mind… until you notice the layer of grime is thick enough to give, making the rock feel almost squishy. You open your eyes. The birds have stopped singing.

You realize that you aren’t touching the rocking. It’s touching you.

The Abaia. A massive eel of Melanesian mythology, said to live at the bottom of freshwater lakes. The legend comes from the Fiji, Vanuatu, and Solomon Islands, though the exact location varies. There’s not really a specific size given, but, for an idea of what we’re talking about, the average American Eel is 16-33 inches long and about 2.5 pounds. So… bigger than that. Much bigger.

The legend of the Abaia poses it as the guardian of the lake it dwells in, protecting the inhabitants from humans looking to harm them. If a fisherman were to try and get his daily catch from the lake, or if an ignorant tourist were to throw their trash in it, the Abaia will unleash its wrath. Thrashing and twisting, it causes impressive waves that will claim the life of the perpetrator, dragging them down to the depths to remain with the great eel.

There is another version of this legend that claims the Abaia holds control over the weather via magic. The story goes that a fisherman discovered a bountiful lake, full of critters and creatures to sate his village’s hunger. He led the village to this lake, and has them help plunder it of life. The Abaia, upon seeing this, causes a torrential rainstorm, wiping out the village and drowning everyone who had harmed the creatures. The Abaia is often depicted as a motherly being to the inhabitants that share its home.

As someone who knows the basics about various eels, I have to wonder if there is some electrical aspect to this creature. Perhaps its ability to cause storms is caused by a powerful electrical charge. According to the Smithsonian’s National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, the Electric Eel has three organs — the main organ, the Sach’s organ, and the Hunter’s organ — that produce electric impulses used for defense, communication, navigation, and hunting. At 6-8 feet long, this eel can generate up to 800 volts of electricity. Is the Abaia electric? Being so massive in size, could its electrical shock cause a storm? It’s unlikely, yes, but an interesting thought to consider.

[gleafer]

WHAT THE WHAT!

Action scene from my King and his Castle comic!

(Only on Patreon but I’ll share tasty snacks here as well!)

[discoratco]

Howdy there folks!

We are looking for artists that would like to create original art for zines!

This opportunity would mean that you will have published versions of your art, get a fair cut of the profit and get to network with other creators. The zine would be a quarterly publishing, meaning that there are several opportunities a year to be in one. Each zine would be shared between 13 creators, placed in brick and mortar shops and sold online. Each artist would have up to 8 pages, with a minimum of 2, meaning you can fill those pages however you'd like- comic format, graphic novel, creature field guide, digital illustrations etc. Writers: you could have a short story inside!

Our quarterly zine is called Creature Feature, whatever that means to you! Lil guys? Sure. That thing under your bed? Sure! Were-kittens? Yeah! Your local cryptid? Yeehaw! Your imagination would be the limit.

If this sounds like something you'd be interested in, fill out our application form. Have any questions? Email us at heath@discoratco.com.

Hope to see some of you soon!

[fockenhell-art]

POV: He’s digging your grave ✨💅

[lucabyte]

OC dialogue meme for Ali... Except there's two of them. Even outside of Ali's nebulous mood disorder eccentricities, there's a big difference in how they carry themselves in Purrgatorio, being dragged out of their normal environment and still in a level of disbelief about it all.

They make for an interesting protagonist in Purrgatorio imo, given their status as an antagonist in Creature Feature.

[fiepige]

Okay guys, hear me out:

Sea Serpent Hobie!!!

Sea Serpent Hobie who sinks any superyachts he comes across!

Sea Serpent Hobie who uses harpoon spears meant to kill him as piercings! And old anchor chains as jewelry!

Sea Serpent Hobie who attacks big commercial fishing boats that are destroying the ecosystem by overfishing

But also benign Sea Serpent Hobie, who aids those lost at sea!

Who helps smaller local fishing buisnesses with sustainable fishing

Who looks out for this small fishing community and in return they warn him whenever hunters show up in the area!

Sea Serpent Hobie who is huge but still manages to hide perfectly in the kelp forests!

Who has bioluminescence and uses it both to terrify enemies and as a way to calm down people in distress, as a way for him to signal goodwill - and to show off when he feels like it!

Who can change his pigmentation similarly to octopi to communicate his mood and feelings! Or just to blend in with his surroundings (also as a nod to the way he changes filters in the movie!)

Sea Serpent Hobie who's frequently seen swimming with whale pods- Orcas being his favourites to hang out with (they sometimes go on yacht sinking trips together)

Sea Serpent Hobie who likes to give people a show and will show off by breaching right next to unsuspecting boats

DO YOU SEE MY VISION?!??

SEA SERPENT HOBIE!!!!!!💙💙💙

[lookalivepumpkin]

"The flame is quickly growing dim

The air is swiftly growing thin

And something stirs from deep within..." (2024)

[hellagator]

The creature™️

I wanted to design a magical creature made up of my various theriotypes and phantom limb feelings. Turned into quite the little chimera!

[lonely-space-egg]

I can't explain just how it feels The thoughts of my premature burial Inside this oblong box I lie With the hopes I'll be buried alive

[ossian94]

Master of Fairies

A doodle turned complex drawing

Will do a little bit more with this one in due time

It's also quite fitting since halloween's around the corner

[noxhawthorne]

Akh’lut

Also known as the kăk-whăn’-û-ghăt kǐg-û-lu’-nǐk, the Akh’lut is an orca or orca-like spirit/creature in Inuit folklore that takes the form of a wolf when on land. It’s a shapeshifter, said to change from an orca to a wolf when hungry. One can recognize their tracks easily, as they’re wolf tracks that come from the sea.

The Akh’lut is considered a dangerous creature, being known to attack Inuit fishermen when they’re on the water. It’s also been known to attack and kill people who asleep near the edge of the water. Some even say that it will go all the way to an Inuit camp just to snatch up their next victim. It has a voracious appetite, and will eat anything nearby.

There many different versions of how the Akh’lut came to be, however the most popular myth goes like this: the was a man who was obsessed with the sea. He wanted to be with it always. One day he comes back to shore and goes to his village, but he has become so obsessed with the sea that they no longer recognize him. He is banned from the village. Hungry for revenge, the man stumbles upon a pack of wolves who share his hunger (though, in more literal terms). The man becomes one with the wolves. However, he still has a deep affection for the sea, and eventually jumps in to be with it forever. In doing so, he transforms into an orca. He has found peace at last… however, whenever his hunger for revenge rears its ugly head, he comes back on land as a wolf, and feeds.

There are some possible explanations for the Akh’lut. The main one is this: Arctic wolves can swim in the water, meaning they could be the cause for the paw prints leading away from the sea. There’s also a possible explanation, but an unlikely one. It is said that when Arctic wolves are rejected from the pack, they commit suicide by jumping in the freezing water. This is highly unlikely due to survival instincts in animals, but it is worth mentioning.

Fun fact: another name for an orca is a seawolf.

[lyanmeart]

"What Cryptid is your favorite?"

[voided-peach]

Freakshow only wears one of the ruby earrings because (in my humble headcannon) Lydia wears the other one. Not because they're dating but because it's the sign of their contract. The ruby earrings once belonged to Freakshow's late mother. Her passing is what caused him to be so invested in ghosts to being with and the poor state at home with his father and brothers pushes him to seek her beyond the grave. Attempting to summon his mother with the only material objects linked to her that survived his father's purging, he uses them during a seance. In great desperation he yells, begs, pleads beyond the veil but it's not his mother who answers. It's Lydia.

The earrings are split between them. For freakshow, it's purpose is a physical contract signifying his deal with Lydia, if it breaks the deal breaks. For Lidya, the earring helps her keep an eye on her food no matter where he is.

[lycanr0t]

see i dont actually view chilchuck as a mouseboy thats just what he kinda ended up looking like in my design for him but i didn't just slap mouse ears + jerboa tail on him for no reason.

i actually came up with it bc while watching when it said that half foots senses are better than most my immediate thought was that them just having bigger ears didn't make sense, it wouldn't give them such a huge advantage. so i considered what animals were generally small, agile, smart, had good balance and control of their bodies. something light on it's feet.

rodents were an obvious choice to reference. I liked the jerboa-like tail for the balance it could provide, where a more rat like tail seemed like it wouldn't provide much support balance wise, plus it seemed too heavy. a heavy tail with bulk would be inconvenient.

same goes for the ears. i didn't want to change the overall silhouette too much but more mouse-y ears would provide better hearing support than big human ears. being able to move them would help with direction as well. same goes for the mouse-like feet. its all about thinking about the features half foots are known for and developing from there. theyre small, they rely on stealth, balance, and detecting danger in order to avoid it. so what physical features might develop in them to accommodate these things.

[monoxology]

Andrew having to sleep on the couch - part 6748473