So, To Be A Bestiary Artist, I Must Master The Art Of Drawing One Bird Very Well...

So, to be a bestiary artist, I must master the art of drawing one bird very well... 🤔

Nice variety of cool (and cute) critters this week. Plus, I managed to guess what it was (after I'd done the drawing, though) - surprisingly not a bad description of the creature, all told!

Bestiaryposting Results: Hraetnug

We've got a good variety of results here, so I'm just going to run through the usual stuff and get to them.

If anyone isn't sure what this "bestiaryposting" thing is about, you can find an explanation and previous entries at https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting.

All of the art below is based on this entry:

If you want to participate, next week's bestiaryposting will be based on this entry:

And the art is below the cut:

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) decided something with wings that doesn't fly might well be a flightless bird, and has drawn a very good penguin/auk/thing. I really like how it's posed against the starry sky; it's evocative. For additional details, check the linked post.

@ectocs (link to post here) thought of sea turtles instead -- which I can totally see. I've had the good fortune to witness a few sea turtle hatchings, and the description of the eggs in the sand absolutely tracks. However, there's the issue that the idea of wing-shaped fins is not compatible with "its feet are like those of a camel" -- hence the very cool shell design. I like it; it's quite clever. The linked post contains some additional discussion of the thoughts and inspirations behind this design, go look at it. (Also, thank you for providing alt text.)

@cheapsweets (link to post here) has taught me a new word with this post -- xerocolous. Also, we have a medieval-style dragon here, complete with that ubiquitous wavy-eared head -- it does fully fit the description, too. Always appreciate a little medieval styling; those damned ears made me smile. There's additional explanation in the linked post -- also, thank you for providing alt text.

@sweetlyfez (link to post here) has laid out a brief but excellent explanation of their design process. It seems to have gone like this:

"What animals do this with their eggs?" "Snakes do that." "But snakes don't have wings or camel-like feet." "This one does."

Brilliant. Love it. No notes. (Also thank you for providing alt text.)

@pomrania (link to post here) also went with "flightless bird" and admits the inadvertent resemblance of their design to Big Bird -- it does have a certain Muppet-like quality, I must say. For additional information, please see the linked post. I particularly like the note that giving it a "no thoughts head empty" facial expression was fully intentional.

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) also thought of sea turtles and then questioned how this could be compatible with the camel feet. Their solution, which I think came out extremely well here, was to simply draw a camel/turtle hybrid. I kind of love this design -- and, of course, the stylized art.

@strixcattus (link to post here) has drawn a very charming flightless bird. I really like the sort of shaggy design, which I assume is indicative of kiwi-style feathers. As is normally the case, Strixcattus has also included a modern naturalist-style interpretation of the animal, which I, as usual, recommend reading via the linked post.

To the Aberdeen Bestiary...

Once again, this is basically the same bird we see in a bunch of these, with the exception of its (surprisingly accurate) camel-like feet. However, this is in fact the ostrich. (I have no idea why one of them appears to be eating the eggs.)

I honestly don't have a lot to add here. Bit surprising to see a different set of myths about the ostrich rather than the "head in the sand" thing.

The weather's getting warmer, so here's my seasonal reminder for other folks who have issues staying hydrated (autistics, people on certain meds, people who hate water, whatever):

Jello is, in fact, mostly water. So are a lot of fruits, like melon, cucumber, and berries. Ice chips are also water. If you find it hard to drink enough day to day, try eating your water instead. Every little bit helps!

absolutely losing my goddamn mind at this ancient roman octopus mosaic from spain that looks like it would make a comical squeaky toy sound and shoot its tentacles out if you squeezed it

Bestiaryposting Results: Dirubael

This entry happens to be pretty clear on what the animal looks like, so there's a strong similarity between the different depictions this week -- the main difference is how each artist interprets what the hell is going on with these horns.

If you're not sure what this is about, you can find an explanation and the rest of the series so far at https://maniculum.tumblr.com/bestiaryposting.

The entry people are working from this week can be found here:

And if you want to join in for next week, that creature's entry can be found here:

And now, art in chronological order as it was posted:

@silverhart-makes-art (link to post here) has designed an antelope-like creature that almost passes as normal if you're just scrolling past... and then you look at it properly and see that it has horned eyestalks. That is wild and I love it. (Fencing with those horns must be a challenge since its eyes are also moving around, but I assume it's adapted for that kind of thing.) More commentary to be found in the linked post.

@coolest-capybara (link to post here) went more of a rhinocerous direction, resulting in this nifty-looking creature. The thick, sturdy build here plus the tusks probably make this one pretty formidable in a fight even if it didn't have long, mobile horns. Dangerous beast. Also take a moment to admire that background, and consider clicking on the linked post for more details on inspiration & sources. (And thank you for providing alt text.)

@pomrania (link to post here) has another creative interpretation of what these mobile horns might actually be -- they're actually clusters of quills that can tense up into horn-like structures when the creature needs them. I think that's quite clever, and I really like the choice to show it fencing on the left there.

@ectocs (link to post here) has something that looks kind of like a boar and kind of like an ungulate... I'm getting "dog", too, mostly from the legs, but that might just be because that's the type of quadruped I spend the most time around. Solid Nonspecific Mammal either way. Anyway, the stand-out here is the interpretation of its mobile horns -- they're a set of mantis-like forelimbs, which happen to rest against the sides of its head to give the appearance of horns. I like this interpretation a lot. Check out the linked post for more information, sketches, and (I enjoy this) a recreation of this creature in Spore.

@citrvsdrake (link to post here) has also given us a very solid Nonspecific Mammal that's a kind of of boar / buffalo / horse blend. This one has traditional horns, but the way they are positioned communicates quite clearly that they are mobile. Fairly threatening expression, too, so let's scroll away quickly. (Welcome, Citrvsdrake!)

@wendievergreen (link to post here) notes that their interpretation has ended up going in the direction of "necromantic experiment", which... yeah, it definitely does look like that. We've got a few different animals blended together for the shape of its body, then a boar's skull with some additional spikes for the horns, and a spiky, exposed spine down its back. Honestly, if your necromancers aren't making stuff like this, what are they even doing with their time?

@cheapsweets (link to post here) has joined a general consensus of "boar-like creature with long legs like a horse", which really is a sound interpretation of the text. Traditional horns, and the linked post talks a bit about the difficulty of such an anatomical feature (as well as other things, go check it out). That's a pretty good boar's head, in my opinion. Also impressed by the fact that CheapSweets is doing this with a brush pen.

All right, to the Aberdeen Bestiary:

As I'm sure is completely obvious from this picture, this creature is the Yale.

(Unrelated to the U.S. university as far as I know -- I checked, and the university appears to be named after Iâl in Wales, while the creature's name probably comes from the Hebrew word for "ibex". Though according to Wikipedia, the university does feature some decorative yales in various places, presumably as an obscure pun in a "canting arms" sort of way.)

This is another one of those mythical creatures that didn't quite make it into the modern consciousness -- an ibex that fences with its horns is maybe a bit too low-key to compete with manticores and dragons for attention.

Also, I have to note that I think it's interesting how the medieval artist decided "jaws of a boar" didn't include tusks. The only visual indication I see here is maybe those jowls?

Snow Leopards Confirmed in Mongolia’s Khorkh Mountains for the First Time - Snow Leopard Trust

A camera trap study in in South Gobi's Khorkh mountain range confirmed the presence of snow leopards along with lynx, ibex and argali.

Here’s some good news for your day: snow leopards have been sighted again in the Khorkh mountains in Mongolia for the first time in nearly 30 years!  The area surveyed is a small, highly biodiverse sanctuary on the border of China. Snow leopard sightings used to be common, but since the 1990s, there hadn’t been any confirmed reports of their presence. 

A new study by the Snow Leopard Trust, however, was the first time there’s been rangers and camera traps in Khorkh. According to the Snow Leopard trust, “we don’t have an unlimited number of cameras or trained field staff, so we have to select our study sites carefully. This is the first time we’ve been able to venture east into Small Gobi A Protected Area – thanks to the help of local rangers, whom we had trained in camera trapping techniques before the survey. The fact that we’ve been able to confirm the snow leopard’s presence here this quickly is encouraging.” 

What’s even better is that the camera trap caught photos of multiple individuals, including a mother with young cubs. 

(Photo Credit: SLCF Mongolia & Snow Leopard Trust)