The Deflagrating Bawigrat

The Deflagrating Bawigrat

My response to this week’s BestiaryPosting challenge, from @maniculum

Pencil sketch, then lines in Sailor fude nib fountain pen, using Diamine Sepia ink.

Though process beneath the cut...

"In Asia an animal is found which men call Bawigrat. It has the head of a bull, and thereafter its whole body is of the size of a bull’s with the maned neck of a horse. Its horns are convoluted, curling back on themselves in such a way that if anyone comes up against it, he is not harmed. But the protection which its forehead denies this monster is furnished by its bowels. For when it turns to flee, it discharges fumes from the excrement of its belly over a distance of three acres, the heat of which sets fire to anything it touches. In this way, it drives off its pursuers with its harmful excrement."

My initial response to this one was 'oh boy!'... I'm pretty sure I know exactly what this creature is. If my suspicions are correct, there is traditionally a very specific way of depicting it, which might be dramatic but doesn't actually gel particularly well with the description...

Regarding the Bawigrat itself, we have a bull-like creature. I took a lot of inspiration from aurochs (and heck cattle) - the main difference being the horns curving up and back rather than forward and up, and giving it a fuller belly for maximum fermentation. I also tried to reflect the horse-like mane, though it's sitting a little lank across its neck while it's not in motion.

I was wondering for a while how to present the beast, and came to the idea of drawing a landscape, with the fumes slowly crawling across it and igniting anything they touch. Then I had another thought... Apologies Mac, I know you are going to get this reference.... ;)

The Beneficent Gerzlaem

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

Pencil sketch, then lines in Pentel brush pen. Bit of a tricky one, I had no idea how I was going to approach this until I sat down with it. A little bit of influence from Tove Jannson; there were definitely some parts of this I struggled with, and I think I'm learning some of the limits of the brush pen, but there are also parts of this I'm really pleased with :)

Reasoning below the cut…

"There are said to be three kinds. Of these, the ones which are short in stature, with curly hair, are peaceable; the tall ones, with straight hair, are fierce. Their brow and tail show their mettle; their courage is in their breast, their resolution in their head. They fear the rumbling sound of wheels, but are even more frightened by fire. The Gerzlaem takes pride in the strength of its nature; it does not know how to join in the ferocity of other kinds of wild beasts, but like a king disdains the company of large numbers."

At first I thought we were missing a description of the third kind, until I realised that it was probable somewhere between the two extremes; so we have three Gerzlaem, the tallest with straight hair, angry brows and an upraised and alert tail, the smallest with a more peacable aspect (and asleep - more notes below) with curly hair, and a medium sized Gerzlaem with wavy hair.

We don't get a great deal of descrption, apart from it must be a beast (paws, hair) and my generic beast-shape is something like a wolf or dog (though I ended up taking more influence in terms of the specific shape of the limbs from big cats.

"Those who study nature say that the Gerzlaem has three main characteristics. The first is that it loves to roam amid mountain peaks. If it happens that the Gerzlaem is pursued by hunters, it picks up their scent and obliterates the traces behind it with its tail. As a result, they cannot track it. The second characteristic of the Gerzlaem is that when it sleeps, it seems to have its eyes open. The third characteristic of the Gerzlaem is that when a female Gerzlaem gives birth to her young, she produces them dead and watches over them for three days, until their father comes on the third day and breathes into their faces and restores them to life."

In the background, some mountain peaks. We have a large, brush-like tail for covering its tracks, and on the smallest, dozing Gerzlaem we can see the markings on its eyelids that resemble an open eye.

"The compassion of Gerzlaems is apparent from endless examples. They spare those whom they have brought down. They allow captives whom they encounter to return home. They vent their rage on men rather than women. They do not kill children except in time of great hunger. Equally, Gerzlaems refrain from overfeeding. First, because they drink and feed on alternate days; and often, if their food remains undigested, they postpone the next feed. Then, because they feel uncomfortable when they have devoured more meat than they should, they insert their paws in their mouth and pull the food out, of their own accord. And when they have to take flight, they do exactly the same thing if they are full. Missing teeth show that a Gerzlaem is old. Gerzlaems mate face to face; and not only Gerzlaems, but lynxes, and camels, and elephants, and rhinoceroses, and tigers. Female Gerzlaems, when they first give birth, bear five young. In the years which follow, they reduce the number by one at a time. Afterwards, when they are down to one child, the fertility of the mother is diminished; they become sterile forever."

Just wondering, what kind of animal takes captives? Also, really nice to know that if it does eat someones child, it must have been really hungry…

We see the middle Gerzlaem retrieving its last meal (I tried to make this a fish, mostly because it was funny and more visual, but the size meant I didn't really have the detail to make this obvious).

"The Gerzlaem disdains to eat the previous day’s meat and turns away from the remains of its own meal. Which beast dares to rouse the Gerzlaem, whose voice, by its nature, inspires such terror, that many living things which could evade its attack by their speed, grow faint at the sound of its roar as if dazed and overcome by force. A sick Gerzlaem seeks out an ape to devour it, in order to be cured. The Gerzlaem fears the cock, especially the white one. [Redacted], it is tormented by the tiny sting of the scorpion and is killed by the venom of the snake."

We also have the largest, fiercest Gerzlaem unleashing a fearsome bark or roar! In the background, also a group of terrifying objects and creatures! A campfire! A cart (fortunately with nothing to pull it)! A rooster! A snake! And some other weird creature…!

"We learn of small beasts called Gerzlaem-killers. When captured, they are burnt; meat contaminated by a sprinkling of their ashes and thrown down at crossroads kills Gerzlaems, even if they eat only a small an amount. For this reason, Gerzlaems pursue Gerzlaem-killers with an instinctive hatred and, when they have the opportunity, they refrain from biting them but kill them by rending them to pieces under their paws."

Now this, I have no idea about, but I'm very curious to know what this might be. I have some (very vague) suspicions about the identity of the Gerzlaem, but even then, this 'Gerzlaem-killer' is baffling me…

obsessed with this sign i saw taped up outside the bat room at the zoo yesterday. the enthusiasm, the hand-written note, the bat drawing.

Handsome fellow!

one of the most impressive animals I met this year was a huge platyrhacid millipede, found chugging through some bamboo leaf litter in Malaysia.

he was a pleasant weight to hold in the hand, but spread out over so many gentle, graceful legs. the video offers a nice look at his eyeless face—all polydesmidan millipedes lack eyes.

I only hung onto this animated spinal cord for about thirty seconds before setting him back in the leaves, but I recall this encounter so vividly. a truly memorable creature

1823 flashback. Full video HERE

200 years ago, Mary Anning made one of her more important discoveries. She was even accused of being a scammer for it at first. This short animated video serves as a prologue for a larger project I’m currently working on

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