Friday, March 2, 2012

http://warriorsofmightandmagic.tumblr.com/

Good day.

Life has become too busy for me to allow for the kind of time consuming posts this blog deserves, so I have created a tumblr account. It should upload 2 pics a day, which I think I should be able to manage.

It has the same theme as this blog and you should see the same kind of magical images on here there as well.


Thanks for your interest!

Kind regards,
Eleshar

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Priapeia

Stumbled upon this extraordinary blog recently and absolutely adore the general theme of this digital artists work. Here it is... http://priapusofmilet.blogspot.com/


Saturday, September 10, 2011

tumblr

I've discovered tumblr sites quite a while ago and man do I love them! Especially the archive feature. They're basically online galleries of lads' stashes, some of which are so worth a viewing. Below is a selection of my favourites...

http://fros.tumblr.com/archive
http://furrific.tumblr.com/archive
http://maxtor.tumblr.com/archive
http://monkeylick.tumblr.com/archive
http://ulikebodyhair.tumblr.com/archive
http://nakedpicturesofyourdad.tumblr.com/archive
http://beargrease.tumblr.com/archive
http://beardad.tumblr.com/archive
http://dccubster.tumblr.com/archive
http://karetu.tumblr.com/archive

Sunday, September 4, 2011

Mythic Beings from Murky Depths

Those Embodied with Flesh and Scale

Fantasy equal: Kraken

Some scientists believe mankind knows less about the deep waters of our own planet than what they know of the closest of celestial bodies out in space. What lies deep down the earth’s crust and deep within its oceans is the epitome of the unknown. It is no wonder many a mythological monsters and beings originate from the deep dark depths of our world.

Most of these monsters are usually decorated in scales; an array of colours and patterns. They are awe-inspiring, beautiful and sometimes deadly. We’ve dealt with mermen up till this stage. They are an obvious choice for this collection and most of the material used is attributed to these wonderful creatures. What other scale-clad creatures can be defined as mythic beings from murky depths then? Here’s a list;

Kraken
“Kraken are legendary sea monsters of gargantuan size, said to have dwelt off the coasts of Norway and Iceland. The sheer size and fearsome appearance attributed to the beasts have made them common ocean-dwelling monsters in various fictional works (see Kraken in popular culture).

The legend may actually have originated from sightings of real giant squid that are variously estimated to grow to 13–15 m (40–50 ft) in length, including the tentacles. These creatures normally live at great depths, but have been sighted at the surface and have reportedly attacked ships.

In modern German, Krake (plural and declined singular: Kraken) means octopus but can also refer to the legendary Kraken.”
http://villains.wikia.com/wiki/Kraken_%28Mythology%29

Nāga
“Nāga is the Sanskrit and Pāli word for a deity or class of entity or being, taking the form of a very great snake—specifically the King Cobra, found in Hinduism and Buddhism. The use of the term nāga is often ambiguous, as the word may also refer, in similar contexts, to one of several human tribes known as or nicknamed "Nāgas"; to elephants; and to ordinary snakes, particularly the King Cobra and the Indian Cobra, the latter of which is still called nāg in Hindi and other languages of India. A female nāga is a nāgī or nāginī.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C4%81ga



Leviathan

“Leviathan is a sea monster referred to in the Bible. In Demonology, Leviathan is one of the seven princes of Hell and its gatekeeper (see Hellmouth). The word has become synonymous with any large sea monster or creature. In classical literature (such as the novel Moby-Dick) it refers to great whales, and in Modern Hebrew, it means simply "whale." It is described extensively in Job 41.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leviathan

Hipocampus
“HIPPOKAMPOI (or Hippocamps) were the horses of the sea. They were depicted as composite creatures with the head and fore-parts of a horse and the serpentine tail of a fish. In mosaic art they were often covered with green scales and had fish-fin manes and appendages. The ancients believed they were the adult-form of the fish we call the "sea-horse". Hippokampoi were the mounts of Nereid nymphs and sea-gods, and Poseidon drove a chariot drawn by two or four of the beasts.

Other fish-tailed land animals which appear in ancient art include the "Leokampos" (fish-tailed lion), "Taurokampos" (fish-tailed bull), "Pardalokampos" (fish-tailed leopard), and "Aigikampos" (fish-tailed goat). The last was the form of the constellation Capricorn. Fabulous creatures of this type were also believed to inhabit the Indian Ocean, see Ketea Indikoi.”
http://www.theoi.com/Ther/Hippokampoi.html

Nereids
“In Greek mythology, the Nereids are sea nymphs, the fifty daughters of Nereus and Doris, sisters to Nerites. They often accompany Poseidon and can be friendly and helpful to sailors fighting perilous storms. They are particularly associated with the Aegean Sea, where they dwelt with their father in the depths within a silvery cave. The most notable of them are Thetis, wife of Peleus and mother of Achilles; Amphitrite, wife of Poseidon; and Galatea, love of the Cyclops Polyphemus.”
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nereid

From the above mentioned I choose the Kraken as the fantasy equal for this collection. Why this great monster specifically? Simply put, it’s the most magnificent and badass of all the creatures that slumber in the deep; awaiting the summons of a great god to cause havoc and destruction. Below you would find more creatures you would find in places you would not dare to go. Some are good, some are bad and some probably just want to be left alone...


“The Kraken (originally known in Greek as Cetus the Whale) is a mythical sea monster of tremendous size and strength. Its tentacles are large enough to be able to pull entire ships under the water and destroy cities with relative ease. The creature possessed endurance to match its strength. In addition to tentacles it was armed with gaping maw full of many sharp teeth. The creature's many tentacles afforded it great speed in swimming.

The Kraken plays a much more major role in the 1981 Clash of the Titans movie. In this movie, it is the pet of Poseidon, and Zeus orders it to destroy Argos to punish Acrisus, the king of Argos, from casting his wife and Perseus into the sea. The goddess of the sea, Thetis, then unleashes it on the city of Joppa as an excuse to punish Perseus. Andromeda was offered to be sacrificed on Thetis' decree as Poseidon releases the Kraken. Perseus uses Medusa's Head turns the Kraken to stone.”

Saturday, August 6, 2011

Wicked Monsters from Stories Old


Those who make up the Forces of Evil

Fantasy equal: Orc

The animated mythological collection now deviates from the noble and beautiful, to the monstrous and thuggish. It is a mission a find material for this collection. Artists in general do not seem to be all that inspired by monsters and orcs and the like. Luckily for you I managed to scrape together 16 decent representations of wicked monsters found in stories old. Where else would you find a collection like this other than this blog, .

Great evil warlords and warlocks always have scores of minions at their disposal. Most of the minions can be classified into a single group. You would have captains appointed from these groups (usually those minions that are somewhat bigger and more intimidating than the rest) along with fewer of specialised minions or greater monsters. These specialised minions could be shamans (for healing purposes) or techies (for siege weapon purposes), for example. The monsters could be great mythological creatures (like trolls and minotaurs) captured and enchanted by the warlord to perform their new master’s bidding. These monsters are captured to strike fear in the average good soldier and can’t take down several of these squishy humans with a single wallop.

Seldom you would see females of these beasts, which makes one wonder how do they reproduce? Do they even have the tools to do so? The images below indicate they do. Thank goodness for that! They don’t seem all that much different from the forces of good and the way I would imagine they pass their time when not in war.

The fantasy equal simply has to be the orc. The orc is the preferred minion of the evil warlord. They are bloodthirsty beasts, don’t need all that much maintenance, are strong, resilient, obedient and fearless. What more could an evil doer striving for world domination ask for?




"Orcs are described as ugly and filthy fanged humanoids. The largest can reach near-human height, but they are always shorter, and some are as small as Hobbits (since Frodo and Sam disguise themselves as such when they enter Mordor). In contrast, crossbreeds between Men and Orcs are called "man-high, but with goblin-faces."[14] However, some Orcs are very broad, if not tall. Many Orcs have long arms, like monkeys or apes. Many of them also have crooked backs and legs. They have black blood, reminiscent of reanimated corpses."

"The origin of Orcs is an open question. In Tolkien's writings, evil is not capable of independent creation, making it unlikely that the Vala Morgoth, who was the first to produce them, could create them from nothing.

Unlike the orc-néas ('orc-corpses') of Beowulf, no female Orcs are ever mentioned by Tolkien in any publication. However, in the published Silmarillion it is stated that Orcs "had life and multiplied after the manner of the Children of Ilúvatar", implying that there are; in The Hobbit the Orc Bolg is the son of one Azog, while Gollum is described as having eaten a young goblin-imp (Goblins being the same as orcs) shortly before he first met Bilbo (which seems to be alluded to in The Lord of the Rings movie when Gollum goes on (with himself) about how unpleasant-tasting orcs are and that sweet hobbit meat would suit Shelob better)."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orc_(Middle-earth)