Tag: Creatures

Welcome, Winter.

An early 20th century representation of a Scandinavian frost giant, from the silent movie Conquest of the Pole  by French film pioneer Georges Méliès.  To me the creature looks more like a goofy Russian ventriloquist’s dummy.  Which is no less horrible than a bloodthirsty spirit to my eye, but probably not what the director intended.

Unsavory Satyr

Isn’t this guy a shady character! He’s got a buckskin and pointed ears like the mythical satyr but no hooves. Peter Paul Rubens, 1638. On display at The Prado, Madrid.

Rat Dance

Even rats like to dance.

Steampunk/Horror Oz

Scarecrow and Tin Man from a 1902 stage production of The Wizard of Oz. I don’t know what makes it more creepy, the old-timey photo or the Scarecrow’s stiff-fingered, Leatherface-like appearance. In its time, though, it was a great success and the first version of Oz to be adapted into a script.  

Cloverfield Lane

Cloverfield Lane creature design, as envisioned by artist Kurt Papstein.  

Calligraphy

Calligraphy follows shapes and spirals. A shell (caracola) and a pear. A lively looking butterfly with personality. What does it mean?  

Marching Devils

…out of Hell and into your nightmares. They are not human. They are made of living stone.  

Two Books about Skeletons [Review]

Unnatural Selection by Katrina van Grouw Princeton University Press, 2018 How does evolution happen? This is the behind Unnatural Selection, written by natural history curator and illustrator Katrina van Grouw. She approaches it from a direction unfashionable these days, though one that Charles Darwin received inspiration from: the selective breeding of domesticated animals. Unnatural Selection …

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