My fantastic bestiary

So, I'm planning to enter my book into some competitions. The first closing on 21 April.

I'm putting the finishing touches on the book and including a glossary for some of the more impenetrable Scots terms and phrases such as 'Imbu da fremd' which is a Shetland greeting of hospitality. There are plenty of context clues, but with King Arthur Returns borrowing words from both Scots and Gaelic it will be easier for people to navigate if they get stuck.

As part of this I'm also building a wee bestiary into the book. This isn't critical for entering it into competition, but what kind of author/illustrator would I be if I didn't take the opportunity to do some fantasy creature drawing.

Getting to explore the Celtic and Brittonic myths has been so much fun. It's great getting to put my own spin on these incredible creatures of UK folklore.

Don't mess with the wyrms!

komodo dragons

You've already seen a bit of some of the mythical creatures that will appear in the book. But, these drawings were more for my own reference. The drawings for the bestiary need to be much more polished. I also think they need to be rooted in reality. So I've spent a lot of time drawing real animals and chopping and changing the features into what I think the creatures would look like.

Above is a wyrm. It can grow to the size of a large horse and doesn't have wings like a dragon. Dragons can grow up to the size of a male sperm whale (not including the tail). For the drawing I looked at the likes of komodo dragons and alligators. But, to give it that really fierce look I started playing about with adding horns. I looked at horned lizards (in particularly the thorny dragon) and how their horns grow out of modified scales that overlap and grow into their large spiky protrusions. The worms don't need to be covered in spikes head to tail because, really, who's going to mess with them besides other wyrms or the bigger dragons. I'm not 100% sold on the look but it's pretty close to what's in my head.

My favourite of the peerie folk are the sidhe (pronounced 'shee'). They are the Celtic fairies and there's lots of different types. This is an eunan-sìdhe or bird-sidhe.

In the bestiary, written from Merlin's perspective, the sidhe are described as:
"Sìdhe: (pronounced ‘shee’) Peerie folk that are spirits of nature; the fey folk. The most common sìdhe tend to have wings and take on the appearance of birds or flowers. They can be as small as your finger nail or as large as your hand. There are different types including the eunan-sìdhe (pronounced yoo-nan) which resemble wee birds or the bhileag-sìdhe (pronounced bee-lag) which resemble leaves or grass. The rarest are the daonna-sìdhe – the human-like rulers of the sìdhe. They are actually much taller than the common man. I was sheltered by them when I was exiled to the Caledonian Forest and taught their magic because of my natural gift of prophecy. They used to roam freely but now live mostly on the Isle of Avalon."

My little pal here looks more like a hairy humming bird but his wings are made of flower petals - in particular blue-bells which are prolific in Scottish woods.

I've also been sketching trows and the Lady of the Loch since the very beginning. However, it's been nice to settle on a final design for the trows. They're one of my favourite parts of the story. They're a fantasy creature not widely known outside of the Shetland Islands so it's nice to shine spotlight on the trows and all the crazy stories I've heard about them. Each trow looks different but Merlin came upon this one as he was wandering about the hills in Mull.

The bestiary is coming on nicely and I have a few more illustrations to do. They won't all have their own picture but enough to make it fun for young readers.

Check out more from the Bestiary here!

• Eachy
• Giants giants giants
• Cat sidhe
• Gargoyles
• Chimaera
• Kelpie

Hope you enjoy!
‽


Buy 'Black Star' or 'Spirit Shear' on Amazon in the UK and US
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A closer look at modern Albion

eunan-sìdhe - A fairy - ink on paper

The King Arthur Returns edits are going well. I've had some great feedback from friends on the story and have lots of bits and pieces to update and add to make the story richer.

One of the best parts of this is really getting into who the characters are and what they look like. I'm picking up lots of small details now that I can see their faces. It tells me more about who they are, how they stand and move when they react to certain situations.

Check out the Lady of the Loch!

One of my favourite characters from the book are the sìdhe. The book is a combination of the modern and the mythical. And what Celtic myth would be complete without a visit from the fae folk. This little guy on the right is an eunan-sìdhe - or wee bird fairy for all you non-Gaelic speakers.  



Pencil on paper

Some of the more human characters are coming into focus as well. I love getting to look them in the eyes and really find out what they're about. One of the characters, Pascent, carries an umbrella that has a story all its own to tell! Hmm....

The details are building and the trick will be deciding which details are necessary to get a real feel for their characters without giving too much away.

Realer than real

The picture below of Miss Yattrick, the infamous history teacher at Ash and Ana's school, really came into focus a wee while ago. I was in a class when a woman who looked like a wicked schoolmarm walked into the room. I actually gasped because it was like someone had taken the ideas in my head and created a person from them!

Before this I had a description of Miss Yattrick in writing and in my head. But, she was still just a nebulous collection of physical characteristics. There in front of me was a living and breathing embodiment of my character. I instantly took a break from what I was doing and started sketching because it was too good an opportunity to pass up (you try whipping out a sketchbook in the middle of a tai chi class). The description of Yattrick in the book hasn't changed much from it but now, when I write I can see her sneer, the darting of her eyes as she looks to find fault, the stooping gate heavy with malicious intent. I don't think this woman would be all too flattered, but hey, I didn't tell her to get that haircut.

Miss Yattrick - pencil on paper

I actually keep seeing people that look like my characters. It's a bit spooky to suddenly bump into someone that was just imaginary. Maybe it's because they're on my mind more now. Or maybe I'm just seeing the world through the lens of Albion. Either way, it's making this latest draft of King Arthur Returns all the richer. Let's just hope I don't start running into some of the more dangerous elements of the book - not sure I'd like to run into an actual dragon without Excalibur handy!


Hope you enjoy!
‽

Buy 'Black Star' or 'Spirit Shear' on Amazon in the UK and US
Check out Themo on Twitter and Facebook