I've started work on my entry for Giants in Merlin's Bestiary. Here's my first stab at the first two kinds - Stone and wood giants.
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| Iron giant meets stone! |
Stone giants
- Ailbhach - are the ancient behemoths that formed hills and mountain ranges like giant's causeway and Arthur's Seat. I actually grew up in the shadow of a mountain called
Sleeping Giant (it basically looks like Te Fiti in Moana except on its back) and I always wondered what would happen if that giant woke up. Also, how did it get there? What happened to the land when if finally laid down to rest?
In the drawing the stones of this giant are the same basalt rock that form the Giant's Causeway in Northern Ireland. My favourite detail of the drawing is are the tiny birds making nests and circling around the giant's head. They're up there keeping warm up there from the steam generated by the molten core that powers it.
Wood giants - Lusant - have been some of my favourites to draw and dream about. I've always loved walking through the woods and finding bits of nature that look like things that could begin to move around and what they would do if they could.
On a recent trip to Exeter I spent an afternoon walking around picking up chestnut casings which looked like burst face-hugger eggs. What if they weren't actually seed pods but some kind of giant trap? What would happen if one of those little pods landed on your head and sealed it self back up?
Giants sprout huge seeds on their heads that eventually fall off and grow another wood giant. They actually grow from the top down into the earth until the new wood giant is fully formed. Then it digs itself out of the soil and goes on its way.
I still have lots of drawing to do because I don't think I've got them quite right. But, I like the ideas in the drawing so far. I just need to head out into nature and get some more inspiration! :)
Check out more from the Bestiary here!
Hope you enjoy!
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I'm easing myself back into the writing game and fighting back against my shadowy inner critic by dipping into my first love - drawing. So, the bestiary has become my refuge where I get to write and draw and fantasise about all the fantastic mythological creatures of Scotland. And I'm pretty sure understanding the eachy might be the key to figuring out one of Scotland's greatest myths. Can you tell what it is yet?
