The Banshee, or Wailing Women, hail from Ireland. The spectral women are an omen of death. Because of their name, a Banshee’s main ability is her scream. Those who hear the wail of a Banshee are said to die not too long after.
Berserkers are Norwegian warriors who are not only folklore, but used to be a reality. These warriors worshiped Odin, and wore the pelts of bears to channel their rage. When let loose on the battlefield, they killed anything in their path.
Bigfoot is an ape-like creature from the USA. This is said to be a mix of an animal misidentification, a hoax and folklore. Many modern scientists have discredited the idea of Bigfoot being real, though many believe it could still be a real thing.
The Black Volga hails from primarily Russia, but can be found in other Slavic countries. This is a black or sometimes red car that is typically said to be driven by Satanists, Satan, or secret police. It appears and abducts children and other people who’re then said to be murdered.
The Chinese dragon symbolizes great power, dignity, divinity, strength, and good luck. They also represent authority over water, rainfalls, floods, and typhoons.
The Ghost Riders of the Wild Hunt are spectral creatures from Germany. These riders ride on bolts of lightning, and black horses. They cross battlefields and reap the souls of those who died in battle.
The Jinn come from Arabia. These shape-shifting spirits are made of air or fire, and are said to dwell in inanimate objects. They delight in punishing humans who have done harm to them, whether on purpose or not.
Kelpies are a Scottish creature with malicious intent. They are water horse spirits that haunt lonely rivers and lochs. Their appearance of a lost gray/white horse lures in people to climb onto its back for a ride. It then pulls the human down to their watery grave.
Kitsune are a shape-shifting trickster fox spirit from Japan. They have several different types and may have dark intentions. A main ability is called fox fire, or kitsune-bi, which is caused by their breath or by wagging its tails.
The Krasue is a creature hailing from Thailand. She is said to be a cursed individual. She is cursed to separate from her body at night to feed her gluttony, seeking to consume blood, or raw flesh. It also can attack cattle or chickens for their internal organs. The Krasue can be destroyed by fire, the light of dawn, or her head being crushed.
La Llorona is the spirit of a woman from Mexico. She drowned her sons, then herself and haunts this world searching for her sons souls. If you hear weeping near a river in Mexico, turn around and walk away, as it could be La Llorona.
Medusa is a creature known as a Gorgon from Greek mythology. She became a gorgon after being cursed by Athena. Her ability, which many are familiar with, is turning people to stone by looking you in the eyes.
Ogopogo is from Canada, and is the spirit of the Okanagan lake. This is a popular bit of Canadian folklore and superstition, though it doesn’t really do anything.
Sphinxes are creatures from Egyptian folklore. They are guardian figures, the protectors of the pyramids, and the scourge on enemies of Re, the sun god. A sphinx also represents a pharaoh, and the pharaoh’s divine power.
The Beast of Gevaudan is a French creature based in reality. In the former French province of Gevaudan, a wolf-like creature terrorized the people living there. Its description is a wolf-like animal, though it killed people in a way that was more like a lion. It also killed at least 100 people from 1765 to 1767. Some believe it to be a werewolf.
Zombies originated in Haiti. These are the reanimated bodies of the dead. The reanimation typically is caused by magic, like voodoo. However, the modern day interpretation is drawn from the film ‘Night of the Living Dead’ [1968].
Kinley Huckabay - Folklore Around the Globe
This series of work was completed as an assignment for the VAM Academy at Croxford. When I finished the series, I ended up with 16 pieces instead of 13.
I chose to do digital paintings in a stylized way of different folkloric creatures from around the world. The canvas sizes are 34x48in each. I used different layer filters and overlays to get the desired effects. I chose to use digital art because it’s been something I’ve been getting better at over the course of 3 years. The theme and ideas behind my assignment was the tales of creatures of folklore from around the globe. This is because I have had an interest in the folklore behind different creatures for some time, and it was challenging on a few of the pieces.
For the different pieces, most things that worked very well were the lighting and shading. The backgrounds were also surprisingly easy, even though they were lineless. However, the more challenging parts were on the pieces titled, ‘Kelpie’, ‘The Ghost Rider’, and ‘Black Volga’. The reasoning behind that is because the first two artworks had included horses as part of the main subjects. The last, ‘Black Volga’, was a drawing of an older car. But overall, the majority of the drawings were fairly easy to do.
The design principles in my art series include a set color palette for the background. I chose the main colors for the background, and made a separate file to keep the colors. Another, is the main shade I’d use for the shadows on each creature, to give a bit more of a unifying factor. The other main tie between each piece of art includes the name of the creature written at the bottom of each piece.
To conclude, I had a bunch of fun working on this project, and it was interesting to work on the ‘tougher’ artworks. Overall, it was a series of art I had a lot of fun with, as it was something that I like to do.