The Beginning of a Beast

I'm creating a monster.



Zoom out.



Zoom out a lot.



It's going to be a giant monster.

I'm calling it The Beast with 1,000 faces.

Misinghalikunish

Neat! Art of my very own! I sketched this creature based on a mask and description from a book of mine of a Delaware Indian god/spirit/figure called Misinghalikun, or Living Solid Face. I don't know where that book is, but here's some description from a quick Googling:
"The Living Solid Face is what it says it is—a mask, a living mask. When the Indians first saw Misinghalikun riding a buck, and herding the deer, it was simply a fur-clad figure with a wooden face, the right half red, the left black."
Here's a picture:

I love it when inanimate objects are alive, and I love masks, so I REALLY love masks that are alive! I'll be doing more research on this guy in the future.

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Whenever I base a creature or character off mythology, I like to shift or reinterpret things until it's a more original creation. My Misinghalikunish creature is still a baby in terms of development. As of now, he's a spirit in the form of a mask that has created a body from the hide and claws of a monster, deer antlers, and a bunch of rattles. This means he's hollow and makes a lot of plinky noises when he moves, two characteristics I love in spirits. I can imagine him standing on the back of a big ol' buck, hanging onto one of its antlers, leading a massive herd. Badass.

To avoid making him so similar to Misinghalikun, I may combine him with traits of another folklore figure named Eshu, the connection being a story about Eshu in which he walked down the middle of a street wearing a hat that was black on one side, red on the other. After he passed, the people on either side of the street came together to discuss the stranger and ended up arguing over the color of his hat. In some versions, Eshu comes back and teaches them a lesson on perception, but in others, the people end up killing each other and Eshu laughs. Ahh, the contradictory personalities of a trickster.

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I've got some pencil sketches of this guy I may scan someday later maybe.

friend time, the first

Graduating college is weird. Suddenly, the vast majority of your friends aren't within walking distance. My advice is to have friends who are better at keeping in touch than you are.

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My first neat thing on this blog belongs to my friend Justin Cassano. He is my first blog follower, so he earns spot #1. He's funniest man I know. I have trouble keeping up with him on my best days. I consider the times he breaks and laughs before me to be little triumphs in my life. He's a talented animator but also has an excellent illustration style, especially when it comes to altering the human form, or any other, for his characters. Look at this:

Tomorrow's featured friend and I spent the weekend at his Fortress at Battlesville, indulging in fine beer and food and entertainment (117, unrivaled). Also, adorable dogs de tulear, the newest one being the Grand Pep Pep, himself. I got to see the physical copy of the above illustration and told him I wanted a print. Just look at this guy! All the other times I've wanted to be able to see a specific drawing of an eskimo every day fall short of this time!

He posts other things that are neat here: justincassano.blogspot.com

Go, and enjoy yourself.

(Justin, if you're the only one to see this, go to your own blog and enjoy it... 'MFF)