Inktober 2016: Fuzzy Pink Slither!

Inktober 2016 : Headdress serpent.

Sometimes when I’m making scales down a creature’s back my mind wanders and they scales become more like the feathers in an Indian war bonnet.

Dragons of Europe: The Cuélebre!

It’s big, it’s mean, and it guards treasure and its unfortunate lady prisoners. It eats people! Could there possibly be any good use for a cuélebre?

Lake Monsters: Ogopogo!

A Canadian lake monster, Ogopogo rules over lake Okanagan. It stands out among other more peaceful lake monsters because of its reputation as a bloodthirsty killer.
It is often described as a many-humped, serpent-like creature with horns.

It is believed that the beast has its roots in native Canadian Indian legends of a monster called N’ha-a-itk,that would demand a live sacrifice from travelers for safe passage across Lake Okanagan. Hundreds of years ago, whenever Indians would venture into the lake, they brought chickens or other small animals to kill and drop into the water to assure a safe journey.

Dragons of Europe: The Lambton Worm.

Above is my quickie charcoal sketch of the Lambton Worm. It’s one of my favorite dragon stories, but there are so many variations to the tale that it’s difficult to tell just one complete version. I will tell it as I first read it, and if you would like to read all the versions, by all means explore them. Many of these legends are passed down in an oral tradition instead of being written, and variations occur according to the storyteller, cultures of the time, etc. In tales such as this,  a worm is not an invertebrate that lives in the dirt; it is a dragon, often a huge, coiling monster.