Mythical Q

        Q, as you can imagine, is a pretty unusual letter for creatures of any sort.  Still, you should never underestimate the mythical menagerie, which is certainly not afraid to be unusual.  Here are the handful of Q beasties I’ve found.

qilin - First discovered in the fifth century BCE, the qilin is an auspicious creature that brings serenity and prosperity.  They have hooves, antlers, and manes, and their bodies are scaled and sometimes flaming.  They are peaceful vegetarians, who don’t disturb the grass when they walk (and presumably don’t burn it, either), and their voices sound like tinkling wind chimes.  Read about my qilin here. (Chinese)

Questing Beast - First discovered in the thirteenth century, this creature has the head and neck of a snake, the body of a leopard, the haunches of a lion, and the feet of a deer.  The name comes from the noise it makes, like the barking of “thirty couple hounds questing.”  Its French name is Beast Glatisant, which means “barking beast.”  The really unusual thing about this noise, though, is that it comes not from the creature’s throat and mouth, but from its belly.  Could this be a strange sort of purring?  Questing is also an appropriate name, though, because it is Sir Pellinore’s never-ending quest to hunt it.  In contrast to the qilin, the Questing Beast is seen as a symbol of the violence and chaos that destroy King Arthur’s kingdom.  The contrast is particularly interesting because both qilin and Questing Beast may have evolved from legends of giraffes.  (medieval European)  

quinotaur - First mentioned in the seventh century, quinotaurs are sea monsters somewhat like the Ophiotaurus, but with five horns (hence the name.)  Inexplicably, one allegedly raped a Frankish queen in the fifth century, and the offspring of the episode was Merovech, for whom the line of Merovingian kings was named.  I have no information as to whether quinotaurs are usually so violent, or whether Merovech’s dad was a particularly heinous one.  You wouldn’t think you’d want to brag about being descended from a monster, and a monster rapist at that, but the historians just called it a “sea god” and that made it all good.  (ancient French)

qiqirn - a large dog spirit that is mostly bald but has hair on its feet, ears, mouth, and tail-tip.  People and dogs find it terrifying and run away from it, but at the same time it runs away from people and dogs.  You can be especially sure you’ll scare it if you shout its name.  However, my sources don’t tell me whether its name is Qiqirn, or whether it might have a personal name you need to know, such as Bob, Alice, or Rumpelstiltskin.  (Inuit)

quintaped - First mentioned in modern times, quintapeds are dangerous magical creatures a bit like huge tarantulas with five legs, each ending in a club foot.  They are covered in thick reddish-brown hair.  They are carnivorous and particularly love to eat humans.  Quintapeds are also known as Hairy McBoons.  (wizarding world)

[Pictures: Qilin, wood block print from Sancai Tuhui by Wang Qi and Wang Siyi, 1607 (Image from Wikimedia Commons);

Arthur and the Questing Beast, illustration by H.J.Ford from King Arthur, Tales of the Round Table edited by Andrew Lang, 1904 (Image fromWikipedia);

Quintaped, illustration from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander, edited by J.K. Rowling, 2001.]

Q is for Qilin

        My theme for this year’s April A-Z Blog Challenge is fantastical creatures, celebrating my upcoming book, On the Virtues of Beasts of the Realms of Imagination.  Please check out its Kickstarter Campaign, which is already 200% funded!  (Much gratitude to all who have pledged!)

        “The qilin is a most auspicious creature in the land of China, where it dwells.  It is covered in brilliant scales and has a mane and tail that flow always upwards like flame.  With its slender legs and delicate hooves it is careful to step lightly so that it never harms a living thing, neither crawling insect nor blade of grass.  The ancient writer says: There lives a creature of so gentle kind a nature, on no living thing will tread, no, not e’en the grass in spring; and the horn which crowns its head never injures mortal thing.

        There are those who may say kind words when people are listening, but speak cruelly behind others' backs, or who do what is right only when others are watching, in hope of reward or in pursuit of reputation.  The qilin, however, is gentle wherever it walks, and is no less careful of a lowly beetle in the grass than of an emperor.  The qilin’s perfect integrity gives it the power to stand up to wickedness, for it knows what is right and how to live in peace and honesty with all.”

        I had a lot of fun with this piece and am really pleased with it.  My qilin is floating above the tops of the grass blades and taking a courteous interest in the butterflies, as befits such a gentle soul.  The ombre coloring is done by putting the two colors of ink (in this case green and black) next to each other on the plate and rolling them out until they’re blended just the right amount.  Then you have to ink your block in one direction only (horizontally and never vertically), so as not to mix up the colors.  It does make it harder to get the block inked perfectly, but can be a really nice effect.

        The qilin is a particularly good mythical beast to encounter because it is entirely auspicious and (especially if you’re reasonably virtuous) won’t hideously slaughter you.  What mythical creature would you most like to see live and in person?

        Q may seem like a tough letter, but the alphabet of mythical creatures doesn’t stop there.  You can click the link to read

the entire post about Mythical Creatures of the Letter Q.

[Picture: Keeping Off the Grass, rubber block print by AEGNydam, 2018 (originals sold out).]

#AtoZChallenge 2022 Reflections

         My A to Z Challenge theme this year was How to Make a Fantastical Creature, in which I explored 26 traits that are widely shared among the monsters and marvels of fantasy and folklore.  I learned about a lot of new creatures myself in the course of putting together my posts, and I hope you were entertained and learned something new, as well.  I certainly appreciate everyone who came by, left comments, shared your responses, and helped make this month feel like a community endeavor.  In this Reflection post, I’ll share some bonus material that I hope may be of interest to anyone who enjoyed my theme throughout April.

        First, I would like to present an award.  My point with all the “flashbacks” and “foreshadowings” in all the posts was to show just how many of these mythical creatures involve multiple magical traits.  Without bothering to go through and confirm, my guess is that the winner of Most A-Z Traits is the dragon.  “Dragon” can sometimes be a broad 

category, but even confining ourselves to a pretty standard western dragon, we’ve got Anthropophagus, Breathing Fire, Chimeric, Demonic (especially in medieval lore), Extremes, Flight, Glowing, Hoarding, Jewelled, Knowledge, Language, Magic, Gigantism, Sentience, Transforming, and X variables.  That’s a pretty darn magical beast!  But there were certainly plenty of other creatures who exemplified 3 or 4, or even more traits.

        Second, this blog is usually about both fantasy and block printing, but of course this year’s theme gave the block printing short shrift.  I also didn’t feature very much of my own work.  So for anyone who’s curious about my work as an artist, here’s a guide to where you can find some of my block prints of magical creatures through the course of this year’s alphabet.

     B - dragon

     C - yali, (plus links to malacomorphs, ypotryll, umbrellaphant)

     E - (links to xana, isnashi)

     F - Pegasus, (plus link to malacorana)

     G - will o’ the wisp, (plus link to hercinia, qilin)

     J - unicorn

     K - (link to ouroboros)

     N - season fairies, (plus link to cherufe)

     P - fairy village, (plus links to pussy willows, ziz, aspidochelone)

     S - gargoyles

     Y - yale

     Z - wapaloosie, capybureau (plus links to fur-bearing trout, ypotryll, musical beasts)

        As for my author hat, I’ve written stories featuring lots of these wonderful creatures.

• On the Virtues of Beasts of the Realms of Imagination has more than 45 magical beasts, and you can see most of them here, or revisit my 2019 A to Z Challenge to find out much more.

• The Kate and Sam Adventures is a read-aloud or elementary-age trilogy that features sentient/talking animals, fairies, dragons, jinn, a griffin, a shape-shifting rabbit, a will o’ the wisp, a golem, plus bit parts for giant spiders, a skunk ape, a weewilmek, and a descendent of Grendel.

• The Otherworld Series is a 6-book high fantasy series (high school through adult) involving dragons, wizards, sulchym, and a lylit.

• I’ve also had a couple of short stories published: one about the wild ape-leprechauns of Borneo and another featuring a slimy, tentacled Old One.  In addition, my recent spate of short stories (a number of which are currently out on submission - fingers crossed!) includes a siren, a unicorn, a ghost, a gigantic underground beast called the 

Horn, and some small feathered spirits.  I hope someday to be able to share some of these with you, as well.  In the meantime, you can always find all my art and books at my web site NydamPrints.com.

        Third, I would like to direct you to some prior posts that include fun creature-themed interactive games that may amuse you:

     • Explore the wonderful world of mythical millinery with Monsters in Hats

     • Pit your wits against the odd artistic visions of medieval illuminators with Guess that Medieval Beast  (These creatures are all 100% real animals, but definitely not as you know them!)

        The moral of all this is: the magical creature fun never ends around here!  My Pro Tip for everyone is always to keep your eyes (and heart) open for magic and wonder - broadly defined and encompassing our own real world as well as the worlds of the imagination.  Feel free to visit my Instagram for a dose of Daily Delight, in the form of one picture a day of something that brings me joy.  (Mostly it’s nature, but some other Interesting Stuff, as well.)

        I will end with the words of G.K. Chesterton: "Fairy Tales are more than true; not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten."

[Pictures: Portrait of the Artist, rubber block print by AEGN, 2019;

Dragon, wood block print by Jost Amman from Thierbuch, 1592 (Image from Library of Congress);

Assorted books by AEGN, featuring magical creatures;

Dracula in a Mae West hat, photoshop adaptation from movie posters, by AEGN, 2011;

The Dragon of Wantley, engraving by John June from the comic opera of the same name by Henry Carey, 1770 (Image from Google Books).]

Signpost: of Alchemists and Illustrations

         This weekend I’ll be at Boskone, so here’s the usual roundup of posts that I think people attending my various panels may wish to refer to.  In addition, since one of the panels is on illustration and we don’t have a big screen to show visual aids, I thought I’d post some examples of various illustration techniques I’ve used, so that the curious can have a look.

Block Printing Demo and Mini Workshop - You can always find my handout here.  Plus here are a few posts with some basic printmaking instructions and projects you could try.  (Or if you want more options, try the Step-By-Step label.)

        First Experiments

        Everyday Printmaking Supplies

        One Inch Stamp Project

        Block Prints: Ink or No Ink

Using Different Art Mediums for Illustration - Obviously my primary medium is relief block printmaking, but in addition I’ve used “faux block printing” done digitally, and I’ve done collage (a hybrid of physical collage and digital manipulation of scanned pieces).  The first picture above is a rubber block print illustration from Hey, Diddle Diddle! and Other Rhymes.

        Next is a spread from On the Virtues of Beasts of the Realms of Imagination.  I did an entire A to Z series on the book, with lots of illustrations here.

        Then here’s a selection of illustrations from The Extraordinary Book of Doors.  Some are block prints, such as the Autumn Clematis in Springtime, while others are Faux Woodcuts.

        And then I’ve posted one of the block prints for my next book, Beyond Pomegranate & Thorns, coming in April!  (This book will be the subject of this year’s A to Z Challenge, so I won’t say more about it yet.)

        Here’s a post about another book I illustrated with block prints: This Holy Day

        And here’s one with a real and a faux print from another project: Periodic Table of Aliens

        Moving on to other mediums I’ve used for illustration, A is for Arches shows a collagraph/gelli print/collage that appears in Bittersweetness & Light.

       The next picture here today includes two of my page spreads for the picture book Approved!, which I illustrated with a collage process that involved both actual collage and digitally manipulating collage elements that I scanned.  You can read just a little bit about it here.

        And finally, there’s a picture of some quilts I’ve made.  They aren’t illustrations in a book, but it’s a technique that certainly could be used for illustration.  And another quilt “illustration” posted here.

All About Alchemy and Alchemists - Here’s a collection of posts that are at least alchemy-adjacent

        The Philosopher’s Stone - the history, background, and how to make it

        Mystery Manuscript - the Voynich Manuscript

        The Prague Golem

        G is for Gnome - just a mention of alchemist Paracelsus

        Elizabeth I - contains a brief excerpt from the dedication of an alchemy text by Rabbards

        I Give You Athanasius Kircher - my favorite seventeenth century polymath

                plus Kircher’s Dragons!

        In addition, as always, there will be the readings with Broad Universe and lots of work (72 pieces!) in the Art Show.  I’m so very grateful that I get to do these things I love and share them with others!

[Pictures: Jack Sprat, and His Wife Rosie, rubber block print from Hey, Diddle Diddle! and Other Rhymes by AEGNydam, 2005;

Of the Qilin, rubber block print illustration from On the Virtues of Beasts of the Realms of Imagination by AEGNydam, 2019;

A collection of doors, illustrations from The Extraordinary Book of Doors by AEGNydam, 2014;

Incident at Bullion Mill, rubber block print by AEGNydam, 2025 (Image from NydamPrints.com);

Illustrations, collage by AEGNydam from Approved! by Nancy L. Haines, 2016;

Animal Houses on the Water, quilts by AEGNydam, 2004.]

K is for Knowledge

         (My A to Z theme this year is How to Make a Fantastical Creature, in which I explore 26 traits that are widely shared among the monsters and marvels of fantasy and folklore.  You can see all the other bloggers here.)

        Another common property of mythical creatures is that they can be useful not just for physical objects as seen at the letter J, but for their extensive and arcane knowledge.  

        Centaurs are a bit bimodal; in most of classical and medieval lore they are barbarous, wild, violent, and uncivilized, but there are a few who are wiser.  Most famous of these is Chiron, who learned knowledge from the god Apollo himself and passed it on to Asclepius, Achilles, Theseus, Perseus, and many other heroes.  But centaurs get an upgrade from C.S. Lewis and J.K. Rowling, both of whom portray them as creatures rich in knowledge, especially astrology and healing.

        Similarly, western dragons have been getting smarter and smarter in modern fantasy.  I myself portray them in my Otherworld Series as being quite proud of their knowledge and wisdom. On the other hand, the lung dragons of Asia have always been keepers of knowledge.

        The simurgh (introduced at C - although you'll note that this particular illustration looks like a bird through and through) has lived through countless ages and possesses her great knowledge because she has lived so long and experienced so much.  With her wisdom she serves as a mediator between earth and sky.

       In his famous travels in 1726, Lemuel Gulliver encountered the Houyhnhnms, creatures that look like (and perhaps are) horses, but are much wiser and more reasonable than humans.

        Extraterrestrial beings are one of the groups I could have mentioned under the letter E.  If they are warlike they are extremely warlike, if their technology is advanced it is extremely advanced…  But I wanted to introduce them today because often they have extremely highly developed knowledge and wisdom.  Examples include the Arisians of the Lensman Series by E.E. Doc Smith, the unnamed extraterrestrials of Carl Sagan’s Contact, and the heptapods of the 2016 movie “Arrival.”

        Advanced AI (Artificial Intelligence) are another group of beings that appear with super-knowledge in modern sci fi, such as the Minds in Iain Banks’s Culture Series.  One interesting twist is that super-intelligent and wise aliens and AI tend to control whole planets and galaxies, often without bothering to explain to any of the little people why they do what they do.  By contrast, the wise creatures of more traditional folklore tend to offer their knowledge and advice on a smaller scale, influencing the behavior of a single protagonist and thus perhaps a single kingdom.

        Then there are creatures such as the banshee and a host of similar spirits, whose knowledge is of a very specific sort: the knowledge of when someone is about to die.  Other ghosts may know who committed a crime, or other such very specific facts.

        For some particularly wise beings in prior posts, check out the qilin, the wizard, and possibly even the Oilliphéist.  The ouroboros snake that makes an eternal circle with its tail in its mouth is a symbol closely linked with the search for knowledge, so I imagine it must have much erudition and arcane mastery.

        The moral of these stories is that one can never be wise unless one is willing to learn from others, no matter how unlikely they may seem.  But a Pro Tip for scholars is to be sure to ask plenty of questions for clarification, lest you get led astray by some unfortunate misunderstanding.

        Who or what is your go-to source for knowledge, wisdom, and advice?

[Pictures: Centaur, wood block printer’s device, 1566 (Image from Penn Libraries);

Simurgh, illumination from The Marvels of Creation by al-Qazwini, 1565 (Image from Bibliotheque municipale de Bordeaux);

Houyhnhnm, illustration by J.J. Grandville for Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift, 1856 (Image from Tor.com);

Heptapod, film still from “Arrival” directed by Denis Villeneuve, 2016;

Banshee, illustration by R. Prowse from The Halfpenny Miscellany, 1862 (Image from The Wild Geese).]

G is for Glowing

        (My A to Z Blog Challenge theme this year is How to Make a Fantastical Creature, in which I explore 26 traits that are widely shared among the monsters and marvels of fantasy and folklore.)

        A universal tool in every fantasy-creature-builder’s box is that magical glow.  As with flight, there are certainly plenty of bioluminescent animals in the natural world, mostly insects and lots of different animals in the seas, and yet creatures that glow with their own light are nevertheless clearly magical.  What’s especially interesting to me is that in folklore this trait can be seen as either good or bad.  Some of the most wonderful creatures glow, and so do some of the most terrifying and evil.

        A couple of the most benevolent glowing creatures have been introduced in previous posts: the hercinia that guides lost travellers through the dark, and the auspicious qilin that doesn’t even bend the grass when it walks.  On the other hand, some of the most evil beasts include the demon lidérc (introduced at the letter D), and the Chemosit of Kenya (which could also have gone under A or D).  It stands on its single leg outside a village at night and sings.  Its open mouth glows like a beckoning lamp, and children are lured out by the song and the light, only to be devoured.

        Some creatures are almost nothing except their glow, such as the will o’ the wisp.  Cultures all around the world have variants on the will o’the wisp theme, often with similar descriptions both of the appearance of mysterious balls of flame or light, as well as the behavior, in which these malicious lights lead travellers astray.  You can revisit one example in the previous post about the Japanese kitsunebi.

        The Tompondrano of Madagascar is a giant crocodilian monster with a glow-in-the-dark head.  You can see the head glowing through the water as it swims… and you don’t want to be there to see it when it surfaces.

        In the Alps the Alber is a sort of glowing dragon (also a demon) that shoots through the air like lightning.

        The space goblins of Hopkinsville, Kentucky emitted a silvery-green glow when they were spotted in 1955, and in 1903 the Van Meter Visitor of Iowa had, in addition to its bat wings, a glowing horn that shot out a beam of light.

        The boi-tatá serpent of Brazil has fiery eyes that see almost nothing by day, but everything at night because of their own light.

        The giant water serpent of Algonquin folklore, Meshkenabec, had a red head, iridescent scales, and glowing eyes.

        There are lots of other creatures with glowing eyes, too, especially those sorts of creatures that people tend to encounter in dark woods or lonely highways.  These include the Enfield Horror (Illinois), the Loup-Garou (Louisiana), the Dover Demon (Massachusetts), and the Mothman (West Virginia).

        You can also go back and bask in the glow of the firebird, or the hadhayosh.  We’ll also be seeing lots of fiery creatures in a later post… Foreshadowing!

        The moral of the glow of magical creatures is that one must use the most careful discernment before following anything that glows, and be sure to watch out for marshes and swamps.  (Just like following GPS… Even if it’s giving you directions, you still need to pay attention and not do anything dumb!)  A Pro Tip for children is that if you see mysterious glowing eyes under your bed, keep your extremities from dangling - but try offering a cookie or tuna sandwich.  Under-bed monsters can make excellent friends.

        Do you have any tips for discerning between good glows and evil glows in the dark of the night?

[Pictures: Zhar-Ptitsa aka Firebird, illustration by Ivan Bilibin, 1930 (Image from Wikimedia Commons);

Will o’ the wisp (Peggiwick), illustration by AEGN from Kate and Sam and the Chipmunks of Doom, 2009;

Boi-tatá, illustration in the style of a cordel woodcut from app game “Boitatá: Cobra de Fogo” (Image from Mapingua Nerd);

Under-Bed Monster, illustration by Bill Watterson for Something Under the Bed is Drooling, 1988.]