Robot Roll Call

[rickvs]

I'm diving into a side project, and wanted feedback from my Gentle Readers.

I'll be designing a fabric pattern containing mythological creatures -- one for each letter of the English alphabet. I was too-heavily steeped in Greek mythology as a child, so now I intend to use a worldwide distribution of sources ...which brings me to my question: Any particular critters you'd like to see appear? I've settled on four letters already (C for Charybdis, I for Iktomi, P for Pixiu, and Q for Qilin) -- otherwise, while I have a pretty good-sized list to pick from, I thought I'd let you folks throw out your favorites.

I'll submit this layout to something that's basically a logo contest ("Project Selvage" at Spoonflower.com) -- and while I rarely touch those with a ten-meter cattle prod, this one is scratching an artistic itch, so even if it drums up zero customers, I'll be satisfied.

I don't wanna post an image here before the contest closes, but will e-mail graphic updates to whoever requests them.

Comments

[suzilem.livejournal.com]

darn....chupacabra is out then..... :-)

[rickvs.livejournal.com]

I should mention that this fabric is intended for use in "baby boy" garments. So I'm trying to steer towards entries that are not very scary ... or at least can be drawn in a cute manner. But yeah, Lil Cthulu is out also.

I'm pretty happy with my Qilin; I found some photos of lions stretching and yawning for reference, and drew wings on them :>

[suzilem.livejournal.com]

Kokopelli is a possibility -- it's not a mythological creature but it is a very recognizable silhouette.

http://www.dancingfountain.com/images/kokopelli.jpg

[rickvs.livejournal.com]

Pixiu, not Qilin! I'll get these things straight in my head yet...

[rickvs.livejournal.com]

Hm. I think I can make that work within the style I'm using -- may I e-mail you a .PDF? I was thinking of doing a Kitsune, but am not locked in.

[fair-witness.livejournal.com]

S is for Sphinx?

[rickvs.livejournal.com]

That'll work. It's recognizable, at least, at the size these'll be appearing at (~2"). While part of me wants to chase down obscure characters for every ...well, character, some of their details won't read unless they're printed larger than my hand. The Sphinx does not present that problem :>

[fair-witness.livejournal.com]

I figured that might be a consideration. Most people have at least a vague idea of what a sphinx looks like, too, and I thought that wouldn't hurt.

[trinker.livejournal.com]

Your sphinx and pixiu will look similar, won't they?

I would actually shift things a little and use the Japanese transliteration "kirin", and when use Quetzalcoatl for something dramatically different looking. And then maybe recycle your pixiu as a sphinx. (But I'm feeling sad at losing the word "pixiu"...)

[suzilem.livejournal.com]

of course. I'll send you my email

[rickvs.livejournal.com]

I admit to similar concerns with Anansi versus Iktomi. Perhaps I need to lock down the list before I keep drawing these, but I sort of need to crank out two or three a day if I'm to meet the contest deadline. And there are lots of lion-bodied characters to chose from; I may just rely on different poses to differentiate them, rather than expecting a lion-face to be easily distinguishable from a woman-face at that size. Plus, I'm adding their names in actual text next to each :>

[teddywolf.livejournal.com]

A is for Artemis holding a bow
G is for Golem who moves very slow
D is for Dybbuk who haunts in the day
E is for Elvis whose hips still have sway
B is for Bigfoot still hidden to most
N is for Nixie who likes to eat toast
M is for Minotaur stuck in a maze
R is for Redcap whose hat sparked a craze

...
All I got off the top of my head

[rickvs.livejournal.com]

I'll be incorporating three or four of yours, I think, and have already drawn "Nixie". Thanks!

[rickvs.livejournal.com]

I've scratched my "flying Aztec snake" itch with Xiuhcoatl rather than Quetzalcoatl :>

[fikgi888.livejournal.com]

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