"V" is for Vampire...

...and I don't mean the kind that sparkle in the sun! According to Wikipedia Vampires are "mythological or folkloric beings who subsist by feeding on the life essence (generally in the form of blood) of living creatures, regardless of whether they are undead or a living person." For my illustration today I decided to go with a more iconic, old fashioned look at vampires...somehow a heartthrob with golden eyes just doesn't scream Vampire for me. :P

"U" is for Unicorn...

Who didn't see that one coming? According to wikipedia "A unicorn (from Latin unus 'one' and cornu 'horn') is a mythological creature described as having a long, straight horn extending from its forehead." Well, really who doesn't know that? Something I didn't know however was that Unicorns are not found in Greek mythology...they are found in Greek natural history, because the Greeks were absolutely convinced Unicorns were real and living in India.

"T" is for Troll

For T I resisted the temptation to make T for Teresa and instead made a Troll. According to Wikipedia "Numerous tales about trolls are recorded, in which they are frequently described as being extremely old, very strong, but slow and dim-witted. They are sometimes described as man-eaters and as turning to stone upon contact with sunlight." Growing up one of my favorite cartoons was "David the Gnome" so my interpretation of trolls is heavily influenced by that, which is actually very close to the Scandinavian style, I'm quite happy with the result.

"S" is for Satyr

For today's letter I chose Satyr, but I took some liberties...namely I chose to go with the Roman adaptation of Satyrs into more faun like creatures rather than the original more horse like Satyrs from the Greeks....mainly because it is the more popular version and I have already drawn a Centaur.

"R" is for Roc

A Roc is an enormous legendary bird of prey, often white.

"Q" is for Quetzalcoatl

Yeah, I kinda had to reach for this one....you may be surprised to know there are not many mythical creatures starting with the letter Q.   Quetzalcoatl is a Mesoamerican deity whose name comes from the Nahuatl language and has the meaning of "feathered-serpent".

"P" is for Phoenix

A phoenix is a mythical bird that is a fire spirit it has a 500 to 1000 year life-cycle, near the end of which it builds itself a nest of twigs that then ignites; both nest and bird burn fiercely and are reduced to ashes, from which a new, young phoenix or phoenix egg arises, reborn anew to live again.

"O" is for Ogre

An ogre is a large, cruel, monstrous and hideous humanoid monster, featured in mythology, folklore and fiction.

"N" is for Nymph...

A nymph in Greek mythology is a female minor nature deity typically associated with a particular location or landform, they usually appear as maidens. 

"M" is for Minotaur...

The Minotaur is the half man half bull creature that cards the labyrinth on Crete.

"L" is for Lynx...

I suppose since it's for Valentine's day I should also say "L" is for love...but honestly I'm not that into Valentine's day...not because I don't have a Valentine....I do, we just have no money to celebrate Valentine's day, lol.

Anywho, I went with the Lynx because it is a spirit animal that has existed in mythology a VERY long time, so long in fact there is a constellation for him.

"K" is for Kraken

Kraken  are legendary sea monsters of gargantuan size, said to have dwelt off the coasts of Norway and Iceland. The sheer size and fearsome appearance attributed to the beasts have made them common ocean-dwelling monsters in various fictional works.


So, I was drawing the Kraken and he started attacking his own name!!! Wow, that's one aggressive overgrown squid, lol.

"J" is for Jack-In-Irons

Jack-In-Irons is a mythical giant of Yorkshire lore who haunts lonely roads. He is covered with chains and wears the heads of his victims. He wields a large, spiked club.  I did not include the heads, let's pretend they are slung from the chain in the back and you can't see them....use your imagination ;)

"I" is for Imp

An imp is a mythological being similar to a fairy or demon, frequently described in folklore and superstition.

Today I drew the multi headed serpent like creature from Greek mythology, the Hydra.  There was a moment of revelation while drawing this where I said to myself " Oh no! There are NINE heads, NINE!!!" This completely overwhelmed me so imagine how Hercules felt.

"G" is for Griffin...

A Griffin is a mythical creature who is half eagle, half lion.

"F" is for Fairy...

Alright, it's Friday and I have a Fairy for you. Wikipedia's definition for fairy is pretty wide: "A fairy (also faery, faerie, fay, fae; euphemistically wee folk, good folk, people of peace, fair folk, etc.)^[1] is a type of mythical being or legendary creature, a form of spirit, often described as metaphysical, supernatural or preternatural."

I suppose this can be chalked up to the fact that fairies are found in so many different cultures and folklore that you can't be too specific or you'll exclude a certain type of fairy.  So, small supernatural free spirited pretty people.

"E" is for Elf...

For E I decided I needed to do elves, even though an elf is more of a mythological being than a beast.  According to Wikipedia: "The elves were originally thought of as a race of divine or semi-divine beings (wights, vættir) endowed with magical powers, which they use both for the benefit and the injury of mankind."  
   Again I needed to use a photograph of myself as reference so I would have no copyright issues.  Earlier my lovely sister Cris saw the drawing and said "Oh I love how you gave it Sindarin style clothes and hair, but since the face is yours it has a nice blend between Sindarin and Keebler elf." Ahh, sisters...see if you agree with her:

"D" is for Dragon...

In the words of wikipedia: Dragons are legendary creatures, typically with serpentine or otherwise reptilian traits, that feature in the myths of many cultures.  Most of us know myths and tales of Dragons, they are perhaps the most iconic and popular Mythical beast ever, so of course I needed to include them in the alphabet.

"C" for Centaur...

This one was requested by my sister Cris, one of her favorite colors is yellow and it worked for the Centaur. The Centaur is part of Greek mythology, a race of half- horse, half humans; they have been very present in popular culture, you may have seen them in films such as Fantasia, Harry Potter, Narnia, etc. So, without further ado I present "C" in the mythological beast alphabet: