Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Mythical Beasties
This week i've been thinking a lot about mythological animals and the ways they're represented in movies, comics, books, and games. What got me on this topic was playing World of Warcraft, noticing how they use a lot of traditional mythic beasts, but with some at least, they put an original spin on them. This got me thinking about how one of my favorite pasttimes growing up was drawing dinosaurs, monsters, dragons, and other creatures that i made up. For a long time i developed personal versions of "Cliche" or "traditional" beasts, (ie dragon, gryphon, pegasus, elf...) But the ones i really enjoyed were the ones i personally created. I'm not opposed to people using established creatures- on the contrary, there is a reason why such beasts have been in folklore for centuries and the can often be a terrific springboard for one's development with art or writing. It just seems that for my part, i want to be inspired by these imaginary and also real world creatures to form my own, alien fauna, that is, establish original creatures as unique fixtures in my mythos. There are downsides to this, such as the implied description. When you say "a gryphon attacks", you dont HAVE to explain "which is a large, lion-like animal with the face and wings of an eagle". Most people have a rough idea what that means by the mere word. If i say "a Geyrm attacks," the reader has no clue what im talking about. It could be a beast more terrifying and cool-looking than a gryphon but who knows? Luckily, graphic Novel allows for me to show things rather than explain them, but still.... its a little risky. What do you all think? Should i stay true to my original beasties or go with the classics?
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Wow, so cool to connect with friends. I've seen pictures of your kids on Malayna's facebook. They look great! If you are on facebook look for me. (my name is less common and easy to find)
ReplyDeleteCreating and describing new beasts is always fun and challenging. There is so much fantasy that is based around cliches, I think it would be a great idea to give the audience some fresh mobs to read about, and to follow.
ReplyDeleteTake care friend !
Mike, I'd say keep your originals. Don't go out of your way to avoid the classics if say, one really fits a given part, but don't drop your own designs just because they're different. Originality is rarely a bad thing
ReplyDeleteHey, it's Shar! Found your Blog! Thanks for the link. :D
ReplyDeleteI say originals, originals, originals! There's nothing more interesting than seeing something created that isn't a complete spin off of another standarized mythical creature. It shows that you have more potential as a creative individual and an artist if you create something of your own design.
I also think you should go with a graphic novel/comic rather than a regualr novel. This allows you to really put your artistic voice and visions into full view for others to grasp and comprehend without struggling to imagine what your creatures might look like from your descriptive words. Also, I have seen many GNs that actually utilize both means of description by having a panel describe the creature in words, and another panel actually reveal the creature visually to the reader. Sometimes the text and the artwork are in the very same panel to add more dynamic to the impact on the reader.
Eitherway, don't dull down your ideas by sticking to what is safe. Guys like Alan Moore didn't get where he is today by playing it safe. If you want to stick to the classics, then more power to you, but it takes some serious balls to put your own creations out there and make them work. :D