Arctic Myths - Grizzly People

I believe I've spoken of these supernatural characters form Arctic mythology before. The Grizzly People are typical examples of the myths and legends told by the Inuit people. The Grizzly Beings are animal, human hybrids which feature prominently in Inuit lore.There are also Wolf People and Seal People. Here the Grizzly People are large human characters with bear like attributes and modes of behavior. They hunt and eat humans,  rob graves and scavenge human camp sites. They are very large and very dangerous.

It was decided that we should have a Grizzly Being on the title page of the book we're just finishing up and so this first illustration shows just such a one, menacing and striding toward us, having just decided we are something worth adding to the menu.. He is big and rather misshapen and carries a large Inuit spear, which is just as likely to be used for digging as it is for hunting. I like to depict these fellows with bags or satchels because they are scavengers and I can imagine them traveling about with bits of old meat, bone and other edibles picked up on previous foraging operations.

In this second illustration we see a Grizzly Man with a fresh body he has just pulled from a grave.  He is scruffy and dirty which is typical for them and much in need of the bath he will never ever have and the dentist he will never ever visit.  These pictures are for a new collection of Arctic stories from Inhabit Media entitled The Shadows That Rush Past, A Collection of Frightening Inuit Folktales. These stories are historically the kinds of stories told to children in order to teach them survival lessons and this book is for children also - Inuit children. There are plans to release these books in English but as far as I know not many of them have yet been translated.

You can find out more about Inhabit Media here - http://www.inhabitmedia.com/

I'll have more for you shortly

.Cheers

Griz

This is a piece from the Arctic Myths project I am currently working on. Depicted here is a female Grizzly Being - which is to say a human being with some very prominent Grizzly Bear characteristics. In this picture we have a large and bloated female taking a drink from a stream. The Grizzly people are known to be rather nasty. They are grave robbers. They plunder and steal and murder. You really do not want to encounter a Grizzly being in the wilderness. You will be yelling and screaming and running for your life.

Arctic Giantess

Here's a spot from a recent round of Arctic Myths illustrations. As you can see, she is very big and is protecting the hunter whom she has her eye on for a potential husband. I'm not sure just exactly how this story ends but there are certainly some interesting implications there. The pressure will definitely be on the hunter to be strong and brave. The Giantess has the traditional chin tattoos and is wearing bear and caribou skins. The final step in completing this picture was to add a couple of circling birds. I don't have that version handy so I'm posting this one.

Best possible wishes going out to everyone for this holiday season.

Cheers

Larry

Arctic Characters

Two character illustrations from the Arctic Myths project I'm still working on. The colour work is all finished and now the ink drawings remain.
Here we have The Gravel Bank Ogress and the Big Bee Ogress. Big Bee is sporting a giant ulu which is an all purpose knife the Inuit use for skinning and scraping. We decided to make The Gravel Bank Ogress tall and spindly in order to give her a different look so that she stands out from the others. Also, I've illustrated her before and we wanted this one to be different. Quite often the same characters will turn up in different stories and from different regions and they should each look unique.

The Cannibal Ogress

Here's another of the Trolls for the Arctic Myths Project I was recently working on and will be getting back to in a few weeks. She's big and mean. She eats people, smells bad and never cleans up. Watercolour on paper with a bit of gouache on the hammer head.

The Child Stealing Ogress

This is the first of eight Arctic Trolls I will be rendering in colour for the Arctic Myths project I'm currently working on. She is a nasty child stealer whom we have decided should have longs arms and short legs in an effort to make her appearance unique and also give her a cool silhouette. She has the usual Inuit tattoos on her arms and face and wears tokens of power around her neck. The problem I am going to have here is to make each of these eight characters different. One of the best ways I can think of is to start with the body shape as we've done here.

Arctic Myths - The Child Stealing Ogress

Some more development work for the Arctic Myths project I am currently on. Here we have the Child Stealing Ogress with her distinctive Inuit facial tattoos, crooked teeth and wild hair. The Inuit seem to have many stories of Nasty Critters wandering in from the Tundra to steal children and commit atrocities. I can imagine that living in the extreme climate and terrain of the frozen north would impel you to tell your kids just about anything to keep them close at hand. Getting lost up there is pretty much certain death.

Arctic Myths - Grizzly Bear Ogres

The Arctic Myths project that I have been waiting for, is starting. It looks like we will be dealing with Ogres in Arctic Myth. The first ones are Grizzly Bear Ogres which are actually Bear spirits in human form. They are grave robbers and corpse eaters - very nasty. I am continuously amazed at the density of the Inuit legends and stories. There are new beings, deities and creatures emerging all the time.
Neil Christopher, the project leader has interviewed many elders all over the Arctic in order to obtain these stories and it looks as though there are still many new ones to get.

Arctic Mythology 2

More prep work for the Arctic Myths book. Giants and trolls and ogres and other characters - just drawing - getting back into the swing of illustrating these fabulous mythic tales from the harsh and unforgiving north.

Arctic Mythology

Starting a new book project all about Arctic myths - giants and troll and ogres - I just love the Inuit mythology - it's a little on the brutal side but full of fun and interesting things to draw. This one, like the last couple will be for Inhabit Media. They're based up north - way up north - well past the tree line where it's already winter.
Anyway - this is the opening sketch work - we have some designs to nail down - a man eating ogre and a couple of giants. There's also a troll who eats children but since I've drawn her before the design isn't an issue at this point. They've also got these great aquatic demons that crawl out of the ice flows and grab kids and drag them under the ice.

Arctic Troll

This image comes from a project I worked on last summer with my pal Neil Christopher for Chickadee magazine. Neil lives in the north and researches Inuit legends and tales and has become somewhat of an expert on Northern Mythology. We have worked on several projects in the past and are currently gearing up for another one. This character, known as The Amautalik is usually shown to be rather more gruesome but we decided to tone her down this time because the audience was going to be younger kids. The contraption on her back is where she keeps the children she collects before she eats them !