Faebruary: Spunkies, Glaistig, Sluagh & Wulver

So I decided to just upload a whole batch of the Faebruary drawings in one go, since I've got a rather large backlog of other things to show as well. I've been really bad recently at uploading my art online, I suppose it's just not been the priority whilst I've been job hunting.

Kin to the Will o' Wisp, Spunkies appear as a linkboy (someone paid to show you the way in the dark) instead of as a glowing ball of light. However their role is the same: To lead their victims deep into the marshes as they follow the source of light to then be lost forever.
They have also been known to mimic lighthouses, luring ships onto the rocks.

I quite like this one actually: having the contrast of the glowing torch, the curve of the land and the overall composition. 

I think I could have done much better making the water seem like water though, added a few ripples or something. I just didn't think it through properly before penning it in, had that problem with a few of them. 

I quite like experimenting with crosshatching, It's something I've never really used before this series. Having the light fade out like that reminds me of a manga technique I've seen sometimes used on ghosts... I suppose the glow around the Bean Nighe would be a better example of how they use it.

It gives the light source a more spluttering look to it, not the steady even gradient glow of a candle... if that makes sense?

 Dressed in green with grey skin, long blonde hair and goat legs the Glaistig has somewhat conflicting behaviour towards humans. On one hand she's known to have a great fondness for cows and will help to protect them as well as children and the old. On the other hand she's perfectly happy to throw stones at people as well as seduce and then drain the blood of young men.

I'm not as bothered with this one...it lacks something, maybe an interesting composition? And it could do with far better anatomy, also her pose is rather stiff.

Ah well I like the shading at the bottom of her skirt and the coo, I like the coo.

 The Sluagh, or the Fairy Host, is a massive flying swarm of ravens, malevolent fairies and the souls of those they've captured. They come from the west, pouring into homes and taking souls of the sick and recently deceased. However, they are not against taking a healthy person as well if they catch the Sluagh's attention, pulling their victim into the air, ripping out their soul and then letting the body drop to the ground. The only way to save yourself is to sacrifice another...which merely delays your soul joining the Sluagh till the time of your natural death.
Best to avoid their attention completely by staying indoors at night with all the westward facing windows tightly shut...oh, and don't say their name.

This one I'm happy with....it took forever, but I'm happy with it. Mostly with the overall flow of it and the ravens. 

The actual fairies are a bit basic, there anatomy isn't that good either but there's no way I could get it good and this still be a quick sketch. I really struggle to draw multiple characters in one picture and even just with this many it was pushing my patience. 

I used references for the ravens though, wouldn't be able to find so many of people in those poses easily.

 Just your friendly neighbourhood fish giving werewolf.
The Wulver for the most part keeps to its self, only harming humans if they attack first. It lives in a cave on shore in Shetland islands and spends most of its time fishing. On the rare occasion the Wulver interacts with humans it's mostly friendly, guiding a lost traveller or leaving fish on the windowsill of a starving family.

I like the idea of this one, I like the negative space and I actually really like the simplified fish. 

...There's just a few simple mistakes that really bug me:

I didn't use a ruler for the lines and I should have, it would look much better. 

The Wulver's body is way too small for t's head. 

I completely forgot I was going to add stars and a moon in the background. I just am a bit too eager to fill an area in black without thinking first.

Ah well, with this little series it doesn't matter too much if I make mistakes. it's mostly been about exploring ideas and small contained compositions. as long as the series doesn't look terrible over all it's okay.