 January 9th, 2010 by Newbs -
Source: This Creature of the Week comes to us partly from reality, and partly from mythology, it’s the Japanese raccoon dog known as the tanuki (sometimes spelled “tanooki”). Tanuki have a special place in Japanese folklore, and statues of them can often be found outside Japanese temples and restaurants. The tanuki of folklore is known to be mischievous, jolly, a master of disguise, absent-minded, and the possessor of a giant scrotum.
Depicted Above: Most westerners know the tanuki from the rare Tanooki suit item from Super Mario Bros. 3, which seems to have been inspired by the folklore version of the tanuki. Since Mario games were always intended to have family appeal, the massive set of balls which tanuki are traditionally represented as possessing were omitted from the suit. I have remastered Mario as he should have appeared in the game while wearing the suit, and placed him against some traditional Japanese art in order to remind the viewer of the tanuki’s proud history in Japanese culture.
Vital Statistics: The tanuki’s big belly is said to symbolize bold decisiveness, and his even bigger balls are said to represent financial luck. Tom Nook of Animal Crossing is also a tanuki. His giant testicles are represented metaphorically by means of the outrageous demands he makes upon the player.
Fury Factor: 23.
October 26th, 2009 by Newbs -
Source: This Creature of the Week is the sneaky octopus. The source is, surprisingly, reality.
Depicted Above: I have drawn the octopus as simply as possible, so as to make him look entirely humble. This is in order to represent the octopus the way in which it wishes to be perceived. By presenting such a mundane representation of the creature, I hope to remind viewers that if the octopus were your neighbor, you might describe him as a nice guy who “mostly kept to himself.” You see, the octopus is known for many utterly reprehensible acts, including the wholesale destruction of ships while in its kraken-state, for example.
Vital Statistics: Wikipedia tells me “octopuses often escape even from supposedly secure tanks, due to their problem solving skills, mobility and lack of rigid structure.” See? Octopuses are sneaky!
Fury Factor: These things have eight arms, they’re covered in suction cups, and are itching for the chance to eat your ship. When a giant space octopus caught the Ninja Turtles in one of my childhood colouring books, I came to understand their true nature. Fury Factor: 888.
October 19th, 2009 by Newbs -
Source: This Creature of the Week is the unnamed Bowser species, whose members include Bowser and Bowser’s eight children. This species is another of the Super Mario franchise, and its selection this week was inspired by the upcoming Wii title: New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
Depicted Above: Much of the information on this species comes from studying Bowser’s eight children. While researching, I began to wonder just how it was Bowser had had so many kids, and who he had had them with. Since these are turtle-like creatures, I began with the assumption that they do not reproduce asexually, the way Toads do. My artwork for this entry is meant to represent Bowser’s woman, the thing he’s having all of these children with. She’s an amalgamation of characteristics of the Koopalings, seven of Bowser’s eight villainous children.
Vital Statistics: The unnamed Bowser species is known for spikes, ludicrous hair, ferocious power, and a fatal weakness to plumbers.
Fury Factor: Bowser and his children have conquered kingdoms and kidnapped princesses. Fury Factor: 50.
October 12th, 2009 by Newbs -
Source: This Creature of the Week is the ubiquitous and utterly unstoppable Toad, another entry from the Mario universe. This week’s selection is in honour of the upcoming release New Super Mario Bros. Wii, which I long for.
Depicted Above: The Toad above appears in the particular dress of the Toad character, a singular Toad who represents in his character the essence of Toad-ness. That is to say, he is unflappable, unbeatable, and utterly unstoppable. Toads are known for their racing and soccer skills, but can perform incredible feats of 2-D platforming when called upon. Nintendo opted to include two playable Toads in NSMB Wii instead of the neglected Wario and Waluigi because the developers understood the heroic nature of even generic Toads.
Vital Statistics: Toads drop spores when struck, which brings up a number of questions. So Toads reproduce asexually? Then, how are there male and female Toads? What do Toad and Toadette get up to when they’re alone?
Fury Factor: Toads are a primal force of nature hailing from the Mushroom Kingdom. Fury Factor: 20.
October 5th, 2009 by Newbs -
Source: This Creature of the Week is the talented Ortolan, a pachydermoid race in the Star Wars universe. One of the most famous Ortolan is Max Rebo, who played in a band at Jabba the Hutt’s palace until being freed by a returning Jedi. I’m ignoring it, but apparently, events in the Star Wars universe should be described in the past tense, at least, that’s the way Wookieepedia does it. That makes sense, considering these things happened “a long time ago.”
Depicted Above: Ortolans look like damn elephants. Blue, muppet-like elephants. Some may accuse me of being a repugnant, sex obsessed pervert, but come on, these guys have pretty phallic trunks.
Vital Statistics: Homeworld: Orto. Average height: 1.4-1.8 meters. Distinctions: Stocky, large ears, long snouts.
Fury Factor: If Max Rebo can have a solo career after his stay at Jabba’s palace, you know these pachydermoids must be tough. Fury Factor: 12.5.
September 28th, 2009 by Newbs -
Source: This Creature of the Week is the hateful Cactuar, or Cactrot as he was known in the original English translation of Final Fantasy VI.
Depicted Above: In last week’s installment of Creature of the Week, I noted that drawing a character allowed an artist to become more intimate with that character, and therefore come to understand him or her better. As I sketched the Cactuar, I began to notice that his body was dangerously close to looking like a Swastika. In combining this new understanding with my knowledge of his rigidly defined attacks and statistics, I realized that the Cactuar is probably a Nazi. This would explain the Cactuar’s running stance and large amount of Gil, he’s fleeing from the Allies and trying to escape with as much loot as possible.
Vital Statistics: Defeating a Cactuar will grant you 10 Magic Points, and he will drop 10 000 Gil. Most attacks will miss Cactuar, I recommend using Edgar’s drill.
Fury Factor: As with all cacti, Cactuar is a dangerous foe. Fury Factor: 12.
September 21st, 2009 by Newbs -
Source: This Creature of the Week is the humble Goomba, a famous enemy from many Super Mario games.
Depicted Above: There is a certain intimacy that is created between an artist and his or her subject, I had never really thought about what it was like to be a Goomba until making this representation. What I realized as I drew the image is that they go about their lives, dying unceremoniously in droves as the plumber interlopers invade their home. As such, Goombas have a lot of rage that they manage to keep barely hidden.
Vital Statistics: Known as “Kuribo” in Japanese.
Fury Factor: I noticed that Goombas are not a happy mushroom-like people, they have seemingly perpetually furrowed brows and two dangerous looking fangs. Fury Factor: 11.
September 14th, 2009 by Newbs -
Source: This Creature of the Week is the Magic creature Hypnotic Specter, which was also recently the Magic Card of the Week. You may wonder why Hypnotic Specter deserves so much attention, well allow the following to enlighten you.
Depicted Above: Hypnotic Specter can be seen in all its horrifying splendour. In the background is the horde of cards Hypnotic Specter has forced its opponents to discard.
Vital Statistics: Power: 2. Toughness: 2. Flying. Whenever Hypnotic Specter deals damage to an opponent, that player discards a card at random.
Fury Factor: Hypnotic Specter’s ridiculous turn-one combo with Dark Ritual makes this already dangerous creature utterly deadly. Fury Factor: seven.
September 7th, 2009 by Newbs -
Source: I’ve decided to revive the old “Prehistoric Organism of the Week” feature by rebranding it as the broader “Creature of the Week.” This opens up the possibility of examining all the world’s most noble creatures, not just the extinct ones. Since last week was Pokémon week, but I just thought of this idea now, I thought I’d begin with a Pokémon. The sort-of-inaugural Creature of the Week is the shiny Red Gyarados catchable in Pokémon Gold.
Depicted Above: Here, we see my Red Gyarados devouring one of the feeble trainers who dare challenge me.
Vital Statistics: Gyarados are Water/Flying type Pokémon which evolve from Magikarp at level 20. Gyarados are over 21 feet long and weight more than 518 pounds.
Fury Factor: My Red Gyarados is right at the front of my line-up of Pokémon, and frequently one-shots his foes. He’s the only Water-type in my party and his knowledge of the three Water-type HMs make him an invaluable workhorse. Fury Factor: five.
July 31st, 2006 by Newbs -
Choosing the Mammoth, or “Wooly Mammoth” as they are called, for Jurassic Park Week may not at first seem very logical since the books and films featured only Dinosaurs. The reason is that Jurassic Park demonstrates just how awesome it would be to throw a bunch of genetically engineered creatures on an island and let them tear the place apart.
You see, Mammoth DNA is much more readily available than Dinosaur DNA (which is to say that it’s available at all), and the cloning of such a creature, at least in my not so biologically educated mind, is possible. This makes the Mammoth an obvious candidate for an island born of my evil genetic machinations. Additional creatures would likely have to be abominations of currently existing creatures originating from the imaginations of the geneticists. Again, without knowing anything about biology, I have to guess that “finding” Dinosaur DNA through manipulating the DNA of other creatures and then guessing and checking the final product is impossible. Still, I will be sorely disappointed if I never see a living Dinosaur with my own eyes, and Mammoth cloning could be an exciting appetizer for that eventuality.
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