Which mythical creatures/cryptids are your favorite(s)? Feel free to expand upon your answer of you want!
Me thinking about monsters: fuck yeah fuck yeah fuck yeah
Okay so in no particular order
Mothman my beloved. Theres a few of you following me that know one of the reasons he’s a fave but I’m not disclosing that publically. I think as a cryptid he’s very neat because there is an event associated with his sightings!
And while Mothman is most famous for showing up around Point Pleasant before the Silver Bridge collapse, there have been sightings of a similar creature by different names in Mexico and southern US before a swine flu outbreak, and I don’t remember the location but somewhere else before an earthquake. Would be neat if they’re related, like this creature that tries to warn people of disaster. Although of course from the skeptical side it’s probably been misidentifed birds and coincidences. But it’s fun to think about!
Also the typical design of this vaguely bug-bird-human blob that’s pitch black with big eyes is really cute. It’s also just fun to see all the different ways people draw him. And he’s a little bit of a meme which is fun.
Fun fact the first time I read about Mothman was in 4th grade and the book had a creepy drawing of him staring through someone’s window, so some nights I was afraid that if I opened the curtains I’d see him staring at me.
.
I like the Jersey Devil too, theres a lot of cool designs of him. Like yesss gross demon horse man lets gooo. I also think it’s really interesting how some of the “sightings” are not actually of the creature but of hoofprints and disembodied voices. Somewhere in New Jersey a beast is tap dancing on roofs at night and I think that’s great.
.
Fresno Nightcrawlers! They’re fucking pants. They’re just so funny to me. Just these weird little baggy pants lookin guys walking around in people’s yards at night.
.
The Chupacabra is another fave of mine and has been for a while. I personally like doglike interpretations better than the alien ones. Spiky vampire dog is such a neat idea. Horrible for your livestock though. Maybe if Chupacabra is real we could tame it 🤔
For non-cryptid creatures:
Dragons!! In case it’s not obvious when I have a dragonsona. I’ve loved dragons since I was little. I ALWAYS was the “why do they have to slay the dragon why can’t they befriend the dragon” kid. I had lots of books of dragons as a kid, from story collections to novels to drawing guides to history and famous dragons collections. And I would read them again and again.
Im not quite sure what drew me to dragons versus other mythical creatures at first. Except that they’re very cool and there’s lots if different kinds. Dragons are really cool because they show up in myths all over the world! So there’s lots of stories and lore.
I love how dragons are so popular and varied that there’s lots of designs for them too, and they still continue to be popular creatures, even a fairly common sona!
I think another thing I’ve liked about dragons over the years is the experience of drawing them. Because there’s not just one dragon design, I used to draw dragons a lot to practice different types of animal bodies and colors. And I didn’t feel as pressured for accuracy as I did drawing animals and people.
Slenderman. One of the most modern monsters in terms of creation time. I think it’s VERY cool that he’s borne from the Internet, so the spread of his popularity and trends in the myth are recorded. Like, this is a myth that you can find the origin of and view it yourself (I don’t know if the site is still up actually, but I’ve seen screenshots so I know there’s at least that).
I really think Slenderman was done dirty by popular media. He deserves a better movie and to be known for more than just bad incidents.
I love the wide range of takes though. I know I keep saying that but I really do think it’s neat how people interpret creatures differently. Slenderman is cool in that some people make him scary, others make him funny, or sympathetic. And while typically he’s made scary, or at least spooky, there’s different ways he’s scary. Some people like him as a violent killer, others like him as a psychological predator. It’s really neat that no two Slendermen scare the same way.
Also he’s just a neat looking monster. 10/10 would get a gangly hug
Cerberus/hellhounds. They’re scary looking but they’re just puppies! Good boys and good girls! Houndoom is one of my favorite pokemon too (it’s inspired by hellhounds)
On one hand, manticores are not one of the first creatures that come to mind, BUT whenever I see one I always think oh !!! How cool!!! They have a very cool design! While it’s never said explicitly in The Divine Comedy that Geryon is a manticore, his design is clearly based on one. I love that “the beast of fraud” has “the face of an honest man” but when you look beyond that it’s a monstrous body, it’s a symbol of deception!
.
W*nd*gos are incredibly controversial bc of their origin and the usual design for them is inaccurate, but I’m using that as a reference point here. The actual myth of these creatures I’m not as much a fan of. However, the “big black furry beast with a skull head” is one of my fave designs. I’ve seen some proposals for calling this design pucca after the black shapeshifting creature instead! Tbh I think we need a new name entirely since this type of monster seems detached from other myths. It’s just a very neat design that I wish we could call something else!
Okay ummm that’s it with naming I think. But I like all sorts of weird creatures! I like animalistic looking ones more than humanoid or abstract. Ive probably said it many times before but I love monsters that are actually sweet or friendly.
