moonvoice (ravenari)

I mean to say a mix of things about Hades II and then mostly ranted so like, uh, skip that maybe x.x

Tue, 30 Sep 2025 13:55:07 GMT

I've reached the point in Hades II where I'm very bad at everything even with Godmode at max (this game is actually not accesible at all, though it Tried, it's both harder than the first Hades, and less forgiving, and the Godmode is like...ehhhh. On the one hand I get that like, it's very cool for people to get very hard achievements when a game is very challenging, and on the other hand, for those of us who have pretty big motor dysfunction etc. who want the game to be accessible, the game is like phenomenally hard even with their 'accessibility' options, and that's frustrating.

I don't want to have to use mods, mostly because they can be finicky and sometimes break saves etc., but I honestly can't see some ways forward through the game without them. Massive props to the people who can play without Godmode in a game that is so much harder. I consider myself lucky that I can beat the vanilla game, but everything else (Chaos challenges, etc.) is like...welp. We'll see. Some are fine, some are not. ( spoilers, and rather more ranting than I expected )

Okay, I'm done.

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Okay back to thirsting for way too many people in this video game.

Fri, 26 Sep 2025 04:39:18 GMT

I am a simple man who likes simple things and Kate McKinnon being willing to make such a mess of herself on Hot Ones made me incredibly happy.

Anyway this is just a quick break from playing Hades II because v.1.0 launched last night! I got one game in before bed (Toby was unimpressed), and am pretty much just going to be playing extremely badly (god SO badly, I played with the scythe today and just, haha, ah, sigh) and getting more story out of this game. It's fun pinging all the achievements (not that many) from previously gameplay and they're all at 0.1% rarity or whatever because not enough people have played this version of the game yet, it'll be nice to see the numbers go up.

It's humid today. The 20C might as well be 30C. I'm going to really miss winter this year, I'm not ready for summer, and spring is not playing around. She's a fickle thing. (Actually, Luflijka, you're not, I know you're doing your best).

I've been thinking of how antis/anti-shippers sometimes respond to 'don't like don't read' as though it's the worst thing to say, but it's really just the fandom equivalent of 'hey you remember what the safewords are right? You can safeword at any time.' It's like they resent being reminded of their ability to consent to reading fic, because they can't handle any form of self-accountability at all. And that's where we start, right before the bullying and the abuse takes place. Idk how anyone ever feels that an anti-shipper ever has a single leg to stand on, when that's the starting line.

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Still around? Yes. Still alive? Maybe. Debatable. Possibly resurrected at this point.

Wed, 24 Sep 2025 10:17:12 GMT

I literally have spent years thinking 'oh I should write something' and then...not. I get so frustrated with myself over it, and I've been thinking and noodling over how I want to use this, and I think some kind of combination of like, sharing photos like I used to (otherwise why am I paying for that SmugMug subscription lol), and reviewing things I'm engaging with, and maybe talking about writing stuff perhaps.

Sometimes I think what Twitter/X and Bluesky and similar platforms (Tumblr) took away was like, a basic functionality of Dreamwidth and LJ before these things existed, of the more light-hearted, less-gravity style of writing, where if I have a simple thought now, or a little rant, it goes elsewhere, instead of here. And then as a result of that, I mentally feel pressured to write long, meaningful entries that have like, deep emotion or whatever, which is just silly really, because that was never how I used this site when I enjoyed it most.

Like yeah I wrote some deep entries, but I had just as much fun - if not more fun - sharing art and photos and cross-stitch etc.

I've seen other folks like 'I'd like to use DW again' but sometimes I wonder if that's just nostalgia. 'I'd like to reminisce on what it used to be like here.' It's not going to be like that again, but there are cool people here, and I'd like to grow my participation here into something new.

In the meantime, I think Glen might be home, so it's time to go let our dog, Tobermory, go greet him lol

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[Art] Crab-Eating Fox, Jaguarundi and Arctic Fox as animal teachers

Thu, 29 Sep 2022 10:43:51 GMT

I am still working on animal teachers! I have all the art together (I think) for the Unusuals deck, and I'm actually working on a Canines and Felines deck (20 of each) to follow up, which is why things are about to get heavy with well, canines and felines! Lol.

As always, all of these are traditional art: Ink, coloured pencil, watercolour pencil, some sparkly shiny paint.

Crab-Eating Fox // Cerdocyon thous // Etsy

( Larger images under the cut )

Jaguarundi // Herpailurus yagouaroundi // Etsy

( Larger images under the cut )

Arctic Fox // Vulpes lagopus // Etsy

( Larger images under the cut )

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[Art in Progress] Arctic Fox, Crab-Eating Fox, Jaguarundi

Sun, 14 Aug 2022 14:21:17 GMT

Not me immediately planning the next 3-4 oracle decks. I already have all the art for the Unusuals deck, but I'm also compiling a British Isles deck and a Cats & Dogs (probably Felines & Canines) deck as well.

You know, to keep myself busy with the art for the next 3-4 years, lol.

I'm still amazed that I've never illustrated an Arctic Fox before, and that one has never been commissioned in all my years of illustrating animal teachers. I've drawn like 15 Red Foxes, the Arctic Fox has somehow missed me until now.

Arctic Fox // Vulpes lagopus

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Crab-Eating Fox // Cerdocyon thous

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Jaguarundi // Herpailurus yagouaroundi

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Expansive Animal Oracle - Iconics is available! :D

Sun, 31 Jul 2022 04:20:42 GMT

So after talking about it for a million years, it's finally launched!

40 cards on UV coated cardstock, the box, and the booklet, all available on The Gamecrafter for $28.99 USD.

Featuring iconic animals from all around the world, and you can go to my Wildspeak website to see the complete list here if you like. They can be collected for divination, or used as small art prints,

If you have any questions or anything, please feel free to ask!

( More photos of the deck under the cut! )

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[Art] Agrias hewitsonius, Asian Small-Clawed Otter, Claudina Agrias

Tue, 28 Jun 2022 11:00:43 GMT

Even more animal teacher illustrations.

These ones have lagged mostly because my get up and go, got up and went when it came to actually processing the photos and the scans. Though at least I finally have the Etsy up and running again!

Life has been full and busy. There has been a death. There have been some health things. But there have also been good things too. I'm getting hopefully the final version of the Oracle Deck which means I should be able to release it really soon, an Oracle Deck! A real live Oracle Deck!

I ended up doing two Agrias butterflies unexpectedly, one so uncommon that it has no common name (i.e. it only has a scientific identifier, though I'm sure it would be called 'Hewitson's Agrias' if it had a common name anyway).

As always, all of these are traditional art: Ink, coloured pencil, watercolour pencil, some sparkly shiny paint.

Agrias hewitsonius // Etsy

( Larger images under the cut )

Asian Small-Clawed Otter // Aonyx cinereus // Etsy

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Claudina Agrias // Agrias claudina claudina // Etsy

( Larger images under the cut )

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[Art] Gwyn ap Nudd, Fae Tales fanart

Sun, 01 May 2022 09:45:10 GMT

I've been drawing / sketching people and figures a lot more this year. I'm not very good at it. In the end though I drew one of my own characters from one of my own series, Gwyn ap Nudd, from the Fae Tales universe (I think like four of you know who he is re: my writing vs. Welsh God.)

I'd really like to do more of these. I might make the original for sale one day, or alternatively do some kind of giveaway. I'll definitely make prints and stuff available on DeviantArt and they're already available on Redbubble.

As always, water/colour pencil and ink on illustration board, with a tiny bit of metallic watercolour for accents (which you can't see on the flat scan anyway).

Gwyn ap Nudd

( Larger image under the cut )

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[Art in Progress] Claudina's Agrias, Agrias hewitsonius, Asian Small-Clawed Otter

Mon, 25 Apr 2022 12:44:31 GMT

I've been having a down day today, and the last two or three days, so I haven't been writing my 'five things' posts because they'd all be quite depressing.

I found it interesting that I was pinged so hard by the Agrias species, including one that doesn't even have a common name (Agrias hewitsonius). I really hope I can do justice to Claudina's Agrias, because I've chosen a subspecies colouring which only has about 4 reference photos on the whole internet. I get the sense there's a ton of pattern variability. I will do my best.

The Asian Small-Clawed Otter was actually one of the earliest animal teacher files on Wildspeak, and has never had matching art!

Claudina's Agrias // Agrias claudina claudina

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N/A // Agrias hewitsonius

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Asian Small-Clawed Otter // Aonyx cinereus

( Larger image under the cut )

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[Art] Ruby-Eyed Green Pit Viper, Persian Onager and Asian Golden Cat

Fri, 22 Apr 2022 09:44:41 GMT

More animal teacher illustrations.

I don't know why I've been doing so many this year. I guess it's just a combination of where I'm at, and where my urges are taking me. It's been a lot of fun though, especially since I'm not filling in a 'deck' so much as just doing whatever animals are calling to me loudest at any one time.

The Ruby-Eyed Green Pit Viper is one of the most elaborate pieces I've done in a while, but I love the dynamism. The Persian Onager feels so gentle. And the Asian Golden Cat was very challenging, capturing its peculiar coat colourations, it's truly a stunning cat.

Ruby-Eyed Green Pit Viper // Craspedocephalus rubeus

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Persian Onager // Equus hermionus onager

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Asian Golden Cat // Catopuma temminckii

( Larger images under the cut )

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[Art in Progress] Persian Onager, Asian Golden Cat and the Ruby-Eyed Green Pit Viper

Tue, 12 Apr 2022 06:42:33 GMT

I've written 2000 words today on Falling Falling Stars, and managed to make a decent breakfast (smoked salmon on wholemeal crackers, with capers, which I made up a song about that goes: 'Looks like peas but taste like the salty briny berries of sataaaannnnnn').

Listening to Manchester Orchestra and about to go lie down. Sleep has been strange and fickle lately. Today though, I feel a bit more alive than usual.

Persian Onager // Equus hermionus onager

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Asian Golden Cat // Catopuma temminckii

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Ruby-Eyed Green Pit Viper // Craspedocephalus rubeus

( Larger image under the cut )

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[Art] Mrs Gould's Sunbird, Oriental Dollarbird and Rainbow Bee Eater

Tue, 12 Apr 2022 06:34:17 GMT

The animal teacher illustrations continue apace.

I don't know if I'm burnt out, I'm certainly depressed, and my mental health hasn't been that great. But I don't think it's terribly surprising given things in Western Australia right now (experiencing our first ever Covid peak).

I'm hoping to be able to open the Etsy store some time by the end of the month.

Mrs Gould's Sunbird // Aethopyga gouldiae

( Larger images under the cut )

Oriental Dollarbird // Eurostomus orientalis

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Rainbow Bee Eater // Merops ornatus

( Larger images under the cut )

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[Art in Progress] Mrs Gould's Sunbird, Oriental Dollarbird and Rainbow Bee Eater

Sat, 09 Apr 2022 03:26:22 GMT

A weirdly fast turnover with these ones. Two are Australian birds, and one, the Rainbow Bee Eater is local to me. I remember the first time I saw them, I also saw their nesting burrows, which can be over a metre deep. Stunning little creatures.

I've been tired and depressed lately. I think a combination of the Patreon income steadily declining, and mostly just feeling like I don't really want to be doing anything, while being agitated and restless at the same time. Is it burnout? Or something else?

Mrs Gould's Sunbird // Aethopyga gouldiae

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Oriental Dollarbird // Eurostomus orientalis

( Larger image under the cut )

Rainbow Bee Eater // Merops ornatus

( Larger image under the cut )

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[Art] Earless Monitor Lizard, Mongolian Toad and Siberian Flying Squirrel

Thu, 07 Apr 2022 04:45:29 GMT

These were the first animal teachers I actually illustrated this year, it's just due to fatigue I've been so lax about getting everything online in a timely manner. The art is the easy part! The social media part is challenging.

But it also feels good to be sharing these again. :)

I hope you enjoy them. As always, traditional art, mostly colour and watercolour pencil, ink, and some minor metallic watercolour and iridescent acrylic for accents to make it SHINY.

Earless Monitor Lizard // Lanthanotus borneensis

( Larger images under the cut )

Mongolian Toad // Strauchbufo raddei

( Larger images under the cut )

Siberian Flying Squirrel // Pteromys volans

( Larger images under the cut )

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[Art] Green-Billed Malkoha, Spangled Cotinga and Tacazze Sunbird

Thu, 07 Apr 2022 04:10:29 GMT

Might go into a deck one day. Honestly the deck/s have been on hold due to global shipping issues (especially USPS blocking all shipping to Australia for 6 months, though it's much better now, it's still not really 'fixed' like it was before, and many small businesses are still not shipping to us).

I've realised I'm very much just...wanting to illustrate a lot of rare animals these days. Chances are you may not have heard of all, or even any of these birds (since the last time I posted the inked versions anyway).

All of these coloured with coloured pencil, watercolour pencil, ink, and then a little bit of metallic watercolour and iridescent acrylic for accents.

Green-Billed Malkoha // Phaenicophaeus tristis

( Larger images under the cut )

Spangled Cotinga // Cotinga cayana

( Larger images under the cut )

Tacazze Sunbird // Nectarinia tacazze

( Larger images under the cut )

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[Art] Bengal Tiger as Animal Teacher

Tue, 07 Sep 2021 14:39:49 GMT

The last for the Iconics deck!

Tigers always get snapped up super fast and this one is already technically spoken for, though the person who tentatively put it on hold may not want it anymore, at which point I'll relist it on Etsy.

I can't believe now I've got my 80 pieces of art for these decks? It's been a long haul. And I'm very intimidated by starting the formatting and so on. But I'm also definitely a lot closer.

*

Bengal Tiger || Panthera tigris tigris || Etsy || Wildspeak Animal Dictionary

Keywords:

Power. Charisma. Attraction. Confidence. Ruling over one’s domain. Maintain your boundaries. Willpower. Courage. Taking time to learn. Monitor your anger and aggression. Forest wisdom. How do you feel about your biggest emotions? What are you hiding from? Unpredictability. Majesty. Self-pride and self-worth. Confrontation.

Description:

The Bengal tiger (also known as the Royal Bengal tiger) – Panthera tigris tigris – is an Endangered subspecies of tiger native to India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Bhutan. They are one of the biggest large cats in the world, and widely recognised for the charismatic, powerful apex predators that they are. They are obligate carnivores. They inhabit many types of forest (moist evergreen, tropical, tropical dry forest, subtropical, temperate upland, moist deciduous forest etc.) as well as mangroves and grasslands. They are attracted to habitats where their preferred prey – ungulates (such as many species of deer, as well as buffalo, boar, porcupines, hares and peafowl) – are found in high number. There are fewer than 2600-3,300 wild Bengal tigers in the world as of 2018.

Males are larger than females, and tigers have the largest and longest teeth of any cat in the world. Adults rarely come together and fighting between the species can be particularly vicious. When food it plentiful, however, sometimes Bengal tigers will congregate. Otherwise the known social unit is a mother with her offspring. Males are usually solitary. All Bengal tigers maintain home ranges that ideally includes water, prey and shelter. While maintaining range boundary, they encounter other adults, which assists with locating mates. Some adults may even tolerate transient tigers in their territory, though this is usually temporary. Infanticide of tiger litters is quite common. Bengal tigers do not tend to leave their mothers until they are around 2-3 years old, at which point they become transient, while looking for their own territory.

Bengal tigers are known to kill predators on occasion, such as leopards, wolves, jackals, foxes, crocodiles, and bears. On extremely rare occasions, they may kill elephants, but this is unusual. They have a ‘feast or famine’ style of feeding due to their hunting methods, eating huge amounts of meat, followed by many days of fasting.

Bengal tigers are increasingly poaching human livestock, due to constant human encroachment on their territories. At times like this they will sometimes attack, kill and eat humans. Their greatest threats include habitat destruction, poaching (for fur, meat, and use as ‘alternative medicine’), and human-tiger conflict. Despite this, they are a beloved and charismatic animal, and there are many conservation efforts underway throughout the world. It is the national animal of India.

( More images under the cut. )

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[Art] Common Eastern Firefly as Animal Teacher

Tue, 07 Sep 2021 14:34:56 GMT

The last illustration for the Unusuals Deck (I think).

I've always been fascinated by fireflies. We don't have them here in Western Australia, but they're so significant in so many cultures. I've always loved lights in nature, and bioluminescence, and phosphorescence.

Firefly was elusive to me at first. And I realised that he was trying to convey a sense of atmosphere rather than centralising himself as many of the animal teachers do. So we ended up with a strange composition, him signalling in the corner (even though he would normally be flying, let's forgive him for taking a rest), and many fireflies in the distance. A sense of community, and collective.

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Common Eastern Firefly || Photinus pyralis || Etsy || Wildspeak Animal Dictionary

Keywords:

Flashes of insight. The light within. There’s always more than one answer, more than one idea. Forest inspiration. Night forests. Communication with the light and colour spectrum. Healing light. Nostalgia. The passage of time. Bittersweet. Speaking in code. Having your own special language with loved ones. Beware of burnout. Beware of people stealing your energy. Attracted to danger.

Description:

The common eastern firefly (big dipper firefly) – Photinus pyralis – is found in North America. It is a flying beetle that produces light from an organ in its abdomen. Males have larger light organs than the females. They are most noticeable around twilight, and hover close to the ground. Adult fireflies have short lifespans, spending most of their life in larval form.

As larvae, common eastern fireflies are carnivores, and prefer to eat soft-bodied insects like slugs, snails, worms or other larvae. However, they have been known to eat jumping spiders to take in their venom. They do not feed as adults. Other fireflies (from the Photuris family) will sometimes lure male common eastern fireflies by mimicking the light flashes of females, in order eat them and obtain chemicals that repel spiders. In order to deter predators, they’ll use unpleasant odours or sticky substances (reflex bleeding) to protect themselves.

Males in particular use patrolling flash patterns while luring a mate. Light conditions of the evening around them determine the patterns they use. Females will respond with a delayed coded flash, twisting their abdomen towards the male. Males will fly in a noticeable J-shape, but females are sedentary. If two males approach a sedentary female at the same time, they often become aggressive to each other. Males will offer food gifts of spermatophores, which females will then use to give nutrients to their eggs.

( More images under the cut. )

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[Art] Giant African Land Snail as Animal Teacher

Tue, 07 Sep 2021 14:29:32 GMT

For the Unusuals deck.

The first illustration I did of Snail as an animal teacher I hated. It's one of the only animal teacher illustrations I've thrown out. The second, I loved so much I kept it and refuse to list it for sale. It goes on my altar a couple of times a year. This one - well, I don't feel as much of a connection to the Giant African Land Snail, even though they're popular on Tumblr as 'slime puppies' - but I still really enjoy just how much detail I was able to get.

But Snail really helps with that kind of focus. I'm particularly pleased with the shell. :)

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Giant African Land Snail || Lissachatina fulica || Etsy || Wildspeak Animal Dictionary

Keywords:

Invasion. Slow is fast. Initially underestimated. Religious offerings. Loved and hated. What are you giving back. Sensuality. Healing touch. Massage. Connection to sacred sexualities. Endurance. Relentlessness. Different connections to different people. You contain multitudes. Many-truths. Sticky situations. Check in on your health.

Description:

The Giant African land snail (sometimes confused with other giant African snails) – Lissachatina fulica (also Achatina fulica) – is a large species of nocturnal snail which, outside of its native range of eastern Africa, is a significant feral pest throughout the world. It is the most invasive species of snail. The Giant African land snail has a shell that varies between 50-10 centimetres, with a width of 10 centimetres at maturity. The body of the snail can sometimes extend up to 30 centimetres in length. Colour variations vary widely depending on what the snail consumes, though there are usually alternating bands of brown and tan.

In the Galapagos and eastern Africa, they prefer to live in high humidity warm tropical climates that are mild all year around. They are found in habitats such as wetlands, coastal regions, agricultural areas, natural and plantation forests, and many other places. During dry or cool weather, they will aestivate in loose soil or under rocks. Giant African land snails primarily herbivorous and eat decaying organic matter, such as fallen fruit, manure, paper, cardboard, even garbage. It has been known to take sand, small rocks, concrete and bones for calcium. Younger snails eat flowers and vegetables and will eat over 500 different species of plant. They will occasionally eat other snails.

As with many other land snails, the Giant African land snail has male and female sex organs, but cannot self-fertilise, so must mate with others. During mating they will pet each other, and press their bodies against each other, with courtship lasting around 30 minutes. They are sexually mature at six months. They can travel well over 100 metres a month, when conditions are favourable. They will also be moved by humans to new locations either by accident, or purposefully, due to the pet trade. Some new populations crop up due to the dumping of pets or their eggs. The Giant African land snail can live for 5-9 years, and may lay a total of 1000 eggs.

They are a disease vector for many different diseases, including those that can cause meningoencephalitis in humans. As a feral pest, it thrives in many different habitats and is a voracious feeder, while often distributing plant diseases, causing severe and catastrophic damage to both farms and native plants. It carries diseases that can harm pets, like rat lungworm, which has been reported to kill dogs who have consumed it. It also competes with native snail species. It is one of the top 100 invasive species in the world. In its native habitat, however, the shells are offered up to the gods in religious rites and festivals.

( More images under the cut. )

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[Photos] Oh it's... it's more cats.

Thu, 26 Aug 2021 15:23:56 GMT

I need to write my to do list for tomorrow. I wish I could just write 'lie facedown until everything goes away' but I cannot.

Maybe I shouldn't have written 2,200 words and two chapter commentaries (another 4,600 words) today. I did not think that through! But I also was so excited to get the commentaries done today.

I'm hoping to finish an Ice Plague chapter tomorrow. Chapter 26. We march on steadily to the end of the entire series.

Here are my feline friends.

A completely normal pose.

( MOAR )

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[Photos] Cat time never ends

Thu, 26 Aug 2021 15:05:07 GMT

An unexpected cold snap.

It's 11pm and apparently I have been struck by the Melancholies. But before going to bed, I'm going to put up some cat photos, and read a bit more on this current book on PTSD.

We had bingsu today. It was delicious.

Moet is sleeping next to me right now.

She thinks she's cute but she's not cute. Maybe, I'm trying to get work done!

( More cats and one joey (baby kangaroo) )

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[Photos] Cat time cat time

Tue, 24 Aug 2021 11:02:16 GMT

Gosh it's been a while since I've posted photos here of the cats!

I do share them on Instagram a fair bit, but often into my story these days, so they vanish in 24 hours. And I've been remiss in actually just...engaging in the pleasure of looking over my photos of them because it fills me with love all over again and then I go harass them.

(Maybe is currently sleeping right next to me).

They're older now. Maybe's heading towards 11 (or is...?) and Moet is marching towards 17.

Alert

( And of course, many more. )

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[Cross-Stitch] 2021 projects thus far, and a small decorative mending project.

Sat, 21 Aug 2021 11:16:58 GMT

I had a really good start of the year for cross-stitch, and then massively slowed down around late July-August actually weirdly partly because the shows I was marathoning (SVU and X-Files respectively) both got pulled from streaming sites, and I just haven't been able to get my brain back 'online' to manage to do cross-stitch again?

It's been really weird. And the stupid thing is, I own all of the X-Files, but apparently that extra step/few steps of changing the DVDs etc. is enough for my brain to go 'no, too hard, do work instead.' Not very useful!

As always, all of these are kits, I don't use hoops (or do anything 'properly') and I mostly just do it to zone out for a bit.

Owl Forest's Frog Princess x-stitch kit - This was the first kit that introduced me to 'single square' stitching, which was *intense.* You can see it on the face and the hands of the princess.

( More beneath the cut. )

RTO's - Hare in the Night x-stitch kit - This has been one of my favourite projects in a while, the colours were so interesting.

( More beneath the cut. )

Merejka's Bullfinches x-stitch kit (incomplete)

Normally I don't back-stitch until the very end of a project, but for once I'm back-stitching as I go. This is about half-way complete. (Actually now it's much further along, but I don't have a photo of that).

( More beneath the cut. )

Decorative embroidery (ongoing) - I took on this project because the hems were falling apart, and I didn't want to re-hem the jacket. It's a Studio Ghibli jacket that can't be purchased anymore, and I think I've had it for around 8 years now. It needs some more work to actually make it like, less 'falling-apart-y.' I have a habit of literally wearing my clothing until it falls apart, and now I have I guess, some very not good skills at doing something about it.

Obviously this is all hand-sewn and awful. But I'd rather walk out of the house with awful embroidery rather than like, the 50 holes in my hems, lol.

( More beneath the cut. )

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[Art] Spangled Cotinga, Green-Billed Malkoha, Tacazze Sunbird

Mon, 12 Jul 2021 04:57:00 GMT

These aren't filling any gaps for any decks! Though they might go into a deck one day.

I actually did these to kind of play hooky on my 'official animal teacher artwork.' I needed a break, and it has been many months since I've done any inking!

As a result I picked some of my favourite animals to draw: Extremely. Pretty. Birds. Especially ones that most people haven't heard of!

I'm really happy with the inking of these. Sometimes I think 'oh no it's been a while I think I've lost my touch.' Yeah, no, I haven't. I've gotten slowly better over time. Emphasis on the slowly.

Spangled Cotinga // Cotinga cayana

( Larger image under the cut )

Green-Billed Malkoha // Phaenicophaeus tristis

( Larger image under the cut )

Tacazze Sunbird // Nectarinia tacazze

( Larger image under the cut )

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[Art] Arctic Woolly Bear Moth as Animal Teacher

Sun, 20 Jun 2021 11:08:00 GMT

For the Unusuals deck.

I really like when I start to memorise the taxonomic names for all of these animals. Some fall away like fog, but others stay. Mellisuga helenae is a pretty name, and so is Zunzuncito.

With the completion of this piece, I now actually only have two animals left before completing all 40 cards of this deck. So the next batch of three will see both decks completed re: the art, and then everything after that is formatting. There is...actually a chance that this could be published by the end of the year. But with health stuff, I am doubt.

*

Bee Hummingbird || Mellisuga helenae || Etsy || Wildspeak Animal Dictionary

Keywords:

Small but fierce. Gusto. Full steam ahead. Your power is underestimated, but you know your inner fire. Flashes of insight. Reach. Unique relationships. A fierce inner flame. Living life at a different speed to others. Rushing around. Close friends are better than many acquaintances. Flower essences and magic. Moving at speed. Fashion is a language.

Description:

The bee hummingbird (zunzuncito) – Mellisuga helenae – is the world’s smallest bird, and is endemic to Cuba. The iridescence on their feathers is not always noticeable, and depends greatly on the angle at which they’re viewed. Their long bills are perfectly adapted for reaching deeply into flowers for nectar, and they can only feed from approximately ten plants, being remarkably co-evolved. The pollen that deposits on its bill and head helps with pollination. They can consume half of their body weight in food per day.

Bee hummingbirds are strong, fast flyers despite their size, and in one day can visit 1,500 flowers, with wings that beat around 80 times per second. They will also eat spiders and insects. They are notably plump in appearance, unlike other small hummingbirds. Their eggs are the size of coffee beans or peas. It is speculated that they may have the second fastest animal heartbeat in the world, at 1,260 beats per minute.

Males court females with display dives, and making sounds with their tail feathers. During courting displays, males can beat their wings up to 200 times a second. Females make tiny cup-shaped nests, using cobwebs, lichen, and bark. They will line the inside of their nests with soft plant fibres. Offspring are cared for by their mother for nearly three weeks. Because of their small size they have a wide range of predators, like birds, mongoose, bees, wasps, frogs, spiders, and fish. However, the biggest impact to their survival is human activity.

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[Art] Whale Shark as Animal Teacher

Sun, 20 Jun 2021 10:55:17 GMT

For the Unusuals deck.

I can't believe it's taken me so long to illustrate a whale shark! So much fun with this one. For some reason the connection was pretty immediate and pretty profound, I feel like this could be a good animal for me to personally work with.

There's an element of letting go of needing to know everything about every little thing with this teacher. It's okay to just sit with not knowing, after all, what we don't know vastly outweighs what we'll never know, so we'd best remember it's a fundamental truth of being.

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Whale Shark || Rhincodon typus || Etsy || Wildspeak Animal Dictionary

Keywords:

A meeting of minds. Mutuality. Curiosity balanced with wariness. Deep thought. Avoid high stress situations. Speculation and philosophy. Elusive answers. Filtering what is useful from what is not. It’s okay that you don’t know. Spiritual grandparent. You are made of star stuff. Gentleness. Gentle warmth. Ocean wisdom.

Description:

The whale shark is the largest fish in the world, and the largest animal in the world after the whale family. It is a slow-moving pelagic carpet shark, that filter feeds like a baleen whale with its large mouth. They are extremely efficient filter feeders with unique filtration pads not found in other filter feeders. They primarily feed on plankton and small fish, as well as clouds of fish eggs, in coastal and oceanic habitats. It prefers tropical oceans. The females are larger than the males, with males averaging 8-9 metres in length, and females around 14.5 metres, though longer and larger whale sharks have been documented.

Whale sharks live between 80 and 130 years. They are marked upon their backs with a variety of white spots and stripes, and these are unique to each whale shark and can be used to help identify them. It’s likely that whale sharks have a significant healing capacity and can recover from significant wounds and regenerate portions of their fins. Whale sharks are migratory, and will seasonally aggregate at well-known coastal sites – such as the Yucatan Coast where over 400 whale sharks have gathered at one time – at varying times of year.

At the time of this writing, no one has observed a whale shark pupping, but mating has been witnessed twice, filmed for the first time in 2019 in Australia. It is thought that whale sharks give birth to live young, and may do so over a prolonged period, instead of giving birth all at once. They are not a threat to humans, being gentle and docile in nature (and playful while young), but conversely, human activity has impacted them, including habitat destruction, oil spill pollution and hunting. Ecotourism is popular, but currently at unsustainable levels.

( More images under the cut. )

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