moonvoice (ravenari)

Three Crows as Totem

This is probably one of my favourite depictions of the corvid family, along with Crowe's Crow. Heh. There is purple iridescence on the ravens, green metallic paint in the swirls, a mix of green metallic paint and dark green pearlescent in the center circles. And a brown/green refractive pigment highlight in the energy lines. Woot. Lots of shiny.

( Three doors to go through... )

Antlered White-Tailed Doe as Totem

Occasionally you get white-tailed does that have antlers. :)

( How many deer have I drawn now? It's a lot, I think... )

erynn999, I've sent you a Livejournal message regarding this one. :)

Leafy Sea Dragon as Totem (Phycodurus eques)

Information on Leafy Sea Dragon as totem can be found here:

http://www.wildspeak.com/vilturj/totems/wseadragon.html

The leafy sea dragon is a fish closely related to the seahorse, and they're actually quite large (growing to 45 centimetres or about 18-19 inches). They are found in the coastal waters along Australia.

The leaf-like fins and protrusions they have are used solely for camouflage. Sea dragons live in the shallows among the seaweed, moving with the currents, and tend to shift and sway much like a praying mantis does when it is perched on a leaf.

Leafy sea dragons are under threat as they are often collected by people who wish to keep them as pets and perhaps - more dangerously - are commonly used in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

( these are one of my all-time favourite animals. )

netdancer, do you want to email me at ophelias.diary@gmail.com to yay or nay this piece? :)

Fennec Fox as Totem

Aside from being perhaps one of the cutest canines in existence, the fennec fox has awesomely large ears to help it maintain and regulate its temperature in the arid and hot environments in which it naturally lives; and to help with prey detection.

In some areas of the world, fennec foxes are kept as pets (although are not truly domesticated, and it's not like owning a 'typical' dog!) They are the only species of fox to regularly run in harems, instead of behaving in a solitary nature like most other foxes.

( Like Jeff Fennec! But not. )

darakat_ewr, do you want to email me to yay or nay this piece? :)

White Stag as Totem

The white stag (a deer that is albino or leucistic) is a sacred creature both now, and in ancient Indo-European societies. It was considered a messenger from the otherworld, and was an animal considered mythologically difficult to capture - or impossible to capture.

Much of the folklore around the white stag and hart focus on hunting or capturing it, and as such, I tend to see an element of sacrifice and the nature of the hunt embodied in this animal - hence the glyph focusing on the speared heart. The rest of the folklore tends to focus on its otherworldly connections, and affiliations with royalty.

( blood, blood everywhere, and not a drop to drink. )

AVAILABLE

Stiefelgeiss Goat as Totem

The stiefelgeiss is a domestic mountain goat from Switzerland (specifically the highlands around St. Gallen). It is primarily a meat goat, and like some of the breeds of domestic goat, had the dubious honour of nearly going extinct in the 1980s. Today there are only about 800. They have distinctive beards, and both the male and the female are horned.

( Mmmm, tasty stiefelgeiss. )

Blue Mountain Butterfly as Totem

Also known as the blue mountain swallowtail and Papilio ulysses; this stunning butterfly is native to Australia and has a wingspan of 14 centimetres. The males sometimes confuse blue objects with females and so are attracted to the colour blue.

This illustration, despite kicking my ass at first, is one of my favourites of late.

( Also known as the 'man, that blue tin of soft drink looks like a butterfly!' butterfly... )

Orange-Faced Sprite as Totem

A species of dragonfly commonly found throughout Asia, and some islands; the orange-faced sprite (what a great name!) is also known as Pseudagrion rubriceps rubriceps.

( Dragonflyyyyyyyyy )

Available for sale.

Meerkat as Totem

The meerkat is a social, clan-living animal related to mongooses. They are diurnal and have a distinctive, upright alert posture when they are alarmed, looking after the clan, or aware of danger.

They are immune to scorpion venom, and were made pretty famous as an animal in the popular show Meerkat Manor.

( I don't find these animals nearly as cute as most people do... )

Thylacoleo as Totem

The Thylacoleo is an extinct, marsupial carnivore; often referred to as a 'marsupial lion.' They are megafauna of Australia, and at the time were the largest predator.

Interestingly they possessed opposable thumbs and had retractable claws (unheard of in marsupials). They also had the strongest bite of any mammal - alive or extinct.

Stephen Wroe, specialist in marsupial evolution in Australia, has posited that the Thylacoleo was the most specialised carnivorous mammal of all time.

Thylacoleo is also a personal - and now long-term - animal guide of mine. :) This picture turned out perfectly (in terms of what I wanted from it). Biaimundi is happy; and so am I.

( SO not for sale - though prints will be made available. )