Artist Portrays Mystical Creatures In Their Vulnerable Form – When They Were Still Babies (30 Pics)
We're used to seeing mystical creatures depicted as tall, well-built warriors or old, bearded wizards. After all, slaying beasts or casting powerful spells takes strength and experience. But Hong Kong-based illustrator Rudy Siswanto decided to flip our preconceived notions around by depicting them as babies.
From Medusa to Minotaur and beyond, these guys still look badass, only they're so young, you can't help but imagine them taking a nap in the middle of a serious quest.
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Medusa & Gargoyle
It almost looks like a montage of best friends growing up through the years
Medusa was a normal human until she was raped by Poseidon in Athena's temple. Athena, for reasons unbeknownst to me, felt she had to punish Medusa for desecrating her temple (like she had a choice in the matter) by turning her into a gorgon. She was very much an adult at the time. All that being said, it is a pretty wonderful painting. Fun fact about gargoyles: they are sculptural adornments associated with gothic architecture, however they are only considered gargoyles if the are also water spouts in addition to being sculptures.
From the stories I've read she was not exactly raped. She had an affair with Poseidon and her sisters stood guard while they were inside Athena's temple. That was why Athena turned Medusa and her sisters into monsters.
Load More Replies...To correct Mythology, Medusa was a High Priestess to Athena Temple, Seduced (raped) by Posiedon, and turned into the Snake Haired monster we know in today's Mythology
Of course they’re friends, Medusa doesn’t have to worry about turning him to stone! He already is
But Medusa wasn't born with those snakes on her head. She was cursed in her youth.
*inhales* I know I shouldn’t be getting upset but Medusa wasn’t born a monster. She was born human but was turned into a monster.
This is absolutely adorable, thou the original greek myth never tell of the growing up together? 🤔
Siswanto, who is originally from Indonesia, is currently working at Riot Games as a splash artist. This series, however, is from a bit earlier. "Baby Beastiary is a client project back from when I was working at Caravan Studio," Siswanto told Bored Panda. "It was for a crowdfunding project by Metal Weave Games. They came up with an idea for a baby creatures' RPG book and I helped them with the visuals."
Siswanto wasn't the only artist working on the project. "I contributed the most on volume 1 and volume 2, and I helped with art direction."
Hippogriff Foal
He's my favorite Harry Potter character! Yay, I'm so glad he gets to be on this post!
Load More Replies...Wow-I thought those were only in the Xanth novels by Piers Anthony-unless that actually is where this was inspired.
Hippogriffs have been showing up in stories since Ancient Greek times.
Load More Replies...I don't know about this. The griffin is supposed to be a lion and eagle hybrid.
The client came with a brief, so they were the ones who picked what particular mystical creatures to include in the series.
"Through this project, I've learned a lot about not only how to create baby versions of different creatures that are already well known, but I also learned how to really observe [various little animal details], like their gestures, how they move and the proportions [of their bodies]," Siswanto said, adding that it has really helped him to take his craft to another level and create more believable fantasy creatures in general.
Hydra Snakelet
I’m pretty sure it’s a package deal only with this one. :’)
Load More Replies...Simurgh Pup
I am afraid to think what a flying puppy could do to the house, but I want one anyway.
Pee spattered everywhere and chewed-up ceiling fan
Load More Replies...as a pup with bird wings, it would still have nude wings with tiny down feathers and not be able to fly ar this point. That would be one heck of a gangly and rough-looking adolescent too, all fuzz and new feathers half exposed.
Uhm... SINCE WHEN are simurghs dogs or canines??? A simurgh is the Islamic version of the phoenix!!!!
Nightmare
I remember reading a fantasy story long ago (Piers Anthony?) but I loved that the heroine woke up and knew she'd had "Night Mares" because their hoof prints were all over the carpet in her bedroom.
Dragon Turtlette
give me 999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999
Medusa Daughter
Sorry to quibble, but Medusa wasn't born with serpent-hair; Athena turned her hair into serpents after she was raped by Poseidon in her temple.
That might be why it says "Medusa daughter" on it rather than simply Medusa.
Load More Replies...In Hesiod's Theogony, Medusa and her sisters were born with serpentine hair. Also Medusa's relationship with Poseidon is portrayed as neutral (he "lay" with her in a soft meadow, not Athena's temple). It's only in Ovid's Metamorphosis that Medusa was described as a human that was transformed into a monstrous being by Athena (as transformations were the prevailing them of the poem). Ovid's version depicted Medusa's liaison with Poseidon as rape. Interestingly, Poseidon was linked with her sisters Euryale (the mother of Orion, according to some) and Thoosa (the mother of the Cyclops Polyphemus).
Ovid's Metamorphosis is generally the version that so many of us are familiar with in regards to Medusa's origin story.
Load More Replies...Last time I checked, her children (they were formed from the blood of her severed head) were Pegasus the flying horse and Chrysaor. Less is known about Chrysaor--debates range from him being some sort of flying boar or a golden armored giant.
Load More Replies...I like how the frog prince never had a chance in this picture. Well, you know this medusa is not a gold digger!
Now I'm highly reminded of the web comic, Modest Medusa, where a little gorgon does just that, ends up inside a man named Jake's toilet.
Load More Replies...Steve Barnett. She received the curse of snake hair and a stone gaze when she went into Aphrodite's temple to serve her. Aphrodite being challenged by her beauty and the fact that Poseiden had taken a liking to her, she cursed her.
Phoenix
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I need one!!!! but he'll have to live outside because I don't want my house burned down lol
ooh! i want one. althought I am probobly going to want all of them so im just going to stop
Baby Minotaur
Well there's a button saying buy now that you can use to get it!
Load More Replies...idk bc the minotaurs dad was a man called Minos of crete, and he tortured the minotaur to make it a monster
Load More Replies...Kraken Paralarvae
just wait till its an adult then it will be 10,000 pounds of smashing octopus
Load More Replies...*baby kraken cutely sinks toy boat* *proud kraken parent*
Satyr Foal
That's taking quite a liberty with the myth. There are NO female Satyrs as they were exclusively male nature spirits.
Sea Lion Pup
The lion king: Weird evolution edition.
Load More Replies...Unicorn Foal
Ehhh... that’s a horse-with-a-horn. Why do so few people draw proper unicorns? They’re not horses with horns—they do have a horn, yes, but they also have cloven hooves, a lion-like tail, and sometimes a goat-like beard. How do people lack so much imagination that they just slap an ugly horn on a horse’s nose and call it done?
Well, its hooves are in the grass, so we can't see exactly what they are, and it probably hasn't gone through puberty yet, so no beard just yet. Not sure about that tail, though. Maybe extensions?
Load More Replies...there would likely not be a horn of that size yet. The horn would grow in overtime, but as that foal still looks very young, it's horn would only be a lovely gold little nub on it's forehead. and this is just me speaking a realistic physical reality that would be believable should it be written in a story where nit-picking readers would argue with you about trying to birth something with a very sharp horn on it's face.
Actually those ... humans ... shuld have been satyres ... humans and unicorns don’t play well. Unicorns and virgins do however, so maybe that’s how to interpret it...?
Elder Godspawn
Aww, who's a cute little eldritch abomination? YOU'RE a cute little eldritch abomination!
The cutest little eldritch abomination..yes you are!
Load More Replies...I wouldn't have thought C'thulu would have parental instincts but I could be wrong.
Also, a 'btw', Cthulhu wasn't an Elder God, he was a Great Old One (in the mythos there are Great Old Ones, Great Ones, Elder Gods and Outer Gods, all distinct).
Load More Replies...Dreaming of what though? Cutesy Cthulhu babies? :)
Load More Replies...give me 435465374636483993999999994939574754999994646494040999485t74875ututyu948494898984948948 498448948948498448948499999999499949999994847456746
Owlbear
I mean can you imagine if they got too hungry? Owl screeching + bear roaring? No thank you!
Load More Replies...Centaur
Hahaha I saw this thing that said "since horses can walk as soon as they are born, and babies can't even hold their heads and bodies up, wouldn't it be a horse body running with the baby torso just flopping around crazily?" Its a good visual xDD
When horses were first domesticated, people who never saw a person on a horse thought, seeing them from a distance, that the person and horse were one being. Head-on and from afar, the fusion of human and horse appears very real, exacerbating superstitions.
probably not a diaper bag-maybe she carries food or whatever
Load More Replies...So a centaur mother would be able to nurse from her human torso breasts and her horse body teats?
Gotta wonder how their intenral organs are arranged. The have the full torsos of both a human and a horse...
I love that that he made the "parent" Centaur a mother. The Narnia movie "The Lion, the Witch & the Wardrobe" was one of the first I had ever seen with female Centaurs. And they were JUST as badass as the males!
Myconid Sporeling
Lizardfolk Whelp
Don't they live inside the hollow earth when they are not pretending to be the facebook guy :D
Oh come on, everyone knows Zuckerburg is an android.
Load More Replies...Tatzelwurm Kit
The name "Tatzelwurm" sounds German, although I never heard of it. Google says it is a myth of the Alps region, which might explain it, I grew up too far north.
Load More Replies...Griffin Hatchlings
I bet if you saw Arachne as a child, you'd be saying something else
Load More Replies...Harpy Child
Well considering ancient depictions were a bird's body with only a female head and exposed breasts these are pretty accurate. And the ancient ones are super creepy. (For a modern lookalik, reference the nightmare fuel that is Oocoo from LOZ Twilight Princess. Looks like that!)
Load More Replies...adorable, but should not be able to fly yet. It takes time to develop the flight muscles, and adult feathers. This little tyke should still be in baby fuzz.
I hate to be "That person, but it says child. But a cute little harpy baby is nice to think about! :)
Load More Replies...Beithir Hatchling
give me 99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999 of them
give me 3u6343463767373eerraooud 3766473647346876876499999999999999999
You know you have to cut a dead snake in half to get the egg? Yes, I read the book that comes from.
Cocktrice
now don't look into that fella's eye no matter how cute he is, because one glance will kill you
Hound Archon Pup
Peryton Hinulus
You know that the baby casts the shadow of a certain human and has to eat that person's heart?
Tarasque Hatchling
My D&D party actually killed one I think the guys are still cooking it’s meat like three months later
Load More Replies...I like how this is based on the French myth version, not the D&D version.
Yes, it's cool to see the original monster (though it should have a human visage)
Load More Replies...it is; just based on the original monster. The Tarasque is a french monster that, in the myth, lived near the town of Tarascon in France. If you search Tarasque from Tarascon on the net you should find drawings and statues. (I actually lived in Tarascon so it's fun finding drawings of the tarasque)
Load More Replies...Tarrasques are only 1 to a world and are immortal.... you wouldnt have 2 in the picture
Actually the Tarasque (from the drawing) is the mythical dragon that terrorized the town of Tarascon in France, and it was killed in the stories so it is not immortal.
Load More Replies...Gargoyle Mouldling
Pegasus Foal
Former brony here. Pegasi have wings, unicorns have horns, alicorns have both.
Load More Replies...#BabyCharmander How do you know that??? Where can I find information like that??? Seriously I really want to know what original myths says!
@Nicholas Stone Thank you for a serious answer. I am trying to assemble a list just for me and just for fun over mythical creatures.
Load More Replies...Androsphynx & Gynosphynx
just think of your toddler being part cat, anytime they want you or attention they push things off tables until you pay attention to them while crying hysterically
Djinayni
You can. That one is angry, and when they're angry, they turn into wind.
Those are from these books and are for games like Pathfinder and D&D. These two books are used for making a character that can care for monstrous creatures PSX_202008...d76c93.jpg
What a great collection, I really wouldn’t Be able to pick just one!
Displacer Beast
Awww, displacer kittens are so cute, but difficult to pet. And mind the tentacles!
Yikes, I mis-read that as testicles. 😬
Load More Replies...That dragonfly is in for some very confusing and hectic last moments.
Wolpertinger Kit
Flying bun buns! Or a flying jackelope? Who cares. Bet they do great bunny binkys.
Pseudodragon Wyrmling
Lightning Lizardlings
these remind me of velociraptors with way less feathers
Hippocamp & Merfolk
Balrog Emberling
Shambling Tuffet
Beholder
Naga Hatchling
Because it isn't a lizard. Nagas have human upper body characteristics. But still weird because lizards are reptilian and humans are mammalian.....
Load More Replies...Manticore
I never thought that some monsters could be so darn cute! I'd love to have at least one of each! Absolutely fantastic art
Stunning! The attention to detail, the colors, the lighting, the textures--all of these are just teeming with fantastical magic and whimsy! I wish I could take a few of these baby beasties home
The artist (Rudy Siswanto) apparently works already for ages for Hasbro, illustrating nonetheless than Magic: The Gathering's cards. More than possible that works also on Dungeons & Dragons. Surely he's no newbie and these pictures show well his experienced talent.
Load More Replies...Great work. The posing really brings out the fact that these are children. Top rate job here
As a D&D player, it was fun to see what my favorite monsters would look like as a baby ;)!
I never thought that some monsters could be so darn cute! I'd love to have at least one of each! Absolutely fantastic art
Stunning! The attention to detail, the colors, the lighting, the textures--all of these are just teeming with fantastical magic and whimsy! I wish I could take a few of these baby beasties home
The artist (Rudy Siswanto) apparently works already for ages for Hasbro, illustrating nonetheless than Magic: The Gathering's cards. More than possible that works also on Dungeons & Dragons. Surely he's no newbie and these pictures show well his experienced talent.
Load More Replies...Great work. The posing really brings out the fact that these are children. Top rate job here
As a D&D player, it was fun to see what my favorite monsters would look like as a baby ;)!
