January MOTM: Strange lantern bearer concept sketch + design commentary // sfw

from the start, as i entered 'strange lantern bearer' as a poll option, i had an idea of what kind of vibe i wanted to go with for this monster. naturally, i wanted them to look strange, as it says on the tin, and i was imagining layers of cloth, a hood and/or veil that obscured their face, a kind of skulking posture, a thin, outstretched hand that grasped their lantern. i wanted them to see mysterious and odd, without necessarily beeing creepy--a bit unsettling, maybe, a bit whisplike and frail and fleeting in their presence. i loved the idea of long layers of cloaks or capes or skirts draping behind them and fanning out on the floor, with a kind of weird and mildly insectoid leg poking out the slit at the front.

and then, on the post where i'm asking what kind of monsters you folks want to see in future MOTM polls, Kiltia Valendia suggested "moth and butterfly monsters." and i realised that ... hey, a kind of moth aesthetic would actually be perfect for the lantern bearer. moths and light and all that. all the scattered ideas i had came together under the banner of mothyness.

that said, i'm not sure if this guy *is* a moth or if he 'only' has a mothlike aesthetic. in the concept sketch, he had four arms and two legs that look kind of insectoid, and he has the mothy neck fluff--but i envision the neck fluff more as a piece of clothing, a fur collar. in the same vein he doesn't have wings, but his cloaks and skirts mimic moth wings in their pattern and colour. as i was sketching the painting i had the idea of giving him even more limbs--insect-like 'pokers' springing from his torso and hips and back, and something like hand-like pedipalps poking out from under his hood. i'm thinking that either he's a shapeshifter, whose wings and other moth features translate into clothing when he takes on the form pictured above--or he's a Something Else, who has a moth aesthetic due to his association with lanterns and with light in the darkness. 

i'm leaning towards the latter, to be honest. i think it hints at an interesting narrative, if that makes sense? it makes me imagine this strange creature who walks around at dusk and night and dawn with their little lantern, a stray wavering light on dark roads and fields and hills, surrounded by fluttering moths. perhaps the moths are his eyes and ears, they watch and listen for him, and after they return to whisper and murmur about what they've observed they get some well-deserved rest in his sleeves or fur collar. what he's watching and listening for? who knows. you can't really tell if he's leading the way for others, or if he himself is lost. and nobody knows where he goes during the day.

i wanted to keep his face entirely hidden, sort of adding to the mystery, hence the hood and the veil. it's the second month in a row i've drawn a veiled monster with a vague face, i know, but hey... i'm in a veily mood. the many layers of clothing are made up of semi-transparent and very thin fabrics, the material resembling the infinite amount of soft scales on moth and butterfly wings; it shimmers faintly in the moonlight as he flutters past the pale trunks of birch trees or hurries across a silver meadow. 

the more i think about it, the more he's giving me northern europe folklore vibes. he'd fit right in with elven maidens in pale dresses dancing in the moonlight, luring mortals to join until they drop dead from exhaustion, or with the beautiful but deadly water spirits you can glimpse between summer-green leaves, reflected in the mirrorlike surface of their lake or their music intermingling with the rushing waters of their brook. not to mention will-o-the-wisps, although this lantern bearer doesn't share their tendencies to lure humans into treacherous bogs.

i don't know how he met his human, and if they've shared many nights together or just the one. but either way i figured it was about time i drew a smol monster with a beefy human lover. you know me, i love size difference, but i usually pair a big monster with a small human, simply because that's an aesthetic and dynamic that i'm personally very into. but for me as an artist, one of the best things about my monster of the month designs and artwork is that it's a great opportunity to branch out and draw more diverse things. 

// art + character © me.