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MoonbowDragon — Mythical Creatures Challenge- Thunderbird
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Published: 2016-07-01 03:12:56 +0000 UTC; Views: 1773; Favourites: 24; Downloads: 2
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Mythical Creatures Challenge #20: ThunderbirdI'll finish this later. I was catching up on previous drawings.
Edit: Done. This is probably one of my most researched mythical creature. As awesome as it is to draw a mythical creature from Native American culture, the hardest part is figuring out what the bird looks like. From researching, I learned that the Thunderbird is a divine giant bird and that it's so large, it could carry a killer whale in its claws, it shoots lightning out of it's eyes and beak, and it causes thunder every time it flap its wings. Like dragons being present in many cultures, the Thunderbird was present in many Native American tribes as oppose to just one group. The Thunderbird has a lot of meaning in varying groups, the main ones being war, power, nature, victory, the sun, and obviously thunderstorms . Unfortunately, that doesn't tell me much on WHAT it looks like besides a giant bird.
Picking up bits here and there from more researching, I find that the Thunderbird resembles somewhat like a bald eagle, with a second face sometimes depicted on its chest and teeth in it's beak. So I work from there and colored the Thunderbird based on Native American totem poles. I also tried to incorporate their symbol for lightning which is the zigzag. Since in one group, it's said that morning sun rises with the Thunderbird, I drew a morning storm for the background.
50 Mythical Creatures Challenge50 Mythical Creatures Challenge
Challenge made by: :iconhopeakorento:, :icontankero: and :iconagina:
1. Dragon
2. Centaur
3. Chimera
4. Hippogriff
5. Gryphon
6. Pegasus
7. Unicorn
8. Cherub
9. Elf
10. Fairy
11. Mermaid/Merman
12. Werewolf
13. Phoenix
14. Troll
15. Basilisk
16. Boogeyman
17. Vampire
18. Nymph
19. Hydra
20. Thunderbird
21. Quetzalcoatl (Feathered Serpent)
22. Kraken
23. Sleipnir
24. Kelpie
25. Rainbow serpent
26. Witch/Wizard
27. Faun
28. Ghost
29. Demon
30. Repo (Fox who creates the Aurora Borealis)
31. Angel
32. Naga
33. Salamander
34. Swan of the Underworld
35. Ent
36. Dryad
37. Sphinx
38. Mountain troll
39. Nine Tails
40. Snow Queen
41. Minotaur
42. Yeti
43. Cyclope
44. Harpy
45. Medusa
46. Satyre
47. Zombie
48. Valkyrie
49. Water Sprite
50. Grim This is part of the Mythical Creature Challenge.
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Comments: 17
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This is utterly gorgeous!! I love the way you drew the wings and the colors on the entire eagle are perfect interpretation of the colors used on totems! Also the face on the chest is soooo creepy!! It matches the whole idea of a bird bringing thunderstorms which is something that scares a great amount of people! I really like the way you did the clouds with the thunders on this drawing, however the colors on the clouds should be a little darker so that the thunders could pop out and draw the attention!
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Thanks! I enjoyed drawing the clouds, it was fun. I'll do darker clouds next time for to contrast the bright light of thunder and lightning.
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hey nice bird nice thunder
try playing more darker / bright color when a flash effect involved
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I'll try that out. Thank you.
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Again, this is probably one of the coolest-looking monsters I've seen. So this is the original thunderbird, eh? I guess if you ever did see one in real life it sure would put the fear of God into you, especially if it were really that big. My favourite part is the little "face" in its plumage - it looks pretty occult and imposing.
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Thanks. It would be terrifying to see this bird in real life since it's supposed to be HUGE. The face is from totem poles, so it can be imposing. 
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Love the wings a LOT. I love the lightning effect even more, that's so cool! One thing is maybe make the sky darker? Or you can depict their powers by making the sky bright, implying that there is no storm yet lightning is present.
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I'll keep it in mind to draw darker for stuff like storm clouds. I think this problem is consistent when I draw with color pencils. I'm glad that the wings looks attractive and the lightning looks awesome.
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Colour pencils can be tricky to use, but judging from your artwork, you have the potential!
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Truthfully, the first time i saw this picture, i actually thought this was a Garuda xD But i have also never heard of a thunderbird. But i really love the design with the black clouds in the background. It looks kind of epic :3
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I looked up Garuda. He's one of the gods from Hindu Mythology, right. I don't see the resemblance that much, so could you tell me how you see the resemblance?
Also, I hadn't heard of the Thunderbird either until I looked it up myself. I'm glad the design looks good.
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I dunno, i only know two giant bird creatures and these are the garuda and the roc, so, i think this is why i thought this was a garuda ^^"
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yeah the phoenix is indeed another mythological bird figure but usually phoenixs are red with fiery colours. at least in my head
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Yes, they usually are. 
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