I’m going to do something different for this post of WW. I’m going to post AI-created portraits of randomly generated Narnian monarchs using StarryAI. (Starry-Eyed, get it?) These monarchs are intended to be used in Narnian fanfics, but they could be used in any work of fantasy fiction as well. First, Queen Thuma of the …
In this post I’ll talk about how Lewis wrote his fauns and satyrs, which are not the most child-friendly of mythological beasts. Are you ready? Because everything you think you know about them is wrong. First of all, the original satyrs of Greek myth did not have goat legs, horns, and tails. Those were attributes …
This post is dedicated to Janelle Shane, who sparked my interest in AI learning. Now we’ll move out of the realm of the human artist and look at what art-creating AI engines can come up with. These engines work with a text prompt like “Fox in a field of flowers” or “Volcano erupting over …
Sometimes Jadis can’t catch a break. Take this artist’s depiction for a Portugese language version of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. Not only is she dressed in a sackcloth shift, but she’s a hag, with pointy nose, deep frown lines, and gray hair. Well, actually all of her is grayish-blue. She’s staring intently …
In this post I’ll present depictions of Jadis that are my personal favorites and catch something of her character. First, take the above. I doubt it’s meant to be Jadis, and the Gothic church background, with pews, is all wrong, but that costume is something, and so is the blank but dreadful look in her …
Aslan, the God figure in the Chronicles of Narnia series, is but one of a long line of powerful sacred, mythological, or supernatural lion creatures. And no wonder. Lions are apex predators, golden as the sun in color, and the males have a kingly mane. Tigers may be larger and more eye-catching, but they lack …
Some new images of Jadis I found, this post concentrating on more graphic and comic depictions. First, this Joker-faced, sneering White Witch who is glamorous but creepy. Another cartoon Jadis, this one better-looking and imperious rather than maniacal. She reminds of Yzma in The Emperor’s New Groove. A simple but very effective Jadis by Liliribs, …
Previous parts of the series can be read here (Part I) and here (Part II) Ever wonder why The Lady of the Green Kirtle — also known as The Green Witch — seems to have little sprigs of greenery decorating her gown and hair in Pauline Baynes’ illustrations of her? Well, it’s because of this. …
The Lion lies in his lair in the perpendicular face of a low cliff—for he is carved from the living rock of the cliff. His size is colossal, his attitude is noble. His head is bowed, the broken spear is sticking in his shoulder, his protecting paw rests upon the lilies of France. Vines hang …
As I said in my post about traditional artistic depictions of chimerae there was little doubt to the creature’s appearance, which remained iconic over hundreds of years. The written descriptions, however, differed in the particulars. Artists of the Medieval age and beyond, depending on which writer they had access to, created different beasts from the …