Time For Tea!

Valravn

More valravn art

I love my boy so much, valravn is my favorite coaster and uhh oc? Also I did the cat trend to draw this!! :3333

I thought I had a pretty good grasp on what the mythical creature valravn from Danish folklore is but after diving deeper it’s more versatile than expected.

The version I was originally told is that a valravn (means “war raven” or more precisely “raven of the fallen” as in fallen people on the battlefield) is a normal raven that gained human intelligence by eating the flesh or brain of dead people after a battle. With the gift of intelligence also came the curse of only being able to fly at night. The only way to gain the ability to move around in daylight was to eat the heart of a young boy. Then the valravn would be able to turn into either a human or a raven/wolf beast and go wherever it wanted whenever it pleased.

But in the most well known song about valravens they’re all human men who were turned into ravens by either a witch or a female troll. A women was told her husband could only turn back if he drank her blood so she asks another valravn for help. It agrees in exchange for the life of her first son as soon as he has spoken his first three words, suggesting an infant would be too young.

In yet another version the valravn is a human who cannibalised dead people on the battlefield and turned into a raven or a human/raven/wolf monster that could only travel at night but would continue the cannibalism until it ate a young boy at which point it would be able to turn back to a human form.

So take your pick. You want a weird creepy raven that has decided it wants to be a human? Or a tragic story of someone who can only turn back by hurting their beloved? Or perhaps a wendigo style creature who became a monster after committing the taboo of cannibalism? Or maybe a mix? Because clearly Danish people in the past weren’t too worried about the valravn canon. The only generally agreed on lore is that they’re always male, can only travel at night and they eat humans or drink human blood to reach their final form or be cured.

(via https://open.spotify.com/track/2loywdohHndA0tCK9416HT?si=032ME3qhTU_UPgXSJ7K9_A)

Valravn having a sneaky chat

The Valravn breaks out

Animation Practice! I have not done real animation until the beginning of this year and it’s only been a few logo animations before my shoulder gave out. Now I’m more or less back and had this wild need to try and draw part of Zephyr’s transformation.

And guys.. I had FUN! oh my god this was a ton of fun! Kinda just did it all by gut feeling but I’m really proud of the outcome!

You will also see that as much as the darkness has you trapped within it’s veil, it too is trapped within yours.

Take flight on bladed wings and gloriously cleave through the world’s deception

Drew some griff heads

Top: Hippogriff and Gryphon

Bottom: Valravn and Owlbear

- I gave all the caniform griffs turkey vulture noses for the sense of smell. Owlbears and valravns can track down prey or carcasses from miles away.

- Griffs have fins. The fin down their neck is used for cooling off or social signaling. In griffs that pack or pair hunt the fins are bright red. For griffs that live in colder climates the fins are often reduced and able to fold under the feathers.

- Owlbears are flightless. Their wings evolved into sharp defensive spurs.

- Owlbears are also primarily nocturnal. Gryphons are diurnal hunters. Both hippogriffs and valravn tend to be more active at dawn/dusk.

The Crow King

Print: https://pauhami.bigcartel.com/product/the-crow-kings-bride