Another Inktober challenge has begun and the first ten days have already passed! My theme this year is Cryptids, Beasts and Legends! Cryptozoology is the study of animals not proven by science for example bigfoot, the loch ness monster and the Jersey devil to name a few. These creatures have always fascinated me as well as the beasts you hear about in mythology from different cultures. I thought inktober would be a great way to create a collection of different beasts and cryptids.

I am representing each creature on one long drawing to show the size comparison between an average size human and these magical beasts! I have been wanting to do an inktober where all of my sketches are on one sheet of paper and this will be my first attempt at it. Although, this is going to get quite long so I will have to piece it together with multiple sheets of paper! This could get crazy!

On the scale, each mark represents 1 foot. The human silhouette I have drawn for scale stands between 5-6 feet. As you can see, some of these beasts are quite intimidating with their size.

Every year, I follow the official Inktober prompt list. I tried to stick to the prompts as best as I could! Some of them I had to stretch a little but it works! Let me give you a rundown of the beasts that stand before you…

1. Dream – Baku is a creature from Japanese mythology who eats dreams. With the head of an elephant, body of a bear, paws of a tiger and the eye of a rhino, Baku will eat your nightmares when you call upon him. But use caution when summoning him, if his hunger is not satisfied them he may devour your hopes and dreams as well!
2. Spiders – J’ba Fofi is a giant spider believed to live in the Congo. It has legs that span 3-5 ft. long.
3. Path – I chose Ghost for this prompt because you never know when a ghost might cross your path!
4. Dodge – Hogzilla is the name given to abnormally large wild hogs that people encounter in the wilderness. Some say they reach up to 12 ft long but so far these claims cannot be proven. If a wild hog is threatened by you, they will charge. If you do not dodge their attack, you will get gored with tusks up to 12 in. long.
5. Map – Sasquatch is one of the most famous cryptids. One reason they are so widely known is because they have been sighted all over the map.
6. Golden – Cigau (chee-gow) is a golden lion with a silvery mane said to inhabit Sumatra, a large island of Indonesia.
7. Drip – The Squonk is a Pennsylvanian cryptid that has a piggy nose and excess skin covered in warts and blemishes. This poor beast is always crying because it knows how ugly it is. As it’s tears drip down, it leaves a trail you can follow to find it.
8. Toad – The Loveland Frogman is a cryptid in Loveland, Ohio that has had sightings from 1950 until the most recent one in 2016. Witnesses report seeing a 4 ft. tall frog that walks on it’s hind legs. Not a toad but close enough.
9. Bounce – Rubberado is a porcupine-like creature that is so rubbery, it bounces to where it needs to go. It is said to inhabit deserts in the USA and was last encountered in the early 1900’s.
10. Fortune – It’s no secret that Leprechauns love fortune and always have some gold stashed away. Some believe these Irish fairys truly exist and travel through the forests hopping dimensions from our realm to the fairy realm.

Which creature is your favorite so far? Do you have a tale to tell about any of the beasts listed? Share your story in the comments below! Check back next week for Inktober 2023 – Part 2! Thanks for stopping by today!

Keep your eyes peeled, free spirits!