YoinkTober 2024!

[thegreyarea]

Wow! Excellent works here!!! As usual!

I'll comment later, 'cause now I just have time to drop mine for day 14 - Buried Statue.

NEWS FROM THE SILENT WORLD

TROLL STATUE FOUND AT COPENHAGEN PORT!

Professor Mickelson from Bornholm University, that can be seen giving a thumb up on the picture,
sent us the most recent finding from their Copenhagen expedition, a surprising troll statue found buried
in the sands next to the old port. His team considers that it's from the beginning of the second century.
This statue depicts a troll that developed a long tail, akin to a fish tail, a lot like some trolls detected on
Finnish lakes. However on this one the upper part shows a female body with no visible deformations.
Professor Mickelson believes that this, together with it's contemplative pose and proximity to water,
suggests that some group of survivors used the statue as an attempt to appease the water beasts
and protect fishermen when they risked their lives on the sea.

[thegreyarea]

One more!

This one for day 1, "overgrown ruins". I couldn't resist!

FURTHER ADVENTURES ON THE SILENT WORLD: GOING SOUTH

BTW the original background is a picture of Paris' abandoned railway, from Urbex at Pinterest. (https://www.pinterest.com/pin/urbex-what-lies-below--344032859025890094/)
I'd love to see our team in Paris...

Sigrun and Emil came from adv. 1, page 540 (when they were happily blowing things up)

[Mirasol]

Hi Grey, great edit and drawing! There´s some real cool overgrown places in this world.


13: underwater temple

Well, sometimes underwater.
This prompt led me down a nice research rabbit hole on underwater caves, archaeological sites and purposefully flooded places. And as I got ready to draw, a youtuber I follow dropped a video essay on the sunken landmass Doggerland, which was a funny coincidence.

But this is lake Bezid in Romania. A village was flooded to create a water reservoir. But some highpoints, like the churchtower, are still visible, sometimes more, depending on how much water is currently in the reservoir.

[thegreyarea]

Hi! Thanks Mirasol! Your drawing is lovely! Would some troll take residence on the tower?

We actually have a few drowned villages sleeping inside dams in Portugal and Spain

This one is in Spain, close to Portugal: https://ominho.pt/mais-imagens-mostram-aldeia-submersa-que-emergiu-no-rio-lima/
And here a few more images: https://www.idealista.pt/news/ferias/turismo/2022/02/16/50999-as-aldeias-ibericas-submersas-que-estao-a-reaparecer-com-a-seca

Doggerland is a fascinating topic. So much land, and maybe so much history, under water... I even considered writing a story about it, but it seems I'd have to live up to 200 y to write everything that I'd like...

Now, here's my take on day 2 - Nature Untouched.

NEWS FROM THE SILENT WORLD

UNTOUCHED NATURE SPOT FOUND
IN THE AMAZONIAN FOREST!

Professor Mickelson's expedition, sponsored by Bornholm University, sent us this amazing picture of Mount Roraima,
one of several isolated plateaus standing around 1000m above the South American rainforest.
The expedition comprises two airships, "Lalli" and "Emil", named after the famous duo of explorers from the first century.
The picture, taken from Emil's bridge, shows an outstanding view of the plateau with its many waterfalls and Lalli already landed.
Professor Mickelson's team reports that Nature on these inaccesible plateaus remain untouched by the rash,
allowing the survival of many species believed to be extinct.
They plan to raise funds for setting a permanent scientific base there.

BTW the picture of Mount Roraima is real. I mean, this is not some fantasy scene created with AI. Those waterfalls are really there. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Roraima

Sources:
original Mount Roraima picture:
https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2F2ygqhvcdb0o61.jpg%3Fwidth%3D1080%26crop%3Dsmart%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3D03ac8e1c55e5d9a81a3c5c722a8ff3cbc858424d&rdt=63461
original airship picture:
https://imgc.artprintimages.com/img/print/stocktrek-images-uss-macon-airship-flying-over-new-york-city_u-l-q12stcb0.jpg?background=F3F3F3
original airship interior:
https://thinkboxproduction.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/AirShip_Interior_progress_bloom.jpg

[Jitter]

Great drawings and combos os drawing and photo. Prof Mickelson is a great explorer, which century does he live in?

A propos Doggerland, if you like detective stories you may enjoy the Doggerland sesier by Swedish crime author Maria Adolfsson. In her books Doggerland didn’t disappear entirely but is an island nation which clearly is Nordic but has some Britishness in it too. And the characters and stories are good! It’s not horrible Nordic Noir, but not cozy crime either. I enjoy them but then I mostly read crime nowadays.

[thegreyarea]

Thanks Jitter! I must find those Doggerland stories!

Mickelson lives in the fourth century post-Rash, and is Mikkel's descendant  (so, in my own canon, Sigrun's descendant too  ).
I have a few ideas for stories with this "indiana Jones" of mine... And yes, that's why he has the hat 

Here's my take on day 3 - Ancient Tree, this time with a (sort of) short story...

NEWS FROM THE SILENT WORLD

YGGDRASIL FOUND?

Well-known explorer, professor Mickelson, claims the discovery of what would be, without a doubt, the World's largest tree.
Anyone that looks at the massive trunk towering over the professor in the picture will surely agree.
The explorer from Bornholm goes as far as considering that this enormous specimen could be the legendary Yggdrasil:

"We got out of the woods and suddenly that absurd, unbelievable tree was just ahead.
We stood still and silent there for a while. There were no words to describe it.
Tall as a mountain, it made the pines on its base look like grass. No tree can be that big!
But we felt no fear, no. Actually it radiated a sensation of... well being,
a peaceful feeling that filled us simply from looking at it.
I couldn´t think on anything else but Yggdrasil, connecting our world with the cosmos.
We were very tired, and there was a small river to cross to reach the tree,
so we decided to set our camp, rest and wait for the next morning.
I never slept so well, not even at home.
However, when morning came, the tree wasn't there anymore.
There was just a low, flat-top hill, and normal-sized trees.
If we didn't have a few pictures I would think it was just a strange, collective illusion.
But I know what I've seen, and I believe that we... surprised a tree... no, a being,
that human eyes are not supposed to see.
People ask me if we are going back there, to see if we can find it again.
I say it's useless. We saw it because humans were absent for centuries after the Rash, and it got... lazy?
But now it knows we are back, and I'm very sure that no matter how much we search, we won't find it."

I was inspired by Dmeck's story, and decided to play with the idea. The tree base is the hill called "Devil's Tower", in Wyoming, USA, famously featured on Steven Spielberg's "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". The picture I used is a still from the movie. Here's a picture for those that don't know it: https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1c80b7x/devils_tower_in_wyoming_usa/

The tree trunk is from wikipedia: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Acero_%28Acer_Platanoides%29_visto_dal_basso,_Milano_Italia_scuola_Manara.jpg

So I just had to put them together, add a few clouds and Mickelson's hat

[Mirasol]

Oooh, thanks for the links, Grey, fascinating stuff! And I´m enjoying Indiana JoneSSSS professor Mikkelson´s adventures a lot!

And thanks for the book-recommendations, Jitter! I don´t read a lot of crime-books, but I´ll keep an eye out for these.


14: Buried Statue(s)

Hm. I drew this picture, because I think the statue in question looks so cool with the snow on it, but I couldn´t find any information on the statue itself, not even with reverse image search. I know it´s not AI-generated because it was taken in 2019, but still...
I´m sorry, I really should have made sure I knew who´s the original artist and what their intention with this artwork was before I started drawing.




15: Market Place

"I know!", I thought at 10pm last night, "drawing a human-sized market-place will take too long, I´ll just draw one for smaller creatures, it´ll be so much faster!"
Well. by 2am I was eating my words.
Anyways, enjoy this picture puzzle, taking a page from Grey´s book:

Welcome, welcome, one and all, to our annual autumn-market !
(This year and tonight only held in the second shelf to the right at the back of the basement)
Still looking for some real special delicacies to fill your storage for the winter with?
Well you´re in luck!
The humans just restocked with the freshest produce and finest wines and cheeses*.
So for one night, and one night only, find all the delicious goods your heart desires (and some entertainment for the little ones while you shop) HERE!
Just remember our motto: Everything that isn´t gone by sunrise is gone forever**!
Please take a bag (tissue) or a basket (shot glass) on your way in, and mind the stairs.

*all items have not been stored for more than one year, guaranteed
**this includes you, esteemed, customers! We are not liable for anyone who gets caught by the humans because you leave too late.
 

[wavewright62]

These are a delight!

[thegreyarea]

Seconding Wave here, Mira! Those are delightful! I love the statue (is it made of wood?), and the contrast with the snow.
And I can totally understand your feelling about trying to make it a bit easier... and somehow it ends being way harder. I've been there, many times 
Your drawing is fantastic, and I'd like to order some cheese, please

I've got some things to finish, but hopefully will be able to add a few more things later. Prof. Mickelson sends his best wishes to everyone that enjoys his crazy adventures serious scientific research.

[Jitter]

Reynir checked his gear. Warm clothing, paint, lantern, rope, food and water. All set. Now there was only one obstacle.

“Seriously, Onni, I have to go. Why are you so worried?”

Onni was anxiously hovering at the cave entrance.

“Well, it is a lava tube. I don’t know much about your volcanoes, but I do know lava is dangerous! You can’t go into a lava tube!”

“Itäs an ancient lava tube! It hasn’t been even warm for a thousand years!”

“But you said yourself, there is no way to know for sure that a volcano doesn’t wake up at any given moment! What if…”

“Why must you worry so much? Nothing’s going to happen to me! And in any case, I am a mage! Don’t be afraid.”

“I am NOT afraid, but someone might mistake you for my student! And a student is the responsibility of the teacher. So, I must make sure you don’t endanger yourself.”

“Mistake? How do you mean? You promised to be my teacher!”

“I have promised no such thing!”

“Are you going back on your word? Just because you are afraid of an old lava tube?”

“You are not my student. I merely promised to help you learn.”

“Wouldn’t that make… never mind. I’m going in now.”

“Why do you have to go anyways? What are you expecting to find? Lost treasure? Buried statues? Old World supplies?”

“On the contrary! In there the earth is young, and when I go deep enough, it will be a place no human has ever seen. Nature untouched!”

“A cave of nothing but rock and ice is hardly nature!”

“You told me yourself that the spirits of each land are particular to that land. This is Iceland, the land of ice and fire. Lava and ice are very much nature here. You know that.”

“Stupid Iceland… don’t you dare fall, I won’t come to get you if you get stuck or hurt!”

“Don’t worry! I’m sure Lalli will! Bye now!” With that, Reynir jumped into the circular cave, leaving Onni huffing and puffing and not worrying at all.

[Jitter]

That is one whopping tree, Grey! Do any squirrels live in it by any chance?

Mirasol, I love the mouse market The statue is beautiful, but the little guys are adorable  Hopefully they don't take all the supplies for squirrel cookies, though!

[Mirasol]

Grey, based on the photo, I´m pretty sure the statue is made of metal.
I´ll admit I didn´t manage to completely match the color. ^^'

Jitter, three prompts in one! I wonder what Reynir finds down there.

I´m glad you all like the mouse-market, I love drawing picture puzzles!


16: Merchant´s Store

This year´s first (perhaps only, we´ll see) witch-character! Complete with her flying store selling potions and poison (and all that Jazz ).
I´m not super-sure where the theme-combination 1920s and axolotls came from in my head...

(rules I set myself for these mini-character-challenges are as follows: I must design an original character with a witch hat and a staff, and only color it with 3 markers, 1-2 additional effect-markers are okay too. If I´ve used the exact marker-combination before for a witch-character, it´s off-limits.)

Here my inspiration for the dress and the car.