#eagle and mask

[all-action-all-picture]

Eagle and MASK No. 362, dated 25 February 1989. Storm Force cover by Vanyo. Treasury of British Comics | The Dan Dare Corporation.

[yantarnii]

the epic canvas i did for a Miraculous AU Zine

here are some closeup pages and the references. i LOVE the idea of using Naoko Takeuchi’s old manga style for Ladybug fanarts, it suits SO WELL ✨

[shiftythrifting]

A trans anti anarchy gay eagle whos wearing a mask and loves freedom??? A walmart brand?? In meridian goodwill, Idaho.

[thecryofthegulls]

On Elwing's Bird Forms

In the educated opinion of me, a slightly wine-drunk semi-professional seabird specialist with a Tolkien hyperfixation, procrastinating from a work presentation I should be preparing let's gooooo.

Too many people think of Elwing in the form of a random bird thing, when there are so many interesting species!

First, the source text (emphasis by me):

"... they told that Elros and Elrond were taken captive, but Elwing with the Silmaril upon her breast had cast herself into the sea. Thus Maedhros and Maglor gained not the jewel; but it was not lost. For Ulmo bore up Elwing out of the waves, and he gave her the likeness of a great white bird, and upon her breast there shone as a star the Silmaril, as she flew over the water to seek Ëarendil her beloved. On a time of night Ëarendil at the helm of his ship saw her come towards him, as a white cloud exceeding swift beneath the moon, as a star over the sea moving in strange course, a pale flame on wings of storm. And it is sung that she fell from the air upon the timbers of Vingilot, in a swoon, nigh unto death for the urgency of her speed, and Ëarendil took her to his bosom; but in the morning with marvelling eyes he beheld his wife in her own form beside him with her hair upon his face, and she slept."

"On those journeys Elwing did not go, for she might not endure the cold and the pathless voids, and she loved rather the earth and the sweet winds that blow on sea and hill. Therefore there was built for her a white tower northward upon the borders of the Sundering Seas; and thither at times all the sea-birds of the earth repaired. And it is said that Elwing learned the tongues of birds, who herself had once worn their shape; and they taught her the craft of flight, and her wings were of white and silver-grey. And at times, when Ëarendil returning drew near again to Arda, she would fly to meet him, even as she had flown long ago, when she was rescued from the sea. Then the far-sighted among the Elves that dwelt in the Lonely Isle would see her like a white bird, shining, rose-stained in the sunset, as she soared in joy to greet the coming of Vingilot to haven."

The Silmarillion CHAPTER 24 OF THE VOYAGE OF EARENDIL AND THE WAR OF WRATH

Mute Swan (Cygnus olor)

Right out of the gate, a swan is a popular choice for Elwing. Makes sense, they are beautiful, regal birds with a graceful baring on the water. There is a strong association between mute swans and England, they are indeed an old world bird and as part of Tolkien's worldview as oak trees. They are also vicious and brave defenders of their young. A tough bird, symbol of the Teleri Elwing's elven clan. However, not the best for Elwing. They are not sea birds, and while powerful fliers, do not fly particularly high or far. Mute swans are heavy, needing a lengthy run on the water to take off with a clacking of their wings. Not the ideal shape to fly across the ocean undetected to find your mariner husband, or meet said husband in the morning sky when he comes back from being a star.

Dalmatian Pelican (Pelecanus crispus)

No, not a Great White Pelican, but a Dalmatian Pelican. More silvery than its pale African cousin, the Dalmatian Pelican has the advantage of being present in more Mediterranean climes, which might be representative of what Sirion was like (thank you @outofangband). Pretty much the largest freshwater bird, this choice for Elwing suffers the same problem as the mute swan. Not a sea bird, doesn't really do long-distance flights. Though I could imagine this large silvery-grey bird being mistaken for a cloud in the night, and you KNOW that the Silmaril is tucked nice and safe in that big pouch!

Wandering Albatross (Diomedea exulans)

Now that's a sea bird! Another popular choice for Elwing, this graceful soaring beauty is essentially the biggest flying bird in the world by wingspan, with a sweeping 11 feet/3.5 meters. The older they are, the whiter they become, with only bit of dark plumage on the wing tips and tail. The wandering albatross is the textbook example of a great white bird. Albatross adore storms, and can use strong (storm) wings to carry them over vast distances very quickly. They nest on steep hills, because they need the sweet winds to give them lift to take off. All in all, like the others above, large enough to carry a Silmaril without affecting flight capabilities. Though I really can't imagine Ëarendil cradling an albatross to his bosom, long wings flopping down on both sides of him. (Elros and Elrond are definitely albatross chicks muppets, as per @swanmaids' point).

Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla)

A gull! Yes, of course, but which gull? There are 54 gull species, and so many of them are herring gulls. But for Elwing? Ulmo would transform her into a Black-legged Kittiwake. A graceful, almost dove-like gull, Kittiwakes are bright white with wings topped in silver-grey. They fly like they are playing in the wind, and spend most of their lives at sea. Gorgeous sea bird. Ëarendil would hug. Am I biased because I love them? Maybe.

Ross's Gull (Rhodostethia rosea)

You want a more white and daintier gull? I was going to write about the Ivory Gull (Pagophila eburnea) but if we are going with a rare Arctic species, there are many good things about the Ross's Gull. I mean look at it! White and silver-grey with a rosy blush like it is continuously bathed in sunset, a black collar like Elwing is still wearing the memory of the Nauglamír. I also prefer to go with Ross's gull because every time I have seen an ivory gull in the wild it was slightly blood-stained (they feed off polar bear kills) which has very unfortunate implications in Elwing's case really...

But really, if you want a pure-white dove that actually goes sea for your Elwing imagery, go with ivory gull instead!

Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii)

Terns are gorgeous sea birds with impressive flight capacity, and pack an absolutely ridiculous amount of fight and spite in 100 g. I have a scar on the top of my head from a tern chasing me off a beach where it was nesting. That beak sure pinches. Roseate Tern are particularly pretty, and if you subscribed to raven-haired Elwing, that cap is an excellent match. The adults also gain a pink sunset stain on their underparts, so you get that poetic match again. Terns would absolutely yell at Manwë, and probably have.

Northern Gannet (Morus bassanus)

Now if you think Elwing was pale-haired and blue-eyed, a Northern Gannet would be more for you. Northern Gannets are sea birds of great size, swift and fearless. They quite literally launch themselves into the sea. They are powerful enough fliers to evoke thoughts of storm-wings and clouds under moon. Gannets also follow boats, which works nicely with the imagery of bird-Elwing meeting Vingilot.

White-tailed Tropicbird (Phaethon lepturus)

Look at this beautiful thing, is she not fitting of a daughter of Dior, of Lúthien's line? I hope I see one for real one day. These long-tailed sea birds are excellent, graceful in flight, easy to see at a distance due to their tail. More active in the morning and in the evening, more to catch the morning and evening star. White-tailed Tropicbirds also come in a spectacular 'golden' variety. Absolutely fitting for someone named Star-Spray.

Snow Petrel (Pagodroma nivea)

When I first read the Silmarillion years ago, and I read "... as a white cloud exceeding swift beneath the moon, as a star over the sea moving in strange course, a pale flame on wings of storm" I immediately imagined a glowing white creature that I eventually witness in real life: the gloriously beautiful snow petrel. And while Elwing might not endure the cold and pathless void like a snow petrel would around Antarctica, I think she would revel in the shining feathers, the swift, fleet wings, and, as a feature of being a petrel, the tube nose that would allow her to smell and find Ëarendil anywhere at sea or in the sky. They soar with such joy. Perfect hold-to-your-bosom sized. Snow petrels are one of my favourite sea birds, and you should know more about them!

Like how they have the most hilarious defence mechanism:

...

Rock Ptarmigan (Lagopus muta)

No absolutely not.

[palaeosinensis]

This was the last full costume I ever made (at the last con I ever attended pre pandemic) and I’m still damn proud of him. Party on Ixataca.

I still have occasional fantasies about building costumes & selling them off but it’s always so far down my to-do lists.

[explorermoo]

Color Sketch #3 - Xia

July sketch reward for Puff of his character, Xia! Thank you so much for the support! Want to get a sketch as well? Check out my Ko-Fi Memberships! And check out a timelapse of this sketch here!

Posted using PostyBirb

[least-sexy-man-competition]

TINGLE VS WARREN THE EAGLE

ROUND 2 SIDE B

REMEMBER TO VOTE FOR WHO YOU THINK IS MORE SEXY! THE LOSER WILL MOVE ON!

[na-bird-of-the-day]

As promised, here are some photos from the national aviary in Pittsburgh! Saw lots of wonderful birds there.

I also took a boat tour up in Maine and saw lots of Atlantic puffins! I also saw some razorbills, common eiders, common loons, Wilson's storm-petrels, an Arctic tern, and a black guillemot. And plenty of gulls of course!

[timegears-moved]

i've been complaing about how dirty revali has been done but man daruk was done even dirtier

[all-action-all-picture]

Eagle and MASK No. 361, dated 18 February 1989. MASK cover by Carlos Pino. Treasury of British Comics | The Dan Dare Corporation.

[unproduciblesmackdown]

spontaneous dig for marble hornets gamers from this decade < ago event, i guess aptly everyone seemed pretty elusive in the limited documentation but they were ready for "sickos show up for their sick little mask purchases" it seems

[a-very-tired-raven]

droppin this here too. this is my character for a campaign ill be in soon, and i thought you guys would wanna see her too!

[covid-conscious-and-silly]

my header image will not position itself properly on mobile, ugh 🫠

[leaveharmony]

Robbie’s extremely good-spirited reaction to Wild Hips getting a “BEER BEER BEER!  OI OI OI!” chant going

[palaeosinensis]

I absolutely LOOOOVE your bird rain god costume, and as someone who’d love to make a full bird suit for my own personal god, it filled me with such inspiration!!! I’d love if you went into a little detail (doesn’t have to be a lot, but if you could spare the time i’d really appreciate it) on making it! You don’t have to of course tho. Maybe just some info about the materials and techniques you used to make it. I don’t know very much at all about physical crafts, so any advice would really help!

Also, if it would be too difficult to dive into the details of making the rain god suit, if you could show pictures of any other costumes (pieces or full ones), I’d appreciate that instead!

The mask itself is made off of one of my own patterns and is done in EVA foam (like cosplayers use) with acrylic paint over it. Plus some fabric for the hood/to cover the neck. You can find those here: https://www.paleopanthera.com/masks The wings are a modified version of one of Bazteki's patterns; they're originally the wings that belong to the cardburd project. I made mine from a combination of flag nylon, fiberglass rods, and paint. I believe the cardburd project is free but I'm sure Bazteki would appreciate if you tossed a tip their way. :) You can find the cardburd project here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1D6cfO46HajsM1a76vGq9vmQ5vPHE3Uo8YOdwZ1DxzPc/edit The tail is just a 2D flag fabric cutout supported by spare eva foam and fiberglass rods. It has two belt loops on it. The rest of the costume is just whatever you feel like wearing; I'm just in a black shirt, black jeans, and boots there.

[bobcat-pie]

no one cared who i was until i put on the mask