100 Gods/Goddesses Challenge

Number 99. Erzulie 

"In Haitian Vodou or Vodou, Erzulie  is a family of lwa, or spirits. Erzulie Fréda Dahomey, the Rada aspect of Erzulie, is the spirit of love, beauty, jewelry, dancing, luxury, and flowers. She wears three wedding rings, one for each husband - Damballa, Agwe and Ogoun. Her symbol is a heart, her colours are pink, blue, white and gold, and her favourite sacrifices include jewellery, perfume, sweet cakes and liqueurs. Coquettish and very fond of beauty and finery, Erzulie Freda is femininity and compassion embodied, yet she also has a darker side; she is seen as jealous and spoiled and within some vodoun circles is considered to be lazy. When she mounts a serviteur she flirts with all the men, and treats all the women as rivals."

this is just a quick announcement! you may (or may have not) noticed that I didn't update last friday (and probably won't be able to tomorrow) that's because I got a job! (baby's first job haha) I still need to get used to it so this blog will be on hiatus until some time next week, I will have to manage my time a little bit better so hopefully I'll be able to keep with the updates regularly from next week on.

Number 6. Thor

"In Norse mythology, Thor is a hammer-wielding god associated with thunder, lightning, storms, oak trees, strength, the protection of mankind, and also hallowing, healing and fertility. Thor bears at least fourteen names, is the husband of the golden-haired goddess Sif, is the lover of the jötunn Járnsaxa, and is generally described as fierce-eyed, red-haired and red-bearded. The same sources list Thor as the son of the god Odin and the personified earth, Fjörgn. He wields the mountain-crushing hammer, Mjölnir, wears the belt Megingjörð and the iron gloves Járngreipr, and owns the staff Gríðarvölr. Thor's exploits, including his relentless slaughter of his foes and fierce battles with the monstrous serpent Jörmungandr and their foretold mutual deaths during the events of Ragnarök are recorded throughout sources for Norse mythology."

Number 66. Ganesha

"Although he is known by many attributes, Ganesha's elephant head makes him easy to identify.Ganesha is widely revered as the remover of obstacles, the patron of arts and sciences and the deva of intellect and wisdom. As the god of beginnings, he is honoured at the start of rituals and ceremonies. Ganesha is also invoked as patron of letters and learning during writing sessions."

Number 59. Thoth

"Was considered one of the most important deities of the Egyptian pantheon. In art, he was often depicted as a man with the head of an ibis or a baboon, animals sacred to him. Thoth is almost always shown holding a Was (a wand or rod symbolizing power) in one hand and an Ankh (the key of the Nile symbolizing life) in the other hand. Thoth played many vital and prominent roles in Egyptian mythology, such as maintaining the universe, and being one of the two deities (the other being Ma'at) who stood on either side of Ra's boat. In the later history of ancient Egypt, Thoth became heavily associated with the arbitration of godly disputes,the arts of magic, the system of writing, the development of science and the judgment of the dead."

  Number 56. Sekhmet

"In Egyptian mythology, Sekhmet or Sachmis  was originally the warrior goddess as well as goddess of healing for Upper Egypt. She is depicted as a lioness, the fiercest hunter known to the Egyptians. It was said that her breath formed the desert. She was seen as the protector of the pharaohs and led them in warfare. Sekhmet also is a Solar deity, sometimes called the daughter of the sun god Ra and often associated with the goddesses Hathor and Bast. She bears the Solar disk and the uraeus which associates her with Wadjet and royalty. In order to placate Sekhmet's wrath, her priestesses performed a ritual before a different statue of the goddess on each day of the year. This practice resulted in many images of the goddess being preserved. Most of her statuettes were rigidly crafted and do not exhibit any expression of movements or dynamism; this design was made to make them last a long time rather than to express any form of functions or actions she is associated with. It is estimated that more than seven hundred statues of Sekhmet once stood in one funerary temple alone, that of Amenhotep III, on the west bank of the Nile. She was envisioned as a fierce lioness, and in art, was depicted as such, or as a woman with the head of a lioness, who was dressed in red, the colour of blood. Sometimes the dress she wears exhibits a rosetta pattern over each breast, an ancient leonine motif, which can be traced to observation of the shoulder-knot hairs on lions."

 So Sekhmet is a total badass deity and I could fangirl about her for hours, sadly the best I can do with a project like this (trying to keep the pace and everything) is to copy-paste enough info about her so you can have an idea of the story behind this powerfull and amazing goddess (I know tumblr makes it looks humungus but believe me, it's not! and the info is super interesting!)

Number 29. Ares

"Ares is the Greek god of war. He is one of the Twelve Olympians, and the son of Zeus and Hera. In Greek literature, he often represents the physical or violent and untamed aspect of war, in contrast to the armored Athena, whose functions as a goddess of intelligence include military strategy and generalship.The Greeks were ambivalent toward Ares: although he embodied the physical valor necessary for success in war, he was a dangerous force, "overwhelming, insatiable in battle, destructive, and man-slaughtering." Fear (Phobos) and Terror(Deimos) were yoked to his battle chariot. In the Iliad, his father Zeus tells him that he is the god most hateful to him. An association with Ares endows places and objects with a savage, dangerous, or militarized quality."

Number 78. Amaterasu

"She is the japanese goddess of the sun, but also of the universe. She became the ruler of the sun and the heavens along with her brother, Tsukuyomi, the god of the moon and ruler of the night. According to legend, Amaterasu bequeathed to her descendant Ninigi the mirror, Yata no Kagami; the jewel, Yasakani no Magatama, and the sword, Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi. This sacred mirror, jewel, and sword collectively became the three Imperial Regalia of Japan."

Number 31. Hephaestus

"The Greek god of blacksmiths,craftsmen, artisans, sculptors, metals, 

metallurgy, fire and volcanoes. As a smithing god, Hephaestus made all the weapons of the gods in Olympus. Hephaestus'symbols are a smith's hammer, anvil, and a pair of tongs."

Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to post the very first thing I create in a new program with a new computer, in a different drawing position that I'm not used to and trying to recreate a style that isn't mine...excuses excuses haha

I've been reading the dr. slump manga lately and I thought it would be fun to try out something similar to Akira Toriyama's style, cuz let's be honest here, Hephaestus isn't the most exciting deity out there and I needed a little bit more motivation; tho, poor thing, this dude has had it hard in life:

* his mother rejects him because of the deformity of his legs and throws him out of olympus.

*his wife cheats on him with his own brother (and others)

*described as lame and weak.

Number 61. Vishnu

"The all-pervading essence of all beings, the master of—and beyond—the past, present and future, the creator and destroyer of all existences, one who supports, preserves, sustains and governs the universe and originates and develops all elements within. Vishnu is usually described as having the divine blue color of water-filled clouds and as having four arms.He is depicted as holding a padma (lotus flower) in the lower left hand, a unique type of mace used in warfare known as a Kaumodaki gada in the lower right hand, a Panchajanya shankha (conch) in the upper left hand and a discus weapon Sudarshana Chakra in the upper right hand. Vishnu is also described in the Bhagavad Gita as having a 'Universal Form' (Vishvaroopa or Viraata Purusha) which is beyond the ordinary limits of human perception or imagination."

My main objective with this work was to try something a bit different with the lineart and see how good I'm with details; I like the loseness and "scratchiness" (?) of my lines and I'm pretty OK with the result.