Stay Frosty

thank you for holding your horsies. now check this horsie out. almost burst into tears drawing this. felt like I was part of something. hi humanity!!!!!! let's make art together!

Ever since the game came out I saw a bunch of mixed reactions to the final evolution of my starter but the main ones I saw were

"Woah! That's so cool!!" (Chicano/Mexican)

and

"What the fuck is that." (Not Chicano/Mexican)

And upon looking at the multiple wiki pages on Skeledirge came to realize that not everyone understood exactly what they are and the design inspiration behind it so I decided to break it down!

The obvious one of course is the Calavera aka Sugar Skull, after evolving into a Ghost Type Skeledirge’s face changes to white with colorful markings. This is heavily inspired by Dia De Los Muertos and the custom of Sugar Skulls!

Something that by now I’m sure most people are familiar with

Next is Mariachi!!

Mexico is known for music, getting noise complaints, and of course the ever iconic Mariachis!

Its most prevalent in the pre evolution with the sombrero visually wise however in the final evolution Skeledirge stands on their hindlegs and the bird turns into a microphone

1. That is sick as hell

2. It ties in well with the theme of performers in the Paldean line up

This part might be a stretch but I personally believe that this Skeledrige was also inspired specifically by Vicente Fernández, an iconic Mexican singer whose song as recently as the world cup still echoes through our consciousness despite his passing

X

Vicente had iconic dark sideburns, a style many Mexican men wore and as Vicente aged it turned white and of course baldness took over as well and left him with a even more iconic look and I cant help but see the similarities

Last and less obviously is that if you really look you can see that Skelegridge is a car. More specifically a Low Rider

Low Riders were popularized in Mexican-American communities and specifically in Chicano Culture during a separate era of racism and oppression

In fact, the reach of Chicano Low Rider car modifications eventually even reached Japan, and they too have a cultural appreciation for Chicanos

x, x, x

To really solidify the design, Skeleridge has a car ornament, his bird at the tip of his snout/hood and his tail resembles that of an exhaust pipe

Below Zero: Radoslav Sviretsov’s Otherworldly Glacial Photography

Bulgarian photographer and architect Radoslav Sviretsov takes us deep into the frozen heart of Iceland in his striking series Below Zero. Shot inside glacial caves and icy canyons, the images reveal a world sculpted by time and pressure, with walls of deep blue ice that twist like glass, tunnels glowing with refracted light, and climbers dwarfed by monumental frozen forms.

1) Figured this out.