Friendship, deals and murder.

Scary title, eh? All that for this:

Levity somewhat aside, I must apologize for the image as my drawing and my photography thereof can really only go so far. In my mind Grendel is far more than a simply humanoid monster. He isn't even a perversion of humanity in the sense of Tolkien's orcs [or whichever is which], but really he is a grotesque human. He has lived on the outskirts of humanity, feasting on the self-pity and hate and jealousy that created him, or defiled his lineage, to the point where he chose to refuse the standard signs of humanity. He wears no clothing and does not speak in words. His bones are more solid than twenty men together [good thing Beowulf is strong as thirty, right?], and he has not stopped growing and changing [much like a lizard, ew]. His skin has hardened and toughened from this miserable life to the point where he is more of a pallid fleshy granite. While ridiculously strong [ripping folks asunder and all that], he isn't all body-builder but lithe and still thin from a sick sort of malnutrition. His hands and feet, the strongest points of his skin yet, are calloused to the point of being unfeeling beyond the knowledge of grasping a victim. As you can see I did choose to accentuate both the hands and the feet but also the rib-cage...I don't know why that is part of it, but it is.

I am the least happy with his face and head--not abnormally sized or shaped, just lacking color and general expression. You can see he is frowning [perhaps in thought as he wonders which part to munch first], but I don't imagine him drooling or screaming at all times. Grendel is a representative of pure isolation and antisocial ways and is thereby unable to be content or happy and, therefore in my mind, has become a sort of sullen anger at all times. A profoundly sad rage.

Not that I really have any pity. I just don't think the opposite of good humour and fellowship is anger. I think it is misery and that is why he acts [he hears them partying and gets a little p-oed] as he does.

Make sense? Sorry the text, my favored medium, isn't wholly aesthetically pleasing or coherent. I figured it was good to get this out before I forgot again and someone [coughbrandoncough] threw a hissy fit.

Anyway, this is my Grendel...as crummy as it may be.

--Leslie

[Cross posted at Box of Chaos. In reference to this post at PoKR.]