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naraoia.bsky.social
The Cambrian Mammal
@naraoia.bsky.social
690 followers 300 following 18K posts
Use #AltText.

Spoilery! ( #TheWheelOfTime, #StarWars, Cosmere etc)

Nerd by nature, biologist by training, corporate cog by necessity. Martial art student, weekend Viking, tinkerer with worlds.

#WotSkies founding member

Pfp @bymemo.bsky.social
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naraoia.bsky.social
Speaking of Scotland, spotted today at Castle Sands, St Andrews...
A long rectangular tidal pool set among seaweed-covered ridges of rock coming off a beach that's mostly out of frame. There are people in speedos and bikinis in the pool. It's November and the sun is almost down.
November 16, 2025 at 3:37 PM
naraoia.bsky.social
#WoTtober 29: love. If you know, you know.

#WoTskies #TheWheelOfTime #art
Black ink drawing of a small falcon perched on a branch among clusters of apple blossoms
October 29, 2025 at 8:37 PM
naraoia.bsky.social
#WoTtober 26: delving features two of my absolute *favourite* things to draw! Hands AND black backgrounds! (The things I make myself do for WoTtober...)

Who needs X-rays when you have the Power, amirite?

#WoTSkies #TheWheelOfTime #art
Black ink drawing of a hand splayed out on a black background. A loose braid of flows of the One Power approaches the hand from the thumb side, then expands across the back of the hand to reveal part of its skeleton including a broken metacarpal.
October 26, 2025 at 11:45 PM
naraoia.bsky.social
Yeah, the "infinite staircase" version of this didn't work out because apparently measuring things is a problem for me😅

Anyway, I've livened up the Sneks and Foxes chapter icon with a bit of impossible geometry and silliness for #WoTtober 25: Sindhol

#WoTSkies #TheWheelOfTime #art
A play on the Snakes and Foxes chapter icon from The Wheel of Time. In this version, a fox and a snake chase a human in a wide-brimmed hat around a Penrose triangle. The Penrose triangle is an optical illusion that looks like someone put together three bars with a square cross section in such a way that they all meet at right angles but also form a triangle (which is impossible in normal 3-dimensional space). This is achieved by taking a regular triangle, cutting off the corners, and dividing the rest into three interlocking L shapes that are here shaded white, black and grey to give an illusion of a 3-dimensional object. In this case, a small black human silhouette is running down the white bit on the inside of the right side of the triangle, chased by a human-sized black fox silhouette that's about to turn the corner from the other leg of the white L along the top. The human is holding on to their hat while running. A white snake slithers up the grey bit on the left, turning towards the fleeing human with mouth open. There are small triangles at each corner of the Penrose triangle, coloured the same as the L shape anticlockwise from them. (The original icon is a white triangle standing on its tip, the top two corners cut off and replaced by small black triangles. A black snake that has a fox head on its tail end undulates up the middle of the main triangle.)
October 25, 2025 at 9:59 PM
naraoia.bsky.social
I'm keeping #WoTtober 24: thirteen at the idea stage because a 2" square is really not the right format for it. Also I'm knackered. But I want the concept out there!

13 is not always a sinister number in WoT. In TPoD:30, for example, it's downright awesome!

#WoTSkies #TheWheelOfTime #art
A tiny, very sketchy pencil doodle of five people on horseback looking through an enormous gateway. One of them carries a banner. The ends of the portal are way out of frame. Through it, we look onto a flat landscape that runs into a band of forest, and beyond that, a city on a hill is just visible. From the top of the hill, a huge tower rises into low-hanging clouds. (Picture all of this as mostly drawn in vaguely suggestive squiggles, lol.)
October 24, 2025 at 11:23 PM
naraoia.bsky.social
#WoTtober 23: innkeeper. Never trust a skinny one!

(Lol, this one *really* did not scan straight.)

#WoTSkies #TheWheelOfTime #art
Black ink drawing of a fat man's torso, wearing a white apron over a sloppily laced shirt. His neck, head and legs are out of frame. One of his hands rests against the side of his belly; the other holds a small tray bearing a bottle and two simple cups. In the bottom right corner, at the fellow's hip, a bit of a belt and a cloth tucked behind it can be glimpsed.
October 23, 2025 at 11:17 PM
naraoia.bsky.social
#WoTtober 22: brave is a tribute to a "cowardly" lioness 😄 (Inspired by TFoH:49 in case you wondered)

#WoTSkies #TheWheelOfTime #art
Black ink drawing of two rings hanging from a thick cord over a v-shaped neckline decorated with flowers. One of the rings is very thick and twisted like a Möbius strip - the dream ter'angreal ring as depicted in Wheel of Time chapter icons. The other is a signet ring inscribed with a crane in flight, its long neck and legs stretched out.
October 22, 2025 at 10:44 PM
naraoia.bsky.social
I hate hands. I hate shading. Why on earth did I think attempting *this* at 1 in the morning was a good idea? 😂

Anyway, here's #WoTtober 21: Windfinder.

#WoTSkies #TheWheelOfTime #art
Ink drawing (more of a sketch, really) of a dark, slender hand with tattoos of waves, birds and and stars across the back. The hand is held up with fingers half extended, flows of the One Power curling around palm and fingers.
October 22, 2025 at 12:44 AM
naraoia.bsky.social
I really didn't know what to do for the last few, but this was an easy one. For #WoTtober 20: Shara, we have the only thing most Randlanders know about it. Of course, most Randlanders don't know *how* silk is made, but this would make a great icon for *us*, right 😜?

#WotSkies #TheWheelOfTime #art
Black ink drawing of a mulberry leaf and fruit, with a silkworm munching on the leaf. The leaf is oval with a pointed tip and serrated edges. The silkworm, a long pale caterpillar with a humped thorax, has chewed a semicircle out of its edge near the tip, and is happily carrying on with its meal. The fruit looks like a messy white raspberry.
October 20, 2025 at 3:40 PM
naraoia.bsky.social
#WoTtober 16: arrow. Spider warning! (And also a TFoH:34 level IYKYK)

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#WotSkies #TheWheelOfTime #art
Black ink drawing of a white (or perhaps silver?) arrow piercing through the fat abdomen of a huge black spider. On a black background, of course.
October 17, 2025 at 12:24 AM
naraoia.bsky.social
#WoTtober 15: pattern.

This got *significantly* pared down between the idea stage (at which point a pattern was being woven *around* the dragon) and the final product because such is the reality of a 2" drawing 😆

#WoTSkies #TheWheelOfTime #art
Black ink drawing of a play on Rand's dragon chapter icon in the Wheel of Time. The dragon still has a long undulating body, four limbs and a mane, but the original's sinuous curves have been turned into straight lines and (mostly) right angles like its resolution is too low for smooth curves. Its head points towards the top, and a black and white key pattern border runs up on either side of it. At the bottom, the borders and the dragon's tail all vanish into many fine, gently diverging lines, the warp threads of a partly woven textile.
October 15, 2025 at 11:09 PM
naraoia.bsky.social
Back on my bullshit with a simple, blessedly black background-free one for #WoTtober 14: symbol. Tai'shar Malkier!

#WoTSkies #TheWheelOfTime #art
Black ink drawing showing part of a stylised human face: eyebrows, closed eyes, a forehead and some hair represented by parallel wavy lines. In the middle of the forehead is a large red dot.
October 15, 2025 at 12:11 AM
naraoia.bsky.social
Subway does baked potatoes now?
A Deliveroo thumbnail for Subway, advertising "your sub on a spud" with pictures of two baked potatoes piled with toppings. One looks like a meatball marinara, I'm not sure what the other is.
October 13, 2025 at 2:43 PM
naraoia.bsky.social
#WoTtober 12: damane.

Very vague #WoTSpoilers for Winter's Heart/Crossroads of Twilight.

We all know the whole concept of damane is awful. So I'm gonna celebrate those who break free.

(This also doubles as a Sea Folk appreciation post)

#WoTSkies #TheWheelOfTime #art
Black ink drawing of a stylised ocean wave cresting and about to crash down over an open a'dam collar. The background and the water are all black. The collar is a simple, wide metal band, hinged open in the middle, one half poking up above the water and one half sinking into it. There's a trailing bit of leash that also disappears beneath the surface; the bracelet on its other end has already sunk. Aside from being depicted in its open state, the a'dam is copied from an actual Wheel of Time chapter icon.
October 12, 2025 at 8:48 PM
naraoia.bsky.social
I gave in to temptation and raided Socktopus today. I was good and only got six pairs. Happy almost-birthday to me 😄

(@fernrenee.bsky.social is a bad/good influence. Also, @mellowhale.bsky.social, there were whale socks of at least three different species!)
Six pairs of brand new socks with the labels still on them. They have various meaningful, pretty or whimsical designs: 1. Progress Pride flag (this one supports LGBTQ+ charities) 2. Morning toad. A fat grey/blue toad holding a hot beverage under a blazing orange sun. Text between sun and toad says "rise and shine, bitches". The feet of the socks are almost black with grey/blue and orange plant motifs scattered around them, and heel and toe bits the colour of the toad. 3. Whales! Dark blue socks with lighter blue heels, toes and top, and whales in various blues and greys swimming around on the dark background. Species uncertain but they all look like rorquals. 4. Another dark-blue ocean-themed pair, but with frothing waves above the ankle. 5. Light grey socks with white heels, and hedgehogs looking adorable in various poses. 6. Teal socks with golden heels, and pufferfish in various states of inflation. One of the fully inflated fishies has a red pump attached to its mouth.
October 12, 2025 at 4:23 PM
naraoia.bsky.social
Back to the chapter icon theme for #WoTtober 11: music. It wouldn't be WoT without inns, and what self-respecting inn doesn't have someone playing a bittern to entertain patrons?

(A bittern sounds like a kind of zither. I loosely based this one on Hungarian examples)

#WoTSkies #TheWheelOfTime #art
Black ink drawing featuring a zither-like instrument drawn just off the diagonal. It's shaped like an elongated rectangle with a curved bulge on the bottom third of one long side, and two small steps on the same side, above the bulge. It has twelve strings, and rising sun motifs at the top end as well as smaller ones on the steps. In addition to the bittern, there is also a slatted wooden tankard and a small round loaf of bread in the top right corner, and a large grape vine leaf in the bottom left, covering a little bit of the bittern.
October 11, 2025 at 9:00 PM
naraoia.bsky.social
#WoTtober 10: torm. I'm knackered tonight, and also, I hate scales, so quick semi-realistic lizard kitty doodle it is. Mmm, dear viewer, you look tasty 😋

(Referenced from @animalphotorefs.bsky.social's photo of a leopard licking its chops.)

#WoTSkies #TheWheelOfTime #art
Quick black ink drawing of a scaly cat-like creature with three eyes staring right at you while it licks its muzzle. A pair of lower fangs is visible. Its shoulders, upper arms and chest are roughly outlined, indicating a sitting posture with its head lowered and slightly off-centre. The creature resembles a big cat in general shape, but its ears are tiny bumps, it has a third eye in the middle of its forehead, and it's scaly instead of furry. The body has been left blank, scales only indicated on the creature's face: larger vaguely oval or rectangular ones on the top of the muzzle, around the eyes and along the lips, and tiny pebbly scales drawn very sketchily elsewhere. There's also a small scale crest rising from its forehead.
October 10, 2025 at 11:49 PM
naraoia.bsky.social
I love those socks.

Also... do we own the exact same boots? 👀
A black leather knee-high boot held upright by a hand. It's a slim, elegant design, with lacing up the front and a zip on the inside.
October 10, 2025 at 1:22 PM
naraoia.bsky.social
#WoTtober 9: hills. Yes, I went for the low-hanging fruit. With this prompt, in this fandom, what did you expect me to do? 🤪

#WoTSkies #TheWheelOfTime #art
Black ink drawing in the style of Elissa Mitchell's iconic Wheel of Time maps. There's a pair of large, suspiciously rounded hills, loosely shaded with hatching. They're labelled "Hills" in the WoT maps' calligraphic lettering. Below them is the edge of a body of water, its shore chonkily outlined and finely hatched/stippled like in a map, its waters dotted with little waves. Alternatively, you may be looking down at a stylised pair of respectable-sized boobs, with the bottom of a veil hanging into the picture.
October 9, 2025 at 11:55 PM
naraoia.bsky.social
#AltText attempts
Pieces of a miniature diorama. There's a bit of rocky terrain including a cliff, sitting in a glass jar. There's also a box full of conical trees, various bags of dust and fluff in shades of green and brown, and a giant stone hand holding a crystal sphere, surrounded by scaffolding, currently lying loose beside the box and jar. A light-skinned hand holding up the giant hand (actually baby hand-sized) with its crystal sphere. The cliff from the in-progress diorama on its own, sitting on top of the jar that contains the round base. It has an irregular shape and all kinds of exciting texture, cracks and strata tilted various ways, and a few bits of yellow or green fluff representing vegetation growing on ledges. The scaffolding that would go around the giant hand in the diorama. It's reddish brown, obviously meant to be made of sturdy wooden beams. The hand with its crystal sphere lies in the background.
October 8, 2025 at 9:18 PM
naraoia.bsky.social
#AltText attempts
An in-progress miniature diorama of a giant hand holding an equally big crystal sphere, sticking up out of the ground beside a rugged cliff dotted with the odd patch of vegetation. There's scaffolding around the base of the hand. The diorama from the previous photo in a glass jar. Coniferous-looking trees have been added to the top of the cliff and the foreground in front of the giant hand. The same diorama, seen from above. This view shows that the cliff occupies about half the area, with the hand and its giant crystal sphere near the middle of the circular diorama. Side view of the same diorama through the wall of the jar, focusing on the hand and the crystal sphere and better showing the brown scaffolding. The sphere reflects the whole thing upside down, which looks kinda cool.
October 8, 2025 at 9:09 PM
naraoia.bsky.social
#AltText attempt:
Painting of a river running down a bed of grey rocks through lush forest, all rendered in a soft impressionistic style. An unseen sun shines on the tops of the trees, creating vivid yellow-green highlights against the shadowed greenery. The water is the bright turquoise of a crystal clear mountain river. It runs from top left to bottom right, where a woman wearing a thin shift floats downstream, head towards the bottom right corner. Sparks of light surround her. Her long dark braid snakes under the surface, and her arms are raised in a loose, relaxed position beside her head. She's looking at the sky.
October 8, 2025 at 8:56 PM
naraoia.bsky.social
I'll delete this if you don't like it, but here's what I came up with for this drawing. Use, delete, nuke from orbit as you please 🙂
Drawing of Rand weaving rain in the Aiel Waste, seen from above. Rand is a tiny red-headed figure at the centre of a powerful whirlpool of tainted saidin. Bright red and yellow threads of the One Power weave through corruption like thick black smoke. White raindrops fall down the whirlpool towards Rand. This is all against an abstract backdrop of desert beiges.
October 8, 2025 at 8:25 PM
naraoia.bsky.social
#WoTtober 8: library. A happy little drawing in honour of everyone's favourite (literally) giant geek and walking library, Loial 🤎

#WoTSkies #TheWheelOfTime #art
Black ink drawing of a pocket bulging with books. The flap is open - there's no way it would close with all those books in there!
October 8, 2025 at 7:43 PM
naraoia.bsky.social
#WoTtober 7: rain. We'll file this under "cool concept, needed more work" 😆 (Read the alt if you can't figure it out)

(My spoiler policy for these is mostly "if you know you know" because most are so abstract. In this case, it's a LoC to TPoD level IYKYK.)

#WoTSkies #TheWheelOfTime #art
Black ink drawing with a shallow bowl decorated on the inside with stylised swirls of cloud at the bottom. Rain streaks from the clouds towards the centre of the bowl, from where the streaks rise into a shaft of light that connects to larger cloud swirls at the top of the image. Those clouds are also dropping diagonal streaks of rain, though they only come a short way down before disappearing into the black background.
October 7, 2025 at 11:22 PM