Unlike the more unfavourable way goblins are described and depicted, I wanted to take a different approach to the design - but why are goblins ugly?
As a Hob is considered one of the more friendlier types of goblin i made the decision to alter the archetype of the goblin; his appearance is softer and more so ‘charming’, while he has human-like hands and feet the shape of his nose, ears and legs are more similar to a goats.
This was prompted by an interesting piece of research I came across about Faery Animals. Faery Animals or Fae Animals are accounted as usually animals that fae folk are familiar with or in some cases will transform into. This can range from a variety of animals where in Folk Tales both fae and goblins alike may be seen around deer or farm livestock like chickens and goats.
While goats have popped up in various Fairy Tales what connects goats to fae and folklore is unknown - it could be ties with pagan imagery, their ability to roam moorland freely or the light spring in their step that makes it look like their dancing but the concept of goats and faeries has been documented as part of folklore across Britain through hearsay, books and paintings.
“Goats in Wales are held in peculiar esteem for their supposed occult intellectual powers. They are believed to be on very good terms with the Tylwyth Teg, and possessed of more knowledge than their appearance indicates. It is one of the peculiarities of the Tylwyth Teg that every Friday night they comb the goats’ beards to make them decent for Sunday.”
British Goblins: Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions, Wirt Sikes, 1880
One thing I wished to add was the goat having flowers woven into its beard and hair by the Hob and Faeries - which I was able to demonstrate with the concept sketch on the right. When it came to looking at what type of flower to use it through my research of faeries and goats is when I discovered a flower known as ‘Goats Beard’.
Aruncus dioicus also known as ‘goat's beard” or ‘fairy hair” were introduced to England through cultivation in the 17th Century as a popular garden flower for cottages and later spread into the wild where it can be found in the woodland or near rivers.
One of the interesting things i found myself doing when looking up plants was delving into not only the naming of plants but who named them and how they did it, which led me to discovering Carl Linnaeus and the Linnaean taxonomy, a form of biological classification for plants, animals and minerals.
Reference Library:
Below is a collection of images found and saved that inspired and influenced these concepts - my main objective was to search for images of goats, goats decorated in flowers, hair brushes used in the 1800s and images of goats beard flowers at a distance and close up so i could get the details of the individual flowers on a stem.
Research Reference:
https://britishfairies.wordpress.com/2017/06/09/al-on-snowe-white-stedes-fairy-animals/
https://britishfairies.wordpress.com/2016/09/19/faery-goats/
https://www.terriwindling.com/blog/2014/12/the-folklore-of-goats.html
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/34704/34704-h/34704-h.htm
https://www.brc.ac.uk/plantatlas/plant/aruncus-dioicus
http://www.plantsoftheworldonline.org/taxon/urn:lsid:ipni.org:names:20973-2
https://cutflowers.ces.ncsu.edu/welcome/brief-history-of-specialty-cut-flower-production/
https://www.thoughtco.com/about-carolus-linnaeus-1224834
https://www.britannica.com/science/taxonomy/The-Linnaean-system
https://sercblog.si.edu/the-dark-side-of-taxonomy-part-one/
https://www.doaks.org/resources/online-exhibits/botany-of-empire/linnaean-names
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