Mythical Creatures Postcard Book

First Misfits, then Menagerie followed by Magic. Now Mythical Creatures is the fourth limited edition postcard book by Girls Who Draw. Only 1000 copies have been printed and the publication has a new, larger format, with each book containing 24 postcards featuring a new line-up of 12 female illustrators from around the UK.

Each illustrator has created two original postcard designs based on the theme of Mythical Creatures. There are 22 different characters from myths, legends and folklore as well as some characters which have been created especially for the book.

The Mythical Creatures book cover is unmistakably the work of Kristyna Baczynski. It has all the characteristics of her unique style; beautiful hand drawn lettering combined with illustration and pattern. She has decorated the cover with a selection of icons which give clues to some of the Mythical Creatures inside and the tales with which they are associated. As well as Kristyna, other new contributors to Girls Who Draw are Esther Mcmanus, Lee May Foster-Wilson, Mina Braun and Sandra Dieckmann. There are also plenty of familiar names including Beth Morrison, Currentstate (aka Jane Anderson), Gemma Correll, Karoline Rerrie, Kate Hindley, Ruth Green and Yee Ting Kuit. The illustrators are joined by an array of weird and wonderful creatures including a flying fox, a wear-wolf, bigfoot, a gnome and a unicorn, some trolls, several sirins, a selkie and a kelpie, a firebird, Pegasus and a mermaid, to name but a few.

As well as including a variety of characters Mythical Creatures has been curated to encompass a wide range of illustrative styles from paintings to intricate drawings and from screen prints to digitally created images. The contributors also have different areas of expertise including children's books, graphic novels, greetings cards, printmaking and design. Many have been brought together through participating in self-publishing fairs and events, and through creating their own fanzines, artists' books, comics and graphic novels. But all of the illustrators involved in Mythical Creatures design, make and sell their own range of products be it stationery, prints, textiles, jewellery or even ceramics.

Over the last few years Girls Who Draw has grown from a small group of illustrators to a larger network of contributors. They collaborate in order to publish a postcard book once a year and each new book is accompanied by an exhibition. Alongside the Mythical Creatures postcard book there will be at least one exhibition as well as a number of smaller spin off projects and collaborations.