Manchester MCM Expo Update

Just a quick post to say we'll be at the Manchester MCM Expo in Manchester Central all this weekend! We'll be at table CB15 (wherever that is) in the "Comic Village" section.

As usual, you'll be able to buy a selection of postcards & prints, and I'll be selling some comics, too. Swing by if you're in the area and say hi!

Deepspawn

This was a blind challenge given to me by Joe.

I'd like to say challenge failed. It was bound to happen.

Which is a shame because this creature has a couple of interesting things going for it. It's essentially a big fat body with three tentacles, three claws and three open eyes (an undisclosed number of them being closed). So far, so aberrationy. But the interesting this about this particular monster is that its capable of creating a copy of any creature that it eats. This creature is completely loyal to it. Its lair is riddled with these monsters.

Which means that it's a good way for a DM to steal someone's character. Oh dang, you got eaten by this monster. Oh wait, your character's back, but he's my character now too bad.

The image that I've made is supposed to be inspired by two things: the female reproductive system and the Key of Solomon, a book about demon summoning accompanied by lots of really nice sigils. The first part is an idea I was proud of coming up with, but disappointed I couldn't rended it as well as I could. The monster is pretty much this bizarre sentient devouring womb. But I couldn't make that into an illustration I could be happy with so I copped out and went for something simpler instead.

The Latin was fun, though.

Glimmerskin

"Glimmerskin" is the name given to peculiar entities known, on occasion, to venture to our plane from that of positive energy. Little is known of their origin or behaviour, except that they seem inexplicably drawn to sites of conflict and violence on the material plane. Being incorporeal and thus unable to participate in the destruction they crave, they have been known to conduct semi-formal symbiotic "bondings" with earthly creatures (typically warmongers, or those who experience violence on a daily basis).

When thus contracted, the Glimmerskin encapsulates the "host" in a veil of light, often taking the appearance of a glowing cloak, or a radiant set of armor. The bond is willingly made - in exchange for sating the creature's appetite for blood, the host is bestowed with a portion of the Glimmerskin's magical positive energy - empowering his attacks and bolstering his defence. The Glimmerskin itself exerts no control over its partner, merely communicating its wishes telepathically; after all, it is more than capable of "jumping" to another host if the current one isn't fulfilling his duty!

The idea of Glimmerskins is pretty terrifying, particularly as they exist to further empower the already strong and bloody. I can imagine the presence of just one in any situation would be enough to shake things up considerably - people might try and outdo each other in acts of wanton violence in order to tempt it from owner to owner! It was fun to think of a symbiotic creature that goes in a different, light-themed direction from creatures like Venom. I'm quite happy with the design, although the host ended up going in a sort of Final Fantasy direction, which was... unexpected? I guess it reminds me a little of the centaur I did.

Anyway! This week marks the 3rd consecutive Sunday I've posted an image up ON TIME. WHOA! I even have a buffer. Aren't you guys proud of me?!

- Joe

Lunar Ravager

Lunar Ravagers are out and about on days where the moon is bright and visible in the sky. They come down riding on moonbeams, nine feet tall and pale, wielding crescent-shaped weapons. They come down in groups and track the first worthy creature they come across, which could be anything from a wolf, a giant hellbeast or just an unfortunate drunk that got lost on his way home. Nature aids them in their grim hunt, leaving no trace more than the blood of their prey. They take their hunting trophies back with them to their hunting lodge on the moon. To return with no quarry would be shameful.

Lunar Ravagers are one of several D&D monsters based off the folkloric-slash-mythological stories of the Wild Hunt. The basic gist of it is that at certain times fairies or devils come out to be jerks and hunt-slash-kill any innocent people they come across. These certain times can be quite variable from story to story. Sometimes they're only out on certain days of the year, sometimes it has to do which the phases of the moon, and sometimes it's just a case of just don't go out at night. The Wild Hunt thing appears in the folklore of many regions of Europe, but I'm sure other areas have stories that follow a similar path.

I've based the design of the Ravager on a couple of things. The costume is based on old Hun warrior outfits. There's something quite reserved and convienient about their clothing, but still looks cool. Also they look kinda cozy and warm, and I imagine it gets pretty chilly on the moon. Then the noseless face, receded hairline and dark eyes are there to make it look alien (specifically, like a Grey). The last thing is the general subject of the image, inspired by photographs of hunters posing proudly on their felled prey.

Chimera

Chimerae are strange hybrid creatures usually possessing the heads of several different animals around a somewhat leonine body. Their variety of claws, beaks, horns and fangs make them excellent predators, often further embellished by a dragon-like breath weapon.

Back to lineless again! Quite pleased with the feather/scales on this guy, partly modeled on the Why Bird, a stalwart feature of British kid's show Playdays!

- Joe

Belker

 

The Belker is yet another monster that I never paid very much attention to, just kinda going 'ehhh' whenever I came to it's entry and moving on to fire horses and other more traditionally cool monsters. I finally got around to actually reading its entry and I realized, holy canoli, this fella is hella horrifying. You know Scratchtasia? That Itchy and Scratchy version of Fantasia where Scratchy chops up Itchy into powder, then accidentally breathes him in, and then a million microscopic Itchies hack him to pieces from the inside? That's essentially what a Belker can do to you.

These creatures are air elementals assossiated with the more smokey aspects of air. They appear as vaporous devils, though they can turn into actual clouds of smog that can either casually float away or do the earlier mentioned shenanigans to your respiratory system.