Void Ooze

Creatures of the "Ooze" type are often physically primitive - posessing little in the way of defined organs and rarely maintaining a constant form for any period of time, their bodies are simple, gelatinous masses of chaotic magical tissue.

Void Oozes have no specific origin but "occur" naturally across the planes. They are manifestations of negative energy, the anti-life force which is tapped by magic users such as necromancers who use it to power their spells. As such, a Void Ooze is often found in areas devoid of life, occasionally accompanied by smaller undead who are drawn to the negative magics it excretes as a dark penumbra.

This week's theme was designed to pose a challenge - how do you make a drawing of a formless blob interesting? I enjoyed drawing the Void Ooze, as its appearance bears no small resemblance to a certain Flying Spaghetti Monster. Lighting in in a suitably "negative" way was also fun.

Lemure

The fell armies of Baator, the realm of the Nine Hells, are subject to a rigorously strict natural hierarchy. The devils that populate them range from the unimaginably powerful - such as the indomitable Pit Fiends, who act as lords and generals - to the numerous but pitiful Lemures - who serve as mindless front-line soldiers and lackeys. Standing at five feet tall, a Lemure is a tortured knot of flesh and skin, almost formless from the waistline down, mindless but for its master's telepathic imperative. What Lemures lack in individual strength, they make up in numbers and sheer, thoughtless determination.

Struggled with this one all week (whilst juggling other commitments, hooray!). Lemures look nothing like other devils (which is interesting) but they also look kind of stupid, so it look me a while to figure out how to depict one. I enjoyed colouring this one, but I wish the drawing was a little stronger.

Hill Giant

The Hill Giant is the weakest, stupidest and smallest of all giants, and the ones whose appearance most closely resembles humans. Their intelligence is too low to form any kind of efficient society. Despite this, they are still skilled in the taming of dire wolves and strong enough to be a threat to villages. One of their preferred methods of attack is to hurl heavy rocks at their opponents, or to trample smaller creatures underfoot. Of the evil giants, they're probably the most open to servitude to other creatures, and are often hired as mercenaries by warlords or spellcasters.


Something that was quite useful for this post was looking at photographs and videos of strongmen --not bodybuilders, but men who build their bodies to perform real feats of great strength, muscles that serve a purpose. These men usually have quite thick torsos, bellies and arms, making them look like giant hairless bears. I also looked at Scottish Highland games, which have the sports such as who can flip a tree the best (caber toss) or throw stones the farthest (stone put). They're really super impressive.

Megaloceros

The Megaloceros is a gigantic deer that wanders in herds over the frozen tundra. Its likeness is found carved out of bone, stone and wood in many towns and tribes, since its commonly used as a totem creature. Atop its skull are two massive horns, its primary means of defence. If you are not trampled underfoot, the deer will gore you with its horns, lift you up with them, and toss you away. Their skulls are coveted as ornaments, and live ones make powerful mounts.


This is the first chance either of us have gotten to do something that properly goes under the animal catergory. Most animal-like creatures in D&D have some kind of magical power; anything that falls under the category of an animal is just your average, mundane critter. Not something that's really meant for a fantasy art blog. We have more interesting things to draw than a dolphin or a badger.

But these guys are pretty exceptional. A megaloceros is an actual prehistoric creature (the Frostburn book has a lot of those) that roamed the world when it was a little bit colder and animals were a little bit bigger. A simpler name for these guys are Irish Elk, even though they aren't really Irish. The skeletons for these are amazing to stand next to.

Shivhad

The Shivhad is a strange creature that will build its nest in cold, mountainous areas. Despite its crab-like appearance it is a being of uncertain origin and immense intellect. While other creatures are compelled to expand their territory, secure wealth, food or a mate with which to reproduce, Shivhads appear to be driven by none of these motives. Where Shivhads have made contact with other races they establish themselves as near deities, ominously demanding a toll of a weekly sacrifice. Whether this is merely to indulge a power fantasy or fulfill some darker function has never been ascertained; Shivhads speak nearly all languages but are so unthinkably dangerous that very few races will dare to provoke them. A Shivhad is usually the size of a large house.

This week's theme (a feature we'll probably instigate with more formality sometime soon) is that both our creatures are from the Frostburn book, one of many "add-on" books for D&D which introduce new weapons, quests, spells and monsters. Frostburn is, as you might expect, focused on creatures that live in incredibly cold environments.

The Shivhad is the first "epic" creature we've illustrated here - "epic" in Dungeons & Dragons being a term that describes very high level play (above level 20, which is initially as high as you can get). Basically, to kill one of these you need a team of adventurers of near demigod-like skill and experience. I really like how inexplicable the Shivhad is - a giant, superintelligent crab that lives in glaciers. I think it's pretty original as fantasy creatures go.

Githyanki

Githyanki are vicious, gaunt humanoids who live in societies strewn across the Astral Plane, the vast, timeless space between dimensions. Long ago bred as slaves to the ancient Illithid empire, the Githyanki were led from captivity by their ancestral leader Gith, in a great war which nearly wiped out the Illithids altogether. Now, wracked by internal conflict, the Githyanki are little more than a race of pirates, adding to the dangers of astral travel. They build their fortresses on the petrified bodies of dead gods adrift in the void.

The Githyanki are a weird sort of race in D&D, looking a little like a cross between orcs and elves (if such a thing is concievable). Not only are they essentially pirates, they are space pirates, which is pretty cool in my book. I inked this one by hand in Photoshop after making some custom brushes, and I'm pleased with the result. I tried to make up for the fact that they're usually depicted as barely clothed humanoids by doing a ridiculous upside-down foreshortening thing, but I think it gets the zero-gravity feel of the Astral Plane across fairly well. Oh, and they use these cool mercurial swords.

Kobolds

The Kobold is considered by many a travelling adventurer to be small and harmless. The more experienced adventurer knows that the kobolds use this to their advantage, to lull others into a sense of security and lead them into traps that'll butcher the enemy. Kobolds are clever and proud, and only serve themseleves or the dragons they believe they're descended from.


These are some of my favourite creatures.

Kobolds are a pretty common early-level encounter. They're small and have a very low challenge rating, which means you can throw a whole pack of them at the players without worrying too much about murdering them too early in the game. Even the Monster Manual goes to some lengths to describe how pathetic they are. "Kobolds speak Draconic with a voice that sounds like that of a yapping dog," says the Manual. They're the chihuahuas of the D&D world.

But that can make them dangerous. They're expert trap-makers and you'll spend more time avoiding them that you will fighting the little creatures themselves. There's the infamous Tucker's Kobolds, a group of completely average kobolds which specialized in guerilla tactics and dangerous traps instead of direct confrontation, designed to challenge players at high levels. There's also Pun-Pun, a demonstration about how the rules of the game can be broken to create a ridiculously powerful character. Wizards later released another book, Races of the Dragon, expanding on kobolds, making them more intelligent and conniving, and listing futher specialties and qualities.

Later illustrations of kobolds in further books and magazines went on to make them a bit more evil looking, but I've always preferred that their cruel minds were hidden behind an adorable, pathetic exterior.

Bronze Serpent

These are ancient guardians of temples dedicated to snake gods, though the secrets of their construction has since spread. Over 20 feet long, capable of climbing and burrrowing and having no need to worry about breathing, a Bronze Serpent can take on most intruders. Its best strategy is to trap its opponent in its coils and bite it with its electrified fangs. Opponents in metal armor or carrying a large amount of metallic objects don't fare well against its attacks.


I'm a sucker for anything with electrical attacks.

Sorry about being late this week. We were busy with other duties and both of us were having trouble with coming up with a drawing we liked.

Special thanks to Joe for helping me out with the background on this one. I swear it just wouldn't come out right.

Runic Guardian

Golems and other constructed mechanical warriors are commonly employed by those smart and wealthy enough to build them. Constructs follow orders unquestioningly and are difficult to kill, making them excellend guards. A Runic Guardian is an inventive variation on perhaps the most typical type of construct, the Shield Guardian. Its creator covers its torso and limbs with spells in the form of carved runes, which can be activated later by the Guardian to fight off attackers or defend its charge. What spells are inscribed on the Guardian is up to the creator.

I like constructs in general, but the Runic Guardian is one of my favourites. I tried for a more painterly look in photoshop, which I think I'd like to try again. at least it has a background this time!

Aboleth

Aboleths are a strange race of giant aquatic creatures. Bearing similarities to whales, eels and even cephalopods, they are among the oldest creatures in existence, but by no means the most primitive. Despite their appearance, they live in sophisticated societies, building huge, alien undersea cities in the deepest oceans. Despite their sophistication, the Aboleths are generally hostile to other younger races (such as humans), and their propensity to dabble in dark magics is good cause to leave them well alone if possible.

Aboleths, like Beholders, have been a Dungeons & Dragons staple since its very first edition. Most pictures show them as three-eyed catfish creatures, so to make it a little more interesting I tried to develop the head and face a little. I feel, again, like I should have made more effort with the background on this one (especially as it'd be interesting to think about what kind of cities these things build), but anatomically I'm pretty happy with it.

Nixie

Living in lakes, rivers and ponds, the frog-like Nixies are primarily cautious creatures. But as members of the fey family, they aren't entirely harmless. It's quite common for them to use their charming abilities to make bigger, stronger creatures take on certain tasks for them. They can also bestow the ability to breathe underwater on their newfound 'friends' to allow them to continue working underwater, at the fey's home. They aren't evil creatures, but they don't follow the rules of good either, so it's best not to cross them lest you end up forgotten at the bottom of their watery home.


Nixies can work pretty well as both allies and enemies, I'd think. Their neutral alignment means you can sculpt an individual nixie's personality into pretty much anything, they could be friendly and helpful, scared and dangerous, or bitter and vengeful. Granted a good GM would make characters with interesting personalities anyway, but a neutral creature is easier to skew into something good or evil. Sometimes making an evil angel, a good demon or a law-abiding gnoll can get a bit corny.

Necronaut

A Necronaut is a terrifying sight. Summoned as servants by Demons of the outer planes, they are formed from thousands of undead souls bound together in a colossal, clambering ziggurat of death from which long, bony arms protrude and hoist them on their destructive journeys. Necronauts are employed as a demonstration of brute necromantic might, requiring a huge amount of dead to summon and inhuman will to control.

A lot of undead creatures are just dead versions of living things - human skeleton, orc zombie, etcetera etcetera. What I really like are the more inventive necromantic creations that only things like Demons can pull off. This was fun to draw - I feel like I could have made it look a little corpsier but I just got to a point where I liked the way it looked.