Kenku scholar

Falchieyan · Jan 12, 2007

Hi all. Of late I've been working on designing what is to become a kenku Loremaster. I've spent a while working on his look, and have at last come up with something show-able. I'd like to get a bit of feedback on this work, to see if there are any things that stand out or seem worthy of further attention. As this is still in the sketch phase, almost anything can be changed:

Let me know what you think!

pogre · Jan 12, 2007

I like it. It has a lot of character.

I wonder if the legs are a bit too thick?

Ilium · Jan 12, 2007

I like him. I like the fact that his clothes look like they were once very nice but have seen some adventuring wear and tear. This is a great drawing.

But I have to say something geeky and pedantic: How does somebody without lips smoke a pipe?

Falchieyan · Jan 12, 2007

Ilium said:
But I have to say something geeky and pedantic: How does somebody without lips smoke a pipe?

When I first designed him I simply thought that the beak would shut well enough to allow inhalation. I didn't even think about lips being necessary for smoking, so it's helpful of you to point it out. I'm glad that it does manage to get across some sense of the character, something I have trouble with in using "static" poses and a lack of background.

Harsh · Jan 12, 2007

I like the character, and agree with the sentiments posted earlier. He has a lot of story about him. Having him look somewhat aged and rugged is a good call. The pipe, reguardless of how he uses it, is a nice touch to show his tendency to sit back and watch and think on things. It takes a patient person to smoke a pipe (typically).
The only critique I can offer is on the legs and feet. They look fine for the most part and are believable to the character, but the positioning of the feet make him look like he is leaning back a bit off balance. Also, the right foot (middle of page) is a bit off. A background or at least sketchy ground work may help this, but ultimately I think it is just coming off as a bit flat do to lack of overlapping which would give it some perspective. Play with it some, look at some reference for birds and lizards alike and see what happens. The left foot is fine I think.
Good stuff, keep it up. Let's see more!

Wolv0rine · Jan 13, 2007

Well hell, if no one else is gonna do it, I will.

It's not a bad sketch by any means, and truth to tell the pipe doesn't bother me as it has a strength of composition greater than it's obvious drawback of lack of lips. If you feel that point is bothersome enough, design a mouthpiece for the pipe that you think would function with the beak.

There are some things that do niggle me though, and to one extent or another they could be more effected by the original Kenku illustration than any descriptive text, I can;t recall off the top of my head.

1) Overall, he looks very crow-like, as opposed to the more squat, curved-beaked Kenku I'm familiar with. Go back to the descriptive text and double check to see if you've significantly deviated from what a Kenku is supposed to look like. And if you have, determine if you care. If not, that's cool, but you should have done it on purpose either way.

2) His am/wings. Specifically, they aren't wings at all, they're arms. Wings would need a wider, roomier sleeve (and conform to a less arm, more wing-ish shape) than the ones you've got there. Again, if it's a decision you've made on purpose, that's good ole' fashioned Artistic Liscence (TM).

3) Were it ME, I'd do a little more work on the design of the glasses. Given his bird head with big honking beak, he needs glasses designed to sit on a beak. Not much work needs to be done on that score, really. Again, it's more along the lines of Things you need to have considered'. Nearly all of this falls under that label, honestly.

4) They're right, his legs are too thick.

5) Back to the pipe. The "He's got no lis" part completely aside, that pipe-stem has a sharp upward curve. If he has lips of not, if he puts that thing in his mouth he's going to dump smouldering tobacco on his face.

I do like the choices in clothing, and his pose is great. He has the right kind of laid-back, leisurely-but-strongly interested feeling to him that you were right to go for. Your technique is fairly good, allowing for potential shearing up and tightening given that it's still a sketch.

All in all it's a nice piece, the "He's the wrong kind of bird for a Kenku, isn't he?" reaction remains my strongest.

Falchieyan · Jan 13, 2007

Firstly, thank you Wolv0rine for giving me some new things to consider. I actually have some time off today and hope to spend some of it finalizing this design, so it's nice to have areas to focus upon. I'll take your suggestions point-by-point here:

Points 1&2
That's interesting, as I thought that I was working very closely with the creature design as established in MM3. The only line of description for body features is, "Soft, dark feathers cover a kenku's head and torso, although its scrawny arms and legs remain bare." So I was under the impression that the arms were thin and featherless, far from highly developed wings. The image of the kenku seems more point-beaked as well: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/mmiii_gallery/83014.jpg

Point 3&5
I'll do some research on glasses and pipe designs. I actually had an amusing story in-character about how he could never find a pair of glasses that stayed on, finally opting to procure a bit of sovereign glue to keep them on. As a result he always carries around a couple of flasks of Universal Solvent, just in case he does for some reason have to remove them(with a Ring of Sustenance, sleeping isn't a big problem).

Point 4
Some anatomy study and references to bird feet are probably in order. His right leg always kind of bugged me, so I know I'll focus on it. I think that the legs end up looking too thick because he has on pantaloons and these sort of shin-only chaps.

I'll do some work and post up a revision when I get the chance!

Wolv0rine · Jan 14, 2007

Falchieyan said:
Firstly, thank you Wolv0rine for giving me some new things to consider. I actually have some time off today and hope to spend some of it finalizing this design, so it's nice to have areas to focus upon. I'll take your suggestions point-by-point here:

Not a problem, I rarely jump in with crits & comments, so I try to make them interesting when I do.

Falchieyan said:
Points 1&2
That's interesting, as I thought that I was working very closely with the creature design as established in MM3. The only line of description for body features is, "Soft, dark feathers cover a kenku's head and torso, although its scrawny arms and legs remain bare." So I was under the impression that the arms were thin and featherless, far from highly developed wings. The image of the kenku seems more point-beaked as well: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/mmiii_gallery/83014.jpg

AHHHH! Now I see the problem. I’d forgotten the ungodly mangling Kenku got come 3.5E. See, when I think of a Kenku, I think of the old 1E Fiend Folio, which describes them as: “Bipedal humanoid birds with wings, clawed hands and feet, and the head of a hawk with a sharp beak” (here’s the illustration: http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c272/Wolvorine42/Kenku-1E.jpg)
My memory was a little off in that the old illo. Shows arms and wings, not winged-arms. But the difference in point-of-reference is obvious.

Falchieyan said:
Point 3&5
I'll do some research on glasses and pipe designs. I actually had an amusing story in-character about how he could never find a pair of glasses that stayed on, finally opting to procure a bit of sovereign glue to keep them on. As a result he always carries around a couple of flasks of Universal Solvent, just in case he does for some reason have to remove them(with a Ring of Sustenance, sleeping isn't a big problem).

That’s rather funny, actually. Poor schmuck would be forever Universal Solventing the things just to pick them off his beak to clean them. lol

Falchieyan said:
I'll do some work and post up a revision when I get the chance!

Look forward to seeing it.

Angel Tarragon · Jan 15, 2007

Thats pretty neat!

pogre · Jan 15, 2007

Falchieyan said:
Point 4
Some anatomy study and references to bird feet are probably in order. His right leg always kind of bugged me, so I know I'll focus on it. I think that the legs end up looking too thick because he has on pantaloons and these sort of shin-only chaps.

Ah, that makes more sense. So the chaps are hanging away from his legs just a bit. I like this illio a lot.