Fee-Fi-Fo-Fum

I'm A Banana · Sep 26, 2012

I could recognize 'em all basically.

But I'm not a big fan of a few parts of 'em. I don't like the "dumb brute" look on the cloud giant or the stone giant. The oversized hands on the frost and fire giants are kind of random and weird. I don't know why the Fire Giant looks so well-kept. And the Storm giant doesn't give me much of a feeling of nobility, honor, or ennui that I read in Wyatt's description. It just looks like a heavily-armed elderly person who seems to be angry about something (perhaps Kids These Days or Technology).

On the cloud giant especially, I don't get a sense that these guys love the finer things in life. He's just sitting there with a club and a snarl. Okay, he's dressed in some nice clothes, but he's not acting as if he's lording it over riches in a cloud kingdom ready for Jack to come up and steal from him. His face says "THIS LEMON IS TOOO SOUR AND YOUR LIGHTS ARE TOOO BRIGHT!"

That's a bit orthoganal to the convo, I suppose. I could absolutely recognize them (though the Storm giant didn't give me many cues). Part of that was probably due to my history with the critters, but still, there were enough cues (flowy robes on the cloud giant, viking frost giant, dark-skinned fire giant, bald stone giant) that I could piece them out.

JeffB · Sep 26, 2012

tlantl said:
I'm really hoping that those aren't the finished product.

No kidding.

Chris_Nightwing · Sep 26, 2012

A) Looks like an orc or half-orc. Nothing very Cloud Giant about it to me. Surely if they enjoy the finer things in life, they'd wear shoes? Clubs are hardly the snazziest weapon either.

B) I sort of see it, but it looks more like a confused old man.

C) Sure, looking close, the lack of colouring removes a lot from the Frost Giant. They should be clear though, do they feel the cold or not? Either they do and wear clothing for it, or they don't and wear normal stuff.

D) Obvious, but ugly. Ridiculous sword.

E) A bit out of proportion I think - too much of a belly, not enough legs, but captures the barbarism well.

F) I like this. Stone Giants always have this mysterious, otherworldly quality about them that comes across here.

Also, the heights are wrong - giants should get taller as we move up the hierarchy. The minimum should be 2 storeys working upwards to maybe 5 storeys?

frankthedm · Sep 26, 2012

I'm on the fence about his depictions of the giants, but all of them pretty much had visual clues that narrowed the field to where each only fit one classic style of D&D giant.

Cool, looks like hill, stone, frost and fire giants are getting upgraded to huge!!! Close to their 2nd edition sizes.

5E article said:
Storm: Approximately 22 feet tall
Cloud: Approximately 22 feet tall
Fire: Approximately 18 feet tall
Frost: Approximately 20 feet tall
Stone: Approximately 20 feet tall
Hill: Approximately 18 feet tall

Cloud and Storm lost a few feet from their 2E height, but it is better than 4E where they got shrunk to large to give Titan's the Huge category.

Klaus · Sep 26, 2012

I didn't much like the tiny feet on all the giants.

Contrary to others, I quite liked the grizzled look of the storm giant. He looks like an old god from a Gustave Doré illustration, weary yet still mighty.

The cloud giant, although reminiscent of old-school illustrations, doesn't strike me as particularly civilized.

The stone giant, although still old-school, could use some textures and lithoderms to hint at its stony hide, which the text attributes to most of its defense. At the moment it's prettu much a goliath.

As for the hill giant, what differentiates it from an ogre (visually and story-wise)? It can't just be size. I'd give the tusked look the cloud is currently sporting and transfer it to the ogre.

Obryn · Sep 26, 2012

I liked the Stone and Hill giants. Not a fan of the Fire Giant. Cloud and Storm were ... okay.

-O

frankthedm · Sep 26, 2012

Rough adjustment of the giant line up to show the new size differences.

About time D&D giants were giant again!

MortalPlague · Sep 28, 2012

I'm going to echo the sentiment of many on here: I hope the final products look better than this. Especially 'B', 'D', and 'E'; the legs are strangely proportioned.

I picked 'A' for the Cloud Giant, seeing as he's got the fancy clothes and jewelery. But I want to see more nobility and poise in a giant of that kind. I do like the club, however.

I think 'B' was supposed to be the Storm Giant, but he simply does not look like 'the strongest of giants'. I picked "None of the above" for storm giant. 'B' looks like a weary, elderly soldier.

'C' was the frost giant, of course. I don't mind seeing them in furs like this, or with the viking helm; I think it adds something to their appearance.

'D' is clearly the fire giant, but like others, I thought he needed rougher armor and a less 'clean' appearance. Something made of thick, rough iron, not polished, fitted steel.

'E' is the hill giant, of course. If he had thicker legs and a touch less 'derp' in the face, I could roll with it. As it is, it's not too bad.

And of course, 'F' is the stone giant. I like the image the best, it really feels like a giant done right.

GreyICE · Sep 28, 2012

In this article we learn that when drawing pictures of giants it really, really, really helps to have things on a relatable scale, like houses and people, in the picture.

Klaus · Sep 28, 2012

GreyICE said:
In this article we learn that when drawing pictures of giants it really, really, really helps to have things on a relatable scale, like houses and people, in the picture.

Actually, one of the challenges of designing races like halflings and giants is make sure you can tell they're short (or tall) without resorting to that.