D&D 5E D&D Next Art Column: June! And July!
I'm A Banana
Potassium-Rich
Make that quadruped's head a little more eerily blank (something like the barn owl's), maybe give it some huge eyes -- give it a thousand-yard stare and a look of sutble disdain -- and we have a winner.
The quadruped body is THE BEST ONE. I can smell the thing. It looks like it could come crashing out of the dark forest at you. It's not reminiscent of its origins very much, but it's better.
An owl's beak is small because its face is basically a sound-receiving dish that lets it hear things like mice rooting around in grass. And it's eyes are comparatively huge. So I imagine this colossal bear-thing as a nocturnal hunter, keeping the owl's keen hearing and low-light vision, and perhaps even keeping camouflage that lets it blend into the forest surroundings, and an owl's propensity for stealth.
Imagine this ghostly thing moving silently, nearly unseen, through the forest. It is monstrous in size, but its movements are subtle...a tilt of the head, a slight twitch of the ear-feathers...until it opens its beak wide, issues a horrible roar-screech, and crashes through the underbrush at its prey.
Yeah. Grizzowl 01.
The quadruped body is THE BEST ONE. I can smell the thing. It looks like it could come crashing out of the dark forest at you. It's not reminiscent of its origins very much, but it's better.
An owl's beak is small because its face is basically a sound-receiving dish that lets it hear things like mice rooting around in grass. And it's eyes are comparatively huge. So I imagine this colossal bear-thing as a nocturnal hunter, keeping the owl's keen hearing and low-light vision, and perhaps even keeping camouflage that lets it blend into the forest surroundings, and an owl's propensity for stealth.
Imagine this ghostly thing moving silently, nearly unseen, through the forest. It is monstrous in size, but its movements are subtle...a tilt of the head, a slight twitch of the ear-feathers...until it opens its beak wide, issues a horrible roar-screech, and crashes through the underbrush at its prey.
Yeah. Grizzowl 01.
"The peaceful hooting of owls gets closer and louder through the course of the night.
Immediately following a particularly loud hooting, you hear heavy breathing in the underbrush, and see a large figure moving with eerie silence..."
My owl bears don't roar-screech, they screech-roar!
Otherwise I like the cut of your jib sir...
I'm A Banana
Potassium-Rich
One thing I think I should mention is that an owl's eyes are distinctive: they face forward. They have binocular vision. That's part of why the face of owls is adapted to be a big dish, and part of why they look...unnervingly human.
None of the examples (with the possible exception of Grizzowl) have that trait, and I think that is part of what they're lacking. The artist should be placing the eyes in the front of the head, just above the beak, not to the side. Giving us a front-on view of the face also helps establish the owlishness: the discs of the "track 2" owlbear make more sense in front of the face than to the side.
None of the examples (with the possible exception of Grizzowl) have that trait, and I think that is part of what they're lacking. The artist should be placing the eyes in the front of the head, just above the beak, not to the side. Giving us a front-on view of the face also helps establish the owlishness: the discs of the "track 2" owlbear make more sense in front of the face than to the side.
Klaus
First Post
I agree, the eyes need that blank stare.
As for owls having "small" beaks, it's because they, unlike eagles, don't use their beaks to carve their prey:
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My favorite rendition of the owlbear is the one in the Everquest games. For me, this is what an owlbear looks like, no matter what the Monster Manual says:
Female owlbear - EQ2i, the EverQuest 2 Wiki - Quests, guides, mobs, npcs, and more
Unfortunately, there aren't any big shots of owlbears that I've found.
Female owlbear - EQ2i, the EverQuest 2 Wiki - Quests, guides, mobs, npcs, and more
Unfortunately, there aren't any big shots of owlbears that I've found.
There is a picture in the Swords and Sorcery Luclin Bestiary I particularly like, although hunting down that book for one picture may be a mistake.
I actually have all the EQRPG books, but no scanner with which to digitize any of the images contained within.
I really wanted that Isles of Mist supplement, too.
edit: found it online somehow
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I'm A Banana
Potassium-Rich
One of my favorite owlbears:
Too humanoid, but they get the face right:
Cartoony, but I like the blend:
Just so you know: they're terrifying:
Too humanoid, but they get the face right:
Cartoony, but I like the blend:
Just so you know: they're terrifying:
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