So Much Art From the 2025 Monster Manual

Here's some preview art from the 2025 Monster Manual, courtesy of Wizards of the Coast's "Everything You Need to Know Video" on the new book.

A classic Faceless Stalker:
Screenshot 2025-01-07 at 12.06.33 PM.png


A demon of some kind:
Screenshot 2025-01-07 at 12.58.05 PM.png

Arch-Hags:
Screenshot 2025-01-07 at 12.56.33 PM.png


Some kobolds:
Screenshot 2025-01-07 at 12.56.03 PM.png


A Nalfeshnee, perhaps?
Screenshot 2025-01-07 at 12.53.11 PM.png


A revenant:
Screenshot 2025-01-07 at 12.32.41 PM.png


Blue dracolich:
Screenshot 2025-01-07 at 12.32.52 PM.png


Death Knight:
Screenshot 2025-01-07 at 12.32.15 PM.png


Death tyrant:
Screenshot 2025-01-07 at 12.26.32 PM.png


Chimera:
Screenshot 2025-01-07 at 12.26.18 PM.png


Githyanki (with the central warrior recreating a classic pose):
Screenshot 2025-01-07 at 12.23.57 PM.png


A mummy lord:
Screenshot 2025-01-07 at 12.16.44 PM.png


A marrow:
Screenshot 2025-01-07 at 12.19.01 PM.png


A balrog balor:
Screenshot 2025-01-07 at 12.20.16 PM.png


Mimics:
Screenshot 2025-01-07 at 12.20.37 PM.png


While I'm tempted to say a tressym, this actually might be a new sphinx design:
Screenshot 2025-01-07 at 12.12.12 PM.png


Bone fiend:
Screenshot 2025-01-07 at 12.12.01 PM.png


Sladd:
Screenshot 2025-01-07 at 12.10.40 PM.png


Rust monster:
Screenshot 2025-01-07 at 12.10.05 PM.png


Platinum(?) dragon:
Screenshot 2025-01-07 at 12.09.23 PM.png


Bronze dragon:
Screenshot 2025-01-07 at 12.09.04 PM.png


Hezrou, perhaps?
Screenshot 2025-01-07 at 12.08.45 PM.png


Fire giant, not Karlach:
Screenshot 2025-01-07 at 12.08.20 PM.png


Cloud giants:
Screenshot 2025-01-07 at 12.08.01 PM.png


Zombies:
Screenshot 2025-01-07 at 12.07.38 PM.png


Red dragon:
Screenshot 2025-01-07 at 12.07.17 PM.png


Hags (including a male hag):
Screenshot 2025-01-07 at 1.02.03 PM.png


Dryads (including a male dryad):
Screenshot 2025-01-07 at 1.01.42 PM.png


Horned devil:
Screenshot 2025-01-07 at 1.01.12 PM.png


Incubus and succubus:
Screenshot_20250107_105628_YouTube.jpg


Vampires:
Screenshot_20250107_110938_YouTube.jpg



Screenshot_20250107_104643_YouTube.jpg


Vampire:
Screenshot_20250107_102725_YouTube.jpg


Colossus:
Screenshot_20250107_104308_YouTube.jpg


Spirit naga:
Screenshot_20250107_105827_YouTube.jpg


Copper dragon:
1736276942551.png


White dragon:
1736277033498.png


Blue dragon:
1736277142191.png


Gold dragon:
1736277161607.png


Black dragon:
1736277225814.png
 

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Christian Hoffer

Christian Hoffer


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Also, Elmore tended to be really bad with humanoids and with helmets. He had some decent work and some less-than-decent work. And don't get me started on Easeley—I'd take the bad 2014 halfling art over the vast majority of Easley's work.


Right?
Yeah yeah... all the "old" d&d art is bad, because you know it's "old", and the new art is good because, you know it's "new" and has the wotc social seal of blessed approval, so you can feel good, right?
 


Yeah yeah... all the "old" d&d art is bad, because you know it's "old", and the new art is good because, you know it's "new" and has the wotc social seal of blessed approval, so you can feel good, right?
Never said it was all bad. I like some of it. I just find the blanket dump on the new art in comparison to the old is to be looking at the old art in rose-tinted glasses, because a lot of it was bad, too.
 

Honestly, Minotaurs are one of those monsters where I prefer the Magic the Gathering art of them. This is from Guildmaster's Guide to Ravinca.
View attachment 392492

And this is from Mythic Odysseys of Theros
View attachment 392493
They are good, but I want to directly compare D&D art.

For example my preferences for the Minotaur art is probably a toss up between the 4e one and the upcoming MM art, with the 1e art in 3rd place.
 



Elmore has a ton of art that is of awkwardly posed boring heroes standing in bland landscapes while staring at the camera. Occasionally with a weird dragon randomly in the background. I prefer nearly every previewed art piece to anything I’ve seen by Elmore. Every time I have seen people praise Elmore’s art as the height of D&D art, I have always been utterly baffled. It does not appeal to me at all.

People have different tastes. That’s okay. But your attitude is the problem. You can express your distaste in the art without insulting the people that made it and those that like it.
This post is an 11 on the Morrisete Irony Scale.
 


Naw, it's legit awful, beyond cringe inducing embarrassingly bad. It's a like someone said let's make some lame bubblegum fantasy art with some ai prompts and spent about an hour or two messing around. This is that, it's souless and uninspiring, it's at times just plain silly. The more "humanoid" characters are just so lame looking, hahaha... compare to something for example, from Elmore or many others, seriously not even in the same universe.
And thank goodness for that. Personally, I can't stand Elmore's art. His people are stiff, his women are allergic to clothing, and he uses far too much yellow, my least favorite color.

5e's art isn't always perfect, but it rarely makes be go ugh.
 

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