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:

A demon of some kind:

Arch-Hags:

Some kobolds:

A Nalfeshnee, perhaps?

A revenant:

Blue dracolich:

Death Knight:

Death tyrant:

Chimera:

Githyanki (with the central warrior recreating a classic pose):

A mummy lord:

A marrow:

A balrog balor:

Mimics:

While I'm tempted to say a tressym, this actually might be a new sphinx design:

Bone fiend:

Sladd:

Rust monster:

Platinum(?) dragon:

Bronze dragon:

Hezrou, perhaps?

Fire giant, not Karlach:

Cloud giants:

Zombies:

Red dragon:

Hags (including a male hag):

Dryads (including a male dryad):

Horned devil:

Incubus and succubus:

Vampires:

Vampire:

Colossus:

Spirit naga:

Copper dragon:

White dragon:

Blue dragon:

Gold dragon:

Black dragon:

 

[Chaltab]

Exactly. Whether you like the new art or not, I just don't understand the people saying "it all looks like X" because... I mean it doesn't all look like any one thing. The styles are very deliberately varied in a way that I don't usually see in a Monster Manual.

Personally I think that's smart art direction.

 

[Chaosmancer]

I was fine with the 5E designs despite them being just winged lions because the designs were not overly busy, plus, I did like the vaguely egyptian iconography like the beard and the jewelry.
But these new ones look over-done. Too many magical markings/glowing sigils (I guess they cannot be tattoos since... how would that show under fur?) and the braided manes? Like, who does their manes that way? They do not have hands.

While I do find that them being a bit busy could be a valid critique... that isn't a step backwards. It isn't like old DnD Sphinx art was super busy. So I still don't understand the original complaint.

And frankly, some of the compaints seem a bit... off-base to me. The lore of the Sphinxes I am aware of states that they are divine guardians created by the gods for a specific duty. So who does there mane? The god that crafted them to look that way for all eternity. And maybe they have servants But really, I don't see details like that as being a big turn off for me on the art, because that's not the point of the art.

 

[Chaosmancer]

What are you even trying to say? I listed a bunch of artists, many of which are still making art that I've found to be inspirational through the years. The many, many more part covers all the other art I continue to see all the time and enjoy. And besides art is timeless, why does it matter when it was created? I would love you to throw down your get off my lawn snark because someone lists Michelangelo on there inspirational artist list. Good grief, nothing you said makes me like the the "new style" wotc art direction in the MM or any of there other new books. I'm open to new art, love to finding it actually, being inspired is awesome, but this art isn't it for me.

Not all art is timeless. In fact, much of it has had its time pass us by. Many times if you can tell art was from a specific time period, without it being a work of a great master of the classics, then it is because the art itself is dated. Which can be good, but it is clearly dated compared to modern styles, and modern styles are not inherently bad.

 

[MGibster]

Not all art is timeless. In fact, much of it has had its time pass us by. Many times if you can tell art was from a specific time period, without it being a work of a great master of the classics, then it is because the art itself is dated. Which can be good, but it is clearly dated compared to modern styles, and modern styles are not inherently bad.

You can date Elmore's art just by the hair.

 

[Chaosmancer]

Exactly. Whether you like the new art or not, I just don't understand the people saying "it all looks like X" because... I mean it doesn't all look like any one thing. The styles are very deliberately varied in a way that I don't usually see in a Monster Manual.

Personally I think that's smart art direction.

I actually have some expierence with this, to an extent.

I'm a huge fan of Sentinels of the Multiverse, a superhero cooperative card game. All the art has been done by one guy for the entirety of the games existence (in production 14 years). A few years ago, they decided to make the Definitive Edition of the game, and they have a major art shift.

Instead of everything looking like his style, he made each of the cards look like it came from the era of that comic book panel. So you have 80's art next to 00's art, ect. A lot of people love it, a lot of people thought it felt inconsistent, but personally that diversity is incredibly interesting to me.

Some examples of the "current style"

Spoiler: Sentinels Art

These are all from the character KNYFE