(Monster Minis!) The OotS-Style Monster Manual Art Project

[Tannhaeuser]

First appearing in the (1981) D&D Expert Module X2 Castle Amber, and later in 1986's Creature Catalogue, the Rakasta; and first appearing in the D&D Basic Rules booklet (1983) and later in the Rules Cyclopedia (1991), the Sabre-Tooth Tiger (a sub-division of the Cat (Great)).

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Rakasta (Large)

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Rakasta (Small)

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Sabre-Toothed Tiger (Large)

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Sabre-Toothed Tiger (Small)

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Rakasta On Sabre-Toothed Tiger (Large)

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Rakasta On Sabre-Toothed Tiger (Small)

[Lord Torath]

Nice looking Rakasta! Any chance of one wielding the traditional War Claws?

What was the intention of having the yellow hands drawn over the black ones? (not saying they look bad, just curious)

And do I detect traces of Trigak in that Smilodon?

Thanks!

[Tannhaeuser]

Originally Posted by Lord Torath

Any chance of one wielding the traditional War Claws?

Yes...

Originally Posted by Lord Torath

Was that the intention of having the yellow hands drawn over the black ones?

...yes...

Originally Posted by Lord Torath

And do I detect traces of Trigak in that Smilodon?

...and yes.

And now for some more minis, including almost one dinosaur!

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First appearing in the first Monster Manual (1977), the Dinosaur (Archelon ischyros). Of course, it's not really a dinosaur, but you can't have everything.

Archelon ischyros (Large)

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Archelon ischyros (Small)

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First appearing in the first Monster Manual (1977), the Leprechaun.

Leprechaun (Large)

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Leprechaun (Small)

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First appearing in the first Monster Manual (1977), the Pixie.

Pixie (Large)

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Pixie (Small)

[Thormag]

I was about to post a thread like this one, but I decided to search for a similar one before.

Here you go guys. Yesterday, I uploaded over 150 images from a campaign I had. Feel free to add them to the collection, and who knows, I might even draw additional ones.

The Massive Gallery

If you see another image from my profile whose description is NOT avatar request, feel free to add them too.

[Tannhaeuser]

These are great, Thormag! I particularly like the Gnolls.

Keep up the good work, everybody!

[Diodric]

Hey guys, there's been some great minis in this thread! I've been working on some I'm going to upload here soon, but I wanted to know: Is there a stand size everyone is using? Whether in pixels, inches, or whatever? What's everyone using? Thanks for the info!

[Tannhaeuser]

Hi, Diodric! Great to see people interested in this really fun and creative project! One good guideline terms of measurements is probably to check out the printable minis on stands done by our founder and Original Poster, Dakaran. There I think the idea is to fit comfortably into a space of about 90x140 pixels.

When I started making minis, I used the standard avatar size of 91x117 pixels. For bigger, essentially horizontally oriented monsters, I would allow myself 117x117. Then, for clarity’s sake, I started making two versions: a normal-sized one (91x117, 117x117) and a large-sized one (273x351, 351x351—three times larger than normal). Lately, though, I’ve slipping and making them any old size—the last one I posted was (93x117) (larger version, 280x280).

When all is said and done, I should think about 91x117 is your best bet. On the other hand, Dakaran has so far had no trouble that I can see resizing our posts to fit his stands, as needed. Heh, you pays your money and you take your choice!

[Lord Torath]

Tann,

Those look great! I love the giant turtle!

As for the "gold hands," the more I look at them, the more they look like War Claws!

Thanks again! And keep 'em coming!

Keep up the good work

[Diodric]

Tann, thanks for the response. Here is a quick sample of a mini I did. I'm not quite finished with my minis yet but I wanted to let you know I was still in progress. This is my character, Diodric Dragonfyre the halfling cavalier. You may have noticed I changed my avatar as well, lol.

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[Tannhaeuser]

At long last:

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Dinosaur - Anatosaurus (Trachodon) (Large)

Dinosaur - Anatosaurus (Trachodon) (Small)

Thanks, Torath! And the Giant Turtle loves you, too. (Here's an earlier version of him, before I toned him down to look a little more Sticky):

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Dinosaur - Archelon ischyros (Extra-Large)

Very cool, Diodric! Hope we will see a lot more of your stuff!

Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night!

P.S.: Here is another monster.

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Remorhaz (Large)

Remorhaz (Small)

[Meltheim]

Been absent for a while, but here are a few new critters I've worked on.

Baazrag (Dark Sun campaign)

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Carrion Crawler (every edition of D&D evarrrrr)

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[Lord Torath]

Uh, thanks, but please tell the Archelon ischyros that I'm already in a committed relationship. It's not you, it's me. (I rather like the detail on the lower shell in your original! Plus great shading on the fins/flippers.)

Very nice Remorhaz!

An actual dinosaur! Woo hoo! Sadly, my PC's have been trapped by gnolls in an orc cave for several months, and have shown very little interest in freeing themselves, so thus may never see the majesty of the Isle of Dread. But I'm still hopeful! (that's where the paladin's war-saber-toothed-tiger is waiting, and I can't WAIT to give it to him!)

Wow! That is a truly frightening Carrior Crawler! Well done, Melthiem!

[Tannhaeuser]

Hey, Torath, how was the Turtle supposed to know you wasn't a playa?

Eh, not all that fond of the Remorhaz. It looks...unnatural. The S is for Sucks.

On the other hand, cool Carrion Crawler, Meltheim -- but I gotta confess, I like even more the Baazrag, which I hain't never heard of before, but really like the drawing of.

SO glad to see this thread back.

[Meltheim]

Thanks!

The Baazrag is confusing since there's totally conflicting source material. in one, it's presented as a lizardlike critter with a bony "shell" over the face and back, and in another it's an overgrown ape-man thing. I went with the lizardlike version, since they're good for swarming (which is my favorite when doing outdoor combat)

[Lord Torath]

Really? Where's it an Ape thing? Terrors Beyond Tyr has the version you drew. I can't find an ape (or any other) version, but you might have books I lack.

[Tannhaeuser]

A Baazrag By Any Other Name

[Lord Torath]

So, Melthiem? Get any more Darksun monsters done up? Maybe a Braxat?

[Cuthalion]

Brass Dragon

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[Meltheim]

I do have some more Dark Sun critters coming up, but I'm not quite ready yet.

Going to put out a Kirre and Tembo in the next couple of weeks.

[Tannhaeuser]

Two monsters, both first appearing in 1981’s Fiend Folio, the Aarakocra and the Aleax:

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AARAKOCRA

Aarakocra (Large)

Aarakocra (Small)

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ALEAX

Aleax (Large)

This particular Aleax is Lawful Good, having been sent by the gods to punish a Lawful Good fighter for being too snarky.

Aleax (Small)

[Lord Torath]

I love the ALEAX's expression. Now to run to the Fiend Folio to look it up!

Edit: I love the out-stretched finger. Looks like he's about to tap on the shoulder to interrupt his latest snarky comment...

[Meltheim]

Here's another Beholder, since you can never have too many.

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[Dakaran]

Originally Posted by Meltheim

Here's another Beholder, since you can never have too many.

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Meltheim, that Beholder is awesome! I love the expression on his face with the main eye.

[Tannhaeuser]

Awesome, Meltheim!