Re: New Portraits/Small Pics!
 

Three new portraits today - an azer, a mermaid, and a mind flayer.
(The azer I started like months ago... Sometimes it is good to check your hard drives for unfinished stuff...)

Anyway, the mermaid was originally bare (as they are in AD&D and mythology!), but I unfortunately decided to do the cheesy and give her some shells :D (Technically, though, the bare version is more to the spirit of the game!)

Re: New Portraits/Small Pics!
 

I always ask my wife if such decisions (shells or not) are to be made... :D

All three pics are excellent. The mind flayer is especially impressing.

Re: New Portraits/Small Pics!
 

"Shells or not?"

POW!

"Uh... I guess that means shells?"

I assume mermaid shells have padding within to prevent chafing.

Re: New Portraits/Small Pics!
 

Hihi, but no, it was not that way. :D

I think that "without-shell pics" are absolutely no problem.
However, there is also the aspect of mystery behind the shells! :D

Re: New Portraits/Small Pics!
 

This is true - the ever-present question of "which is better, with the shells or without?" Both have good, sound reasoning of which we can debate. (Having both versions is of course a good compromise - perhaps a quest to find the shells, or something like that...)

The novice PC will of course give the shells to the mind flayer, making it only more fearsome (and angry, too!).

Re: New Portraits/Small Pics!
 

You may also add a "shell-exchange mission". Maybe the mermaid uses a rare bivalve species that a magician needs, but you can only convince her to give the shells to you after giving her some other shells... I would definitely use this approach! :D :D :D

Re: New Portraits/Small Pics!
 

Very nice, Uatu. :) The mermaid has really nice, er, shells. :D

I really like all four images. (What you thought the illithids feeble attempts at mind control would effect me?)

I would like to see the full mermaid, maybe playing with her pet hippocampus... :)

Re: New Portraits/Small Pics!
 

Dinonykos: Hey, that's a good idea for a quest! (Be sure to find nice, valuable-looking, but unwearable, shells! (I don't want to draw any more shells - 'tis thankless work.))

Manikus: What, the psionic blast didn't work? (Methinks the mind flayer is slacking off at practice these days...)

Sometimes I draw bottom halves (at least as sketches) to make the top more natural, but none this time! :D I could try to add one, but when I don't have one from the start, it tends to be rather difficult/unnatural... (And why does her pet have to be so complicated to draw?!)

(Or were you referring to a separate big picture? :) )

Re: New Portraits/Small Pics!
 

I was just saying it would be cool. ;) I can't really think of any DC needs I have for a mermaid. :D

Re: New Portraits/Small Pics!
 

Ha ha... I do want to do some kind of underwater module one day...

(Until then, doing a big picture of a mermaid would be a good exercise, anyway.)