Artist's Sunday #4: Nerd Love, Episode 1 - Big Bad Beholders

I'm kicking off the next month of Artist's Sunday with Episode 1 of a series (as I type this, Dragon is peering over my shoulder humming the Star Wars theme music... argh!) celebrating the artisan crafts inspired by various nerdy pursuits. Depending on what I find, these themes could include cosplaying, larping, Steampunk (and/or its various permutations, such as Dieselpunk), Cyberpunk, pen-and-paper gaming, MMO gaming, heroes and monsters of various fandoms, Star Wars, Star Trek (hmm, an entire Sunday devoted to Wars vs. Trek in art form...) and, heck, whatever else I find. This may have to extend longer than one month to squeeze all the awesomeness in, or I may have to do a couple multi-themed posts, or... well, we'll see.

Stay tuned for Twinflame Studio's artistic month of nerddom.

Episode 1: Beholders

Because no Dungeon is complete without a Beholder.

 The Beholder, by emilywarrenart on deviantART

 Beholder by Xiven on deviantART

What the devil is a Beholder, I'm sure some of you will ask. (I salute those of you who do not need to ask, and say namaste. :D)  Beholders are nasty creatures with an evil eye (11 of them, actually...) and a tendency to use those eyes to zap anyone that ventures too close. From the Monster Manual I (3.5): "A beholder is an 8-foot-wide orb dominated by a central eye and a large, toothy maw. Ten smaller eyes on stalks sprout from the top of the orb." They float, and you can't sneak up on one unless it's asleep. Each eye has a different, and devastating, magic power. They are typically kept as watchdogs by villainous adversaries, and no magic-user can think of a beholder without cringing at least a little. Its central eye is constantly emanating an effect that keeps any other magic from functioning, in whatever direction the beholder is looking. 

They are a classic, iconic Big Bad Nasty, the stuff of any adventuring group's nightmares, and the artistic Muse of many an artisan crafter...

Happy Green Beholder by JessicaHCreations on Etsy

Beholder Monster Hat by MageAklya on Etsy

Beholder by ladytech on deviantART

Live, Love, and Make Art

-your Artful White Fox