Is that a... fire... slug?

yeah, sure.  Except it moves really fast (the way fire shoots across an oil slick)

My friend actually said she can see the form of a wolf in the flames, after she pointed it out to me, I can see it now too.   So I say it can be whatever you want really, if you take away all the flames (which make the eye stalks too) perhaps there is entirely different creature underneath.   Who knows?

yeah, I imagine the saddle, armor, weapons, and person are all magically fire retardant.  I imagine that this more common to be used by the fallen since the rider would have to be magically enhanced to survive the extreme temperatures.

Aside the slug that I think it's the most aparent, I managed to see a wolf or tiger and a kind of triceratops. A tiger or wolf is very plausible, there is even the complete spectrum of a big rested tail, leg mussles and what could be the face.

Made contours: http://i42.tinypic.com/1054pzq.jpg

The Medieval...

?

I didn't notice that you updated the 1st post Flyguy.   Awesome job!

I like the evil horn.

yeah, the slug eye 'stalks' (is how you spell it). I considered removing them, I actually could if I wanted because they are on a different layer.   I'm glad it inspires you, as I hope it does many others that visit the forum.   (come on everybody, lets get some fan art down here.   Especially you frogboy *points a finger* , we want that drawing of a horse)

I fear right now anyway, I'm actually already working on my next mount.  I want to release all 5 elements because I think the idea is really cool.   My next is air, and the 'life elemental' is going to be awesome (and based on Master of Magic actually), but its going to take a while because I want it to be my best one.  (i'm probebly going to use it as an art assignment so that I'm motivated by even more than the desire to bring fan-creations to this message board)

I don't know what I'm going to do for the water elemental yet.   I'm thinking something with two long spouts of water for legs, that it will stand on the way a crane, stork, or other freash water bird might.  but that is still up in the air. (which I'm working on next, ho ho ho ho... it was funny to me when I said it aloud),   so if any of you fellow Elemental fans that appriciate my work, want to see more, and have an idea for a water elemental, tell me.   I'll consider it and if I'm inspired by your suggestion, then maybe it will happen.

Landisaurus has successfully cast:

Forum thread Necromancy

Alright, I thought my next piece of art was going to be the air elemental rider...    Which it almost was, then school and work got in the way ;     I wasn't making that piece to be anything grand, and I hope to have it up sometime after GDC.   

GDC however, does not move for my schedule, and I wanted to create a grand piece for it.   Elemental gave me just the inspiration, so here I give the creature I want to see most of all!    

The life elemental:  A being of neither life nor death, but holds the essense of both in pure magic form.

Or as Master of Magic players might call it:   The Phantom Beast!

Of course it isn't the exact same hulking blue brute as in master of magic.   This is a spiced up Landish version.  Details such as this wouldn't be possible in ye-old 8-bit / 640x480 master of magic graphics.

The phantom beast was my favorite unit in master of magic, having won countless battles as a sorcery wizard simply starting the battle and then summoning two or three of these fiends.   Ever since War of Magic was announced I wondered if my favorite unit would make a come-back.   Obviously, he couldn't be the generic "sorcery' summon, since this game is based around elements.    So I figured, he would be a creature of the "Life" Element.  The phantom warriors were not undead, but they were not exactly living either, so to me it makes perfect sense to claim the phantom units were living magic, the purest form of life magic.  

The phantom beast I have drawn here is how I would have updated it, giving the a more ghostly figure with the skeleton being seen inside the blue exterior.  This creature is more wolf-like than the ape-like phantom of MoM, also the head takes a bit from a dinosaur skull, and the hands being those of an ape or human with claws.    The center of life, the creature's heart, can be seen glowing from the core of the creature, which I think gives a very cool effect.

I spent a long time on the background, since I wanted this to be a cornerstone for my portfolio at GDC this year (next week).   So since I had to pick a moderatly high resolution to best show my talents, and because I wanted it to be among the best work I ever created, I prepared it so I can also use it as a computer desktop wallpaper (fullscreen).   If anybody else wants to use it as a wallpaper, it can be found here in full 1600x1200 resolution.

"BUT WAIT!"  You might say, "You can't post that here, it isn't a mount.  Its just a fantastic beast!"  

"Uh....  uh...."       "uh... "    ...     "LOOK A THREE HEADED MONKEY!"   *points behind you*
(that doesn't work in text form as well as it does in person)

Anyway, in the amount of time I imagine you took to look behind you for the aformentioned three headed monkey (it was a long look anyway, certainly more than just a glance.   In my mind you were staring off for about 5 min) I created a solution.   So here it is:   The mount I want to see  

See, now its a mount! 

The horns were part of early concept work.  One of my friends said he thought it would look better with horns, so I tried it out.  I didn't think if felt enough like a 'phantom beast' however, so I decided to scrap the horns and instead give it pointy wolf ears.  Here though, the horns make a comeback to support a shoulder mounted slingshot/catapult.

If this game had bone dragons (as they are called in Heroes of  Might and Magic)  that would certainly be pretty cool.  

awesome drawings

And here is the last one.   The air elemental mount.  

I was trying really hard to capture the elemental theme and style in the figures with this one, more than just the background as with the fire elemental (yes I know I just reused the old background.  Sue me. I don't think my other backgrounds impressed that many people anyway.)

It was tough for me.  I spent so much time considering the armor that I got burnt out on it (and even more so, my school work started getting in the way)  but this day I just put my face to the grindstone and finished it.  (The move "Dune" helped.  I am able to stay concentrated on things even when tired if a movie plays behind it)

Anyway, I think it worked out pretty well.  Its a green  player's tower this time.   Green is kicking yellow's ass :3

Those things on his feat are supposed to have air crystals on them (as seen on the medallion given to us by frogboy)

The air elemental's head and face is similar to a classic asian Oni.   He's got a very hard to see body in there connecting the ground to the limbs (thats upon what the guy's feet are mounted) and the head.   

That is likely an unrealistic amount of blood, but I don't feel like fixing it.  I think it looks cool enough.

yay bears

that  would be pretty cool.   Whenever I think of a vetran warrior, I always think of scars (because, if he's been in any tough battles, he undoubtably has them).

minor accessories such as eye patches and piercings go into this as well.    Possibly gloves, bracers, shoulder pads, and things such as that would only continue to add up to how customizable your guys are.  I think that level of customization would really help me grow attached to my heroes and channeler.

Bears!