F&F: Mal Monster Form 2024 concept

Some concept art for Mal from my Feathers and Flowers headworld! :)

I actually very much liked the concept I had for her previously. In fact, this only started as me beginning to finish that character page for her, but then I got curious and toyed with how she looked if I made her less human and pushed the monster aspect of her more.

With the way my development of the world for F&F is going, there currently are 3 categories of the inhabitants of the world:

Human- The most plentiful of the races are classified “Human”. They can be seen just about everywhere all across the continents. (Tallfoots, Elves, Dwarves)

SemiHuman- Races that are not human but have very decidedly human appearances. Are generally uncommon. (Fey, Spiritov, Goliaths)

DemiHuman- Races that are “human/humanoid” but are have very decidedly inhuman appearances. Are the most rare of the sapient races and the most shunned. (Beastfolk, Kobolds, Centaurs)

Spirits are not technically in any of the listed categories and, as divine beings, function as a sort of "bridge" between all three. They aren't human, but they aren't beast. A "monster" is the closest one may get with classification, since "monsters" in this world are essentially magically powered mega-fauna (not quite animal, but again not human either. Sometimes referred to as "divine beasts", depending on the culture).

All that to say, I wanted her and all of the rest of her kin to look more "beast with human face" than "human with monster features".

I feel very pleased with the design! Feels right. :) Only thing now is I'm trying to decide if she gets a tail; I've already decided she and all other spirits will fall into the "Harpy/Sphinx" design influence so... tiddy out when in their "middle state" (seen in the traditional sketch) and completely covered in fur/feathers when full monster. Which is funny actually; the Spirits were originally supposed to have extremely, wildly different looks in terms of their "monster" form but I've since changed my mind, with Mal acting as the blueprint and representative of her species' design. :)

AT ANY RATE! Some fun facts:

-In this form, Mal can't speak. She can be vocal, but her vocal chords and mouth isn't really designed to form words, so she instead uses telepathy to communicate. Like all Spirits, Mal can communicate in "wide broadcast" where everyone in her near vicinity can "hear" her, or link with one specific person in an equivalent of whispering, albeit it's just her voice in your head only.

-All Spirits, outside of the tusks that protrude from their jaws, also have two sets of teeth within their mouth. When they transform into this form, their horns will "shrink"... or more accurately, their bodies will outgrow their size and make them much smaller than they appear on their humanoid shapes.

-Mal's body is covered in what's essentially the bridge between feathers and hair. In some places (such as her mane and down her back) it's loose, long, and thick; a lot like the mane of a horse. In most everywhere else, she's double-coated in dense, wire-y feathers that's course to the touch on the surface, but once you dig your fingers in you'll feel the soft, downy undercoat that keeps her temperature regulated in any weather.

-Her exposed skin is rough and leathery, much like that of a lizard. The smoothest part of her is her face

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Aaand that's all for now! :)