The next set of creature designs are by Arlin Ortiz. As I said in my previous Halloween Monsters post, role-playing games and their bestiaries have had a huge effect on my own creature designs. Ortiz' monsters are given descriptions and statistics in a clean and stripped-down style clearly done as an homage to monster profiles from the 2nd edition D&D Monster Manual.
Ortiz' printmaking style reminds me of classic fantasy illustrations by Ruth Robbins' woodblock print interior illustrations for Ursula LeGuin's A Wizard of Earthsea. It also reminds me of J.R.R. Tolkien's artwork, particularly his own designs for his Lord of the Rings books.
I love the playful, somewhat goofy look of this particular creature, the Brick Golem. The idea that they are found "where wizards live, in the place of a chimney..." is intriguing. Is this an attempt at building a camouflaged guardian? Or do some wizards just like turning everything around them into a golem?
You can see more of Arlin Ortiz' artwork at his website. Or check out all his monsters on his Monster Pamphlets Tumblr blog
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