Concept Art: Imps

I've always thought of Imps as being small... like a quasit from the original D&D monster's manual. Perhaps to help imply the smaller size, the weapon's they use could be small items. They'd hold them like full size weapons (since they themselves are small) but it could be a variety of things: dining forks, letter openers, knives, fire pokers, spears and clubs fashioned from various objects such as furniture pieces or bones from small creatures etc etc.

Also, I agree with Fireangel, the two with the sword look too muscular for an Imp. They look like a full size demon to me. If I run into a single Imp in a dark alley, I'd imagine it would try its best to annoy me to death. If I run into a pack of them, my life could be in danger. But if I run into that muscular sword toting imp which is pictured, I'd expect it to stand as tall as me and give me a run for my money just by its lonesome. That doesn't seem impish to me.

Great drawing however, I think it just fits more of the "full size demon category".

Also, the crouching/crawling ones have the right idea, just tone down the muscles a bit. Their muscles are "wirery" like a skinny crack addict and are vicious in numbers, but merely annoying by themselves (from my impression of them).

 

When I think of an imp, it is a small mischievous daemon with wings, horns, and possibly a tail. My definition of small here can be from around dwarven-sized down to somewhat larger than tinkerbell. Besides that, I don't think I want a distinctive physical difference between a good or bad imp, and I will write some of my thoughts as to why.

I think it would be more fun if they were not immediately aggressive on sight, and then each imp encounter can be somewhat of a mystery to us if the imp is good or bad. Perhaps a bad imp could even attempt to fool you into thinking it is good, to lure you into a trap or such?

This to me seems much more interesting than seeing an imp and instantly knowing if it is evil just by appearance, and go all murder 'n carnage on it for some loot. Then when you reckognize one as good, just start talking with it because you need not fear it. That is not as much of a conundrum.

 

An Imp is an Imp ...

If they can speak - I would rather determine their good/evil nature through conversation rather than look

 

Yea, when I think of imp, I think of the adjective "impish."

 

Stephen,

My thinking with the Imps & Emps, is that their arms should be just about as long as their legs..maybe longer!
they spend most of their time on all fours, hopping around when not flying somewhere..
I imagine their knees and elbows always splayed out far to the sides, to help distinguish their 'mischievous' movements from other humanoid creatures.

Also, to help differentiate Imps from Emps, perhaps one type could scale a bit smaller/larger than their counterpart. I like the idea of the Emps being a bit larger, or the Imps a bit smaller, mainly so that Imps don't appear to have a clear advantage in a fight.

One other thing I was thinking about is the tail. Killer whales in captivity curl their dorsal fin.. what if Emps because they are servants, held their tails in a different way than the 'free' Imps? They might hold their heads higher, and stand on two legs when not moving, in efforts to mimic their human masters.

As for good/evil: I would think Imps are free, Emps are domesticated.. but both can have good/evil variants. for the Emps, their morality should be determined by their master's own morality.. For Imps, it should depend more on the 'family' or 'clan' they belong to.

Thanks for yet another great PotA! I look forward to your Top 5!!

 

Would love to see PSD files available for some of these concept art pieces. I can't whip up 3d that fast, but it would be fun to iterate some designs like this.

Other than that, my only comment is fix the second left foot

 

Can the emp have a little edge to them?



Edit - adding content
How about a lemur tail instead of a squirrel?

 

I like the hands and the "scalyness" ... but the face looks too much like a cat, love the posture

 

Here are two specimens I like:

 

John Kricfalusi made his "Ren" as a perferct likeable imp.

 

Here is another, and she looks very mischievous as well:

 

When I think of an Imp I think of a little devilish character that is about 6 to 12 inches tall. Lithe and stringy as it needs to fly and dodge its prey quickly. A tail with something at the end in which to jab its prey. It would also have reverse jointed legs like most birds do. Maybe coated in a thin coat of hair.

I had an interesting idea while watching your show when you were talking about the difference between Imps and Emps. A hog is pretty much a domesticated wild boar. Now what if and Emp was a domesticated Imp? If you abused you Emp it would run away and turn into an Imp. On the flip side if I caught an Imp and trained or domesticated it, it would become an Emp. Now being magical they would go through a transformation when this happens.

Any thoughts on this idea?

 

Totally excited to see a new incarnation of the imp. Where did imps come from? Were they an experiment similar to those that produced the elves? Perhaps Imp is a shortened form of Imperial, bearing a historical connotation. ps love that Quinton Hoover image Mishri, good pull.

 

Gargoyles are a good source for impish characters in general. This horned, winged monkey on Notre Dame could be a mongbat, but also an imp,

 

how about this imp on a stick?

just uploaded it

 

Will mongbats be making a return? Or does that belong to another ip?