UlaFish on DeviantArthttps://www.deviantart.com/ulafish/art/Goblin-Sketches-329402191UlaFish

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Goblin Sketches

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Description

For the purpose of my portfolio, I've been developing a fantasy world for a hypothetical game- complete with races, classes, environments, lore, and history. Goblins are one of my favorite fantasy races, and this is my take on them.
In my last set of goblin concepts, the ones with bat-like features were by far the most popular, so I've chosen to go with that direction in fleshing out this race a bit further.

The goblins of Orphan (just a working title for the world, until I come up with something good) are cave dwellers. Although their eyesight isn't bad, their hearing is incredible- and they use echolocation to help them navigate the vast underground network of caverns that is their kingdom. Before encountering other races, they communicated through a language of music, and this has shaped much of their culture. The goblins are known to craft incredible instruments with magical qualities- no two of which are alike. They're also known for a particular love of herbs, and many of their instruments double as smoking apparatuses. The goblins mine a type of crystal that has unique resonating properties, which they use to enhance their musical implements, their magic, their weapons, and their wardrobes. They cultivate moths for meat and fur, as well as pets and messengers. Moth wing motifs are common in goblin textiles, tattoos, and art. Spiders are also popular pets, and the goblins have bred a range of them for everything from guard beasts to lap warmers.
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6137x7500px 9.69 MB
© 2012 - 2024 UlaFish
Comments97
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Woooow, this is beyond amazing! The sketches themselves already convey a very unique feel and culture, but when reading the text I realized how fleshed out this is. I love how you managed to give this abundantly used trope a completely new character, that does not even feel like "random bad guys" but just utterly alien to human standards. And their underground style of living with echolocation and stuff actually feels very plausible!


Also, one of my thoughts: considering their top notch hearing, I imagine their music to be very gentle and soft, eerily echoing through their dark homes...