Summons - Blog Posts

An eternal, undying bird. Its tears are rumored to have curative properties, and it is said that he who tastes the Phoenix's blood will have eternal life. —Dissidia Final Fantasy Summon Compendium The Phoenix doing its special attack "Flames of Rebirth/ Life Giver" depending on which version of the game you were playing. One of the first times i drew the phoenix i remember showing it my grand-aunt and she said it reminded her of the double-headed bird from Germany. Not sure if a double-headed eagle is associated with Germany but whatever. I noticed that the Phoenix seems to have a human-like torso in the FF games. I like the idea of the Phoenix being almost man-sized and having a human like a shape to it.

"Holy Aura" / "Life Guard" Depending on which version of FF6 you played. The only Espers i got around to "finishing" was Starlet and Kirin, the rest remained in a sketch book somewhere in my closet. I had a hard time drawing Kirin. Im not used to drawing fish scales and had to do them over and over again until I felt comfortable with the results.

Those who hear this singing fairy woman are struck mute and cannot cast spells. —Final Fantasy VI PlayStation esper section Her special is called "Silent/ Lunatic Voice depending on which version of the game you are playing. Probably need some sort of explanation behind this one. So, Traditionally a Siren is a daughter of one of the Muses and a river/ sea god. They are depicted as half beautiful woman, and half seabird, hence the seagull wings. But why does my Siren have mermaid legs? Well, when I was a lad, way back when, i saw a picture of a Rennaissance picture of some sort, showing the Sirens trying to seduce Odyessus with fish like legs and the image stuck in my head. This picture is sort of a remake of an old color pencil sketch I no longer have within my possession. I like the idea of the Siren being some sort of beautiful monstrous beast, partly made of divine beauty and part monster.

"The Empress of ice wreathed in frost. She is known for her signature move, 'Diamond Dust', which freezes everything in an instant." Diamond/ Gem Dust" Depending on which game you played. Shiva has always been a fan favorite of mine, and though she is supposed to be based on 6, I designed her after 9.

Ramuh, the Elder Justiciar... His anger calls forth thunderclouds as dark as a winter night, which deadly bolts dispense justice with the greatest of efficacy. —Eidolon Library "Judgement Bolt/ Bolt Fist" Ramuh (which i pronounce Ram-oo) Is one of my favorite recurring summons in the FF series. when I was a kid, i noticed that the same lightning effects animation he did in FF6 was very similar to the "Lightning 2" effects in Chronotigger. In any case, I'm torn on this picture, but I'm torn on all the Espers I've been drawing.

Warning: Long Post, Bragging about

For me, it’s tied with Valigarmanda (not Tritoch) and Ultima Weapon (not Atma Weapon, as much as it hurts me since i love DDS but i digress) both from FFVI

Valigarmanda is such a underappreciated Summon, Esper, Eidolon, whatever. i love this Quetzalcoalt-looking thing (i don’t know if would be a better feathered serpent design for quetzalcoalt than smt 1 quetz but that’s beside the point) despite how much important it is for FF6′s plots (being the first Esper you encounter not counting the half-esper herself, terra, which speaking of which, it also help her to unlock her esper form) it’s kinda of a shame that outside of it’s debut game, it barely appears, and most of it’s other “appearances” are just reference to it (which an antagonist from world of final fantasy being probably it’s most important non-ffvi “appearances”) i think it’s gimmick being a “tri-elemental” summon would atleast make it stand out for most other summons in the franchise.

Ultima Weapon is also very badass design and (thankfully) it does appear in more FF games (thought sometimes other i can be a pain trying to refer specifically to this thing since i usually refers to the weapon (both the FFVII and the literal definition of the word) of the same name. (also Battle to the Death slams)

honorable mentions, in not particular order:

The Weapons from FFVII

Odin

Behemoth

Typhon

Sprite Gilgamesh (yeah, i’m kinda weird)

Diabolos

The Four Fiends from FFI

The Four Archfiends from FFIV

Shinryu

Sefer Sephiroth

Alexander

Leviathan

Deathgazer

The Warring Triad

so what's your favorite Final Fantasy Monster? (whatever if is "myth accurate" or just looks cool)

Accuracy to myth is definitely not something that figures into my appraisal of FF designs. Anyway:

this was the most freak shit that a preadolescent soren ever saw. still unfuckwithable to this very day. god this shit is sick. fuck!!!