What I love about this image is the juxtaposition of life and death. That is the wild core of being a Druid. That is the balance of nature. Life eventually concedes to death, which brings the opportunity for new life and Druids understand that equilibrium. The way the vines coil through the skeletal remains with plant sprigs jutting out is a reminder that we all will be reclaimed by nature.
The creative direction this artist went with for invoking the style of a Druid is spot on. The headdress adorned with feathers, foliage, and a skull all mirror the wild. Additionally, the painted facial features and design of the character give off a type of indigenous energy. It was and still is common practice for indigenous populations to use face paint for many ceremonial reasons. Red, which is a color on the character’s face, is a common color that symbolizes strength, energy, and power. Additionally, horizontal and vertical lines were believed to offer spiritual and magical strength to wearers, which we can see is also present on the characters face as they seem to be casting a spell. It appears he artist put a lot of effort into this picture to thoughtfully create this druid picture.
Life in the wild can be a solitary one. Not every Druid is accustomed to the same type of social life like other classes. Born and bred to be amongst nature, that is where they can find peace. The wild needs no one to bear witness to its strength, it just is. The deep expanse of the trees pushed off into the distance magnifies the woods’ emptiness that the staff wielding character is in. Viewers draw their attention to what viewers could assume is a sort of feline familiar. I think it would be against a Druid’s ideology to claim dominion over another type of animal as a pet.
This picture exemplifies a Druid’s calming but mysterious energy. The aged character is entirely at peace with their surroundings and it appears that the creatures around them are equally peaceful. Their mutual understanding of each other's existence reads as a sacred type of symbiosis between creature and Druid. It is as if they have all co-existed together for a long time.
11. Calista, a wood elf druid who is stressed, depressed, and trying her best.
A Druid should be comfortable amongst the trees and wildlife. This Druid is both. She seems incredibly at ease with her posing literally on a tree limb up in the trees and balancing a fox (she must also be strong as heck. When’s the last time you balanced a fox on your upper arm?). This Druid is entirely unbothered, not focusing on anything happening around her which supports the idea that this is what she’s always doing. I love that this is literally someone’s Dungeon and Dragons character.
10. Grove Witch // Ascension : Gift of the Elements
Truly the type of Druid you wouldn’t want to come across in the wilderness, this humanoid appears to be raising hell from the gnarled undergrowth beneath her. The contorted greenery encircling her seems to bend to her will. She might be casting a type of “Plant Growth” spell as power overflows through her and out through her hands. This Druid clearly belongs where she is: a boggy, overgrown forest.
This picture secured its spot in the top 10 because I think it demonstrates the relationship between Druids and the wild. It’s like they are meant to be together, which is evident in their collaboration in the picture above. The humanoid Druid is primed to cast a spell while the sprites are also ready to fight with their torches in hand.
I think it’s important to acknowledge this type of Druid is closer to a creature rather than a human. The Druid is bull-ish in nature and clad in armor made of other animals. Its headdress is composed of feathers and a bird skull with lights seeping from the eye sockets. The Druid stands in the middle of a forest, seemingly on edge for what may surround him.
I love this image because it shows a Druid in combat. There are arrows strewn around her and she is casting some type of spell to snap the incoming arrows around her. The spell also appears to shield her from their piercing points. It’s almost as if her clenched fist is an extension of the gnarled vines erupting from the earth as if she can control them.
This picture is equal parts terrifying and powerful. The skeletal Druid is encircled by a pack of wolves as ravens fly above. This appears to be the type of decaying wild that only exists in the recesses of dark nature. While there could be a case that most Druids are life leaning. They embody the lush, vibrant parts of wildlife. But there is also this type of dark nature. It is the type of dark nature that represents the end of life.
When you think about Druids, I feel like some people immediately think of the lush, lively, green types of Druids. But this is the type of Old Gods Druid. He is old and worn but still doing what Druids are tasked to do, protect and support the wild. It looks like he isn’t even in the woods. It is almost like he is in an area where there are cut tree trunks in the background. If that’s the case, then the dark look on his face is understandable. No matter how old he is, he is still going to do what he is called to do.
She is alive with the wilderness inside her. This ethereal Druid appears to be in a sickly, green swamp. To blend in with her surroundings, she is adorned with moss, branches, and vines. Magic emanates from her hands as she stands ready to fight whatever is in her way.
This image made it to the top three as it embodies what I think the deep wild looks like. Everything is overgrown by green. The trees are lush and the upper foliage leaves are so dense that it dims out the sun, leaving only streaks of light. The character looks like they haven’t interacted with any type of humanoid in years, possibly ever. The staff is emitting a kind of magic swirl, which seems like it is the energy of one of the Old Gods that Druids are known to worship as a dire wolf stalks the ground in front of them.
This number two best Druid picture is haunting but beautiful. You have a Druid, quietly passing his way through an icy wilderness with his eyes set forward with determination. He appears to be accompanied in a type of bear caravan with another character behind him. He possibly might belong to a druidic clan like the Druidic Circle of the Land. Ravens linger close by and flank the bear riding Druid. They might possibly be other Druids who are wild shape changed into birds to make travel easier for them. While their destination is unknown to us, clearly they have an end goal in mind.
This Druid is genuinely in a league of her own. I don’t even know where to start. Her ethereal glow stands out in the stark woods she stands in. The Druid’s eyes light up with ancient power as she summons a wolf-like manifestation out of the discarded dead leaves. She is using death to animate a type of magic life. It looks like she could be casting a “Conjure Woodland Beings” spell. The entity she is bringing into existence is surrounded by a wispy fog that appears to be holding it together. The raw magic emitting from her hands seems to be gifted to her by some type of old magic, or she might belong to the Druidic Circle of the Moon as they are the type of druids that are only found stalking the deep parts of the wilderness that adhere only to the call of the wild.
Dungeons and Dragons is the best type of game because the possibilities are endless. Your character can be whatever you want and as unique as you desire. All of the pictures above are Druids , but they are so unique in so many different ways. You can set forth and unleash the wild side of your creativity.
