illustration
Characters
scenes
K'ak Zotz - The Firebat
I was commissioned to create this character based on the client's Dungeons and Dragons PC, a Mesoamerican-themed warrior. I based her primarily upon imagery and themes of the Maya people (a subject that I read a LOT about) and of course I had to have her wielding a Macuahuitl (a bladed club).
I've included both my pencils and inks below to highlight my illustration process. After conducting a series of studies to nail down themes and features of the character, I make a pencil drawing. I then ink using a lightboard, scan the lines, make final edits to form, and finally color everything digitally.
Edwarth, Paranormal Romantic
Edwarth was commissioned to visualize an NPC in a Monster of the Week campaign, specifically he was the paranormal boyfriend of a PC.
The client provided me with a description of the way Edwarth acted, kind of a dreamy version of Gandalf, and reference images for his clothing and look. The model Harry Samba was included in these images and he ended up being a great source of inspiration for the character.
I generally mount each character on a minimalist background of some sort. As a wizard, Edwarth obviously needed to be in a library.
My client wanted to see other options for the shape of Willorah's hood, so I created a sheet of different variations for them to choose from.
The final design ended up using a mix of elements from these rather than a specific one, but the set of visuals allowed the client to describe their desire more accurately and gave me the tools to deliver a better final iteration of Willorah.
Willorah Owlquill, She Who Scrivens
Willorah is another Dungeons and Dragons PC commission, a wisdom-based scribe. The client requested that the design incorporate owl-like elements in Willorah's appearance. I used Great Horned Owls as inspiration for her costume, incorporating both feathers and "horns" on her hood. I added a massive scroll case and a bandolier of quills to push the wisdom angle.
Lancer d'Chevauchee, Warlock in Denial
My own D&D character, Lancer, a warlock who refuses to believe he is under the sway of a supernatural master. A silver-tongued dandy, cunning fighter, and generally crass dude who fails upward relying on his parents wealth, Lancer is no hero. I depicted him well-dressed and readying a sneak attack to reflect these qualities, also he's not above a rude hand gesture.
Louise, Beloved Family Chicken
Louise was a chicken that my family owned for many years. She was a very personable hen and would always run over to supervise any humans who entered her space, happily eating from your hand if offered millet.
When she eventually died, I decided to create a portrait commemorating her. It still hangs in my parents' house to this day.
Edoshi Bayou, Burlip and Spear
Edoshi is a campaign setting for Dungeon World, a mix between warring states-period Japan and Swamp Hunters. The Bayou is a crocodile-infested swampscape inhabited mainly by Swamp Dwarves. This piece was commissioned as a splash image to give players an enticing glimpse at the setting.
The Dwarves at right are Burlip and Spear respectively. These NPCs are allies of the players, so while I wanted to evoke an aura of grizzled Louisiana samurai fishermen, they needed a certain amount of silliness to remain friendly. Burlip, with his shirt made from a grain sack and Spear, with his croc-skin boots don't take themselves too seriously.
Whitebox, EDM
Whitebox is a world-building project of mine in which 3D printers are so advanced that they can produce any device or substance given the correct blueprint and enough blank matter, or whitebox. I imagined this process sort of like creating video game assets in real life.
In this piece, I imagined what a concert must be like if one could create particle effects in real life. My idea was that a "Particle Artist" could perform alongside a DJ, creating various visual effects live.
The main characters, Char, Swatch, and Norm, are hard-working indie "prefab" developers, prefabs being the blueprints that produce real-world items from whitebox. Every once in a while, even the most hardcore devs need to emerge from their caves and unwind, so I decided to put our heroes at an EDM show.
I named the band Monochrome Rainbow Megatonne, which I though sounded cool.
Whitebox, Provix Place
Whitebox takes place in a planet-spanning city, centering on the Neighborhood-State of Provix Place (basically a futuristic Rhode Island). In this world, cityscape must be blended with greenspace as much as possible, primarily for crop production and forestry.
As a New England-themed city, I depicted all the buildings as brick mills and added as much glass as possible in the form of greenhouses and floor to ceiling windows. I tried to incorporate trees wherever they made sense, melding with the buildings.
