D&D Feywild Commission

Here’s a piece I did recently featuring a couple of D&D characters confronting a Mind Flayer in the Feywild! Why is there a Mind Flayer in the Feywild? To be honest, I don’t know, but it can’t be anything good!

This was a fun piece to work on. My first time drawing the Feywild. It’s fun to do that overgrown nature thing, with the strange colors, and the big mushrooms and whatnot. I’m not sure I captured it completely how I imagined it, but it’s a start! This piece was also the culmination of my experiments with a more “painted” coloring style, vs. the “airbrush cuts” typical of comic book coloring that I usually use. I like the look, and I thought it would be a more efficient way to handle all of the vegetation, but it ended up being more time-consuming than usual. Currently, I’ve gone back to the basics for the time being.

 

Blasting Out of Avernus in a Howler-drawn Carriage, Pursued by Biker Duergar and Infernal Machines!

Here’s a commission I finished recently for a Descent Into Avernus D&D campaign. The party is fleeing from an army of biker Duergar and Infernal Machines, in (and on) a carriage pulled by a Howler that’s been fed a growth potion. Just really fun stuff all around!

Drawing the Monster Manual #13: Grell!

#13 in my quest to draw the entire 5th Edition Monster Manual: The Grell!

Lucky number 13, and I couldn’t have rolled a cuddlier little guy. What the hell is this thing? A beaked brain with barbed tentacles? Gross. But also undeniably awesome. Of course it’s from the Underdark!

I’m struck by how many D&D monsters are just a weird combination of different animals and different body parts. Hey, don’t mess with what works, right?

Drawing the Monster Manual #12: Goblin!

Number 12 in my quest to draw the entire 5th Edition Monster Manual, the Goblin!

An even dozen, and (finally? Already?) we come to the ubiquitous Goblin. I don’t know why, I love these guys. They’re so standard that everyone knows what a Goblin is supposed to be. They’re perfect low-level generic bad guys that you can always find a reason to put in, and at least in my estimation, they have a hilariously selfish and chaotic culture.

On the other hand, this guy came out looking pretty heroic. Maybe less of a Monster Manual Goblin, and more of a Volo’s Guide. I’d play that Goblin! (In fact I think I’ll put him on the list: Slerk, Goblin Barbarian. Nothing fancy, but I’ll bet he’d be fun.)

I’ve been experimenting with a new coloring style lately, and I think it finally started to click on this piece. More “painted” than the cel-shaded/comic book look I’ve always used. Until now, these experiments have been an uneasy combination of old and new. Here, I feel like it all started to click as a unified whole. I’ve got a new feeling of inspiration here, so I’ll bet the next entry in this series will come soon!

Drawing the Monster Manual #11: Bronze Dragon Wyrmling

#11 in my quest to draw the entire D&D 5th Edition Monster Manual: The Bronze Dragon Wyrmling!

So this whole pandemic/lockdown kinda threw me off my game for this project. Funny how that works — you’d think with all the extra time at home, you’d get so much done, but in my experience and observation, it’s worked out quite the opposite. (Must be that creeping existential terror!) But anyway, I’m back on the case now!

This is the first dragon of any kind that I’ve drawn for this project, but certainly not the last. I’m playing with some new coloring techniques — more of a painted style of rendering, rather than the “airbrush cuts” comic book style I’ve typically used. We’ll see how it goes!

D&D Commission: Outside the Yawning Portal

Here’s a little commission I did a while back, featuring a small party outside the Yawning Portal in Waterdeep. This group was a dad DMing for his kids, which might help explain the prevalence of pets in the party — but then again, I think that happens with a lot of groups!

 

Drawing the Monster Manual #10: Doppelganger

Number 10 in my quest to draw the entire 5th Edition Monster Manual: The Doppelganger!

Doppelganger is kind of a weird one, because the whole point is that it’s a monster that takes on the appearance of other people. Its true form is apparently a kind of nondescript, slightly melty purple dude. Different art depics it in different ways — the 5th Edition Monster Manual has it as a very humanoid figure. Other sou rces depict it in a stranger way, often with big “grey alien” eyes, or with an overgrown, misshapen shoulder girdle, and spikes growing out all over.

Like I’ve mentioned before, I’m planning on producing paper minis out of this series. I’m looking forward to using this guy in my game soon!