Last week, the newest supplement for Dungeons & Dragons, Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, was released. I produced one illustration for this book, and it was a little out of the ordinary, for me, at least. I worked on this project in May when I was struggling to make art. I took it on, hoping that a deadline and outside stimulus would jumpstart my interest and motivation and get me back to the drawing table. It had some effect on this, but at the time, I remember really struggling to get this one done.
If I understand correctly, at one point, there were going to be a lot more monster assignments in Tasha's Cauldron of Everything than there ended up being in the final book. Since I was only taking on one painting, this left me with a set of three crystal shards. I accepted the challenge, and while my motivation was lacking at times, I approached the crystals as a professional. It turns out that production was really impressed and that it exceeded their expectations. This is, of course, very flattering, but I was warned if I kept this up, I will be known as the item guy and not the monster guy. Here is how my Elemental Essence Shard painting turned out.
Elemental Essence Shard
Tasha's Cauldron of Everything
11 x 14 - Digital
Art Director - Kate Irwin
© 2020 Wizards of the Coast LLC
Since the final painting for this piece is digital, the only original for it is the drawing. This piece marks a change in my process. While completing a pencil line drawing used for the final digital painting, I am taking the drawing to completion once the linework is approved. This gives me a better idea of what I plan to do moving forward with the painting, it allows me more time to enjoy working on the drawing, and it provides a superior finished original. I have been doing this with my WotC assignments since working on the illustration. I am happy with how it turned out, and I look forward to sharing more of these finished drawings with you in the future. Here is how the drawing for this Elemental Essence Shard turned out.
Elemental Essence Shard
Tasha's Cauldron of Everything
11 x 14 - Pencil on paper
Original - SOLD after being damaged by my cat
Art Director - Kate Irwin
© 2020 Wizards of the Coast LLC
Here is a little preview of Elemental Essence Shard in the book. Please excuse the unflattering photo of the page.
Elemental Essence Shard in book form! Do not let this lousy photo of the page sway you. It printed beautifully.
That is all of another exciting Monday on the blog. Due to the Thanksgiving Holiday this week, this will likely be my only post. See you back here next week! Until then...
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