Dungeons and Dragons
Watercolor, gouache, ink, digital
2024

These three paintings were created as a series. Each one depicts an aspect of my siblings’ Dungeons and Dragons characters’ backstories. I was the dungeon master for the campaign, so I made these as a gift to my siblings.

I interviewed my siblings to get a better idea of what they wanted their characters to look, and feel, like. I sketched out some character concepts, and after receiving feedback, adjusted them until they were satisfactory. Then I sketched out ideas for the environment and situation each character would be in and asked my siblings again for their thoughts.

I started sketching digitally to allow for easy revising. I wanted the paintings to have a strong sense of drama, so I did a value sketch for each one, to establish strong contrast. Once satisfied, I printed out my digital lineart, and traced it onto watercolor paper. The color schemes I used were meant to complement each other, without being too similar. For that reason I chose a couple colors that would link the three paintings. I also worked some sort of scraggly element (such as the lightning) into each piece to create continuity.