Art for Shadowdark

Its been a quiet year for me with wargaming so far. For various reasons I've been wargaming less than usual, although lately we've been doing a lot of Bloody Big Battles, which has been fun.

However, my gaming has been focussed elsewhere for a few months.  My wife and I regularly play boardgames, and lately we've become obsessed with the 'living card game' Arkham Horror from Fantasy Flight Games. We spent a month or so completing the Scarlet Keys campaign with that.

I've also been playing a lot of roleplaying games and lately have been really excited by the multi-award winning game Shadowdark. 

It's inspired me to spend time writing adventures for it, possibly for publication. I needed some illustrations for the text so for the first time in a decade I broke out the inky sticks to bash a few scribbled together.  Its been interesting to see that my art style has changed in the interim, and I've been trying to cultivate a freer technique that gives the images a sort of 'movement'. So here's the first batch (with a couple of older ones I found from back in 2013.

Kobold at rest

Cover image for 'The Vault of the Sapphire Key'

Run halfling, run!

This orc is an homage to the old, original AD&D orc images by

David C. Sutherland III. His interpretation of these monsters

became a defining and highly influential design.

Shadowdark has 'beastmen', and here's my
take on them.

Fairy

Shadowdark's iconic Stingbat

Dryad

Duergar or 'grey dwarf', and evil cave-dwelling
version of the famous fantasy dwarf type.

An older (2013) bash at a dwarf warrior.
This was intended for something to do 
with Warband Fantasy.

Another older Warband Fantasy based illustration.

How do you make a giant frog look giant? Throw a leg in his mouth of course!

Challenge accepted!

Light and camp kit for resting is essential in Shadowdark

Sapphire Key

It amuses me that Shadowdark has badgers as a monster, so obviously I had to 
draw a savage attack by these wonderful little beasties!

Shadowdark's 'Cave Brute', which is legally distinct from
other classic insectoid cave monsters.

Clearly a goblin shield. Some icons are so strong...