D&D: Entering Shadowfell (2010)
Skulls made of skulls!!
The 1.5-page chapter start I painted for this book was an exercise in masochism. Briefly, it’s a piece in which some “pre-rolled” characters (ie., fully described in terms of race/class) enter into the Shadowfell. Throughout my Shadowfell illustrations, I tried to squeeze in some sunlight. The descriptions made it sound like this was going to be a set of all-gray skies, which can be monotonous as well as monochromatic, as well as sitting side-by-side dozens of other illustrators’ gray skies. I asked if there was any way to get sunlight in--perhaps perpetual evening light, or always with oppressive skies, and was given the go-ahead. In this case, I had fewer clouds as I wanted the impression of them leaving what daylight there was, entering into the foreboding realm which the book explores.
The landscape was generally described as gloomy, swampy. They also asked for skulls to be hanging from trees. Here is where the masochism began. Skulls hanging from trees are an ages-old fantasy device used to indicate, “Abandon hope, ye who enter in.” I wasn’t feeling the skulls this time, but they were indicated in the brief.
