Process Video: 1991

As an exclusive perk for our paid subscribers, we present this video showing the step by step creation of Stan!'s cartoon homage to "Dark Sun."

When Dark Sun was released in 1991, not only was it unlike any other TRPG setting ever published, it LOOKED as unique, alien, and cool as it played, thanks to the incredible artwork of Gerald Brom (usually known simply as “Brom”).

In working on this homage, I quickly came to realize that while I could interpret the characters and the setting, one thing I couldn’t interpret was Brom’s style. It is unique and unmistakable, and the minute it is taken out of the equation the image in question becomes a completely different thing. You may be able to draw the same subject as Brom … but you’ll never capture it in the same way.

I think I did a pretty good job of interpreting the characters, creatures, and setting in this piece. But looking at it, you’d NEVER guess that it was based on a Brom painting unless you knew the original source. I just have NO hope of infusing any Brom-ish-ness into my own very specific style … but I take heart knowing that NO ONE ELSE can do that, either. Brom is Brom … that’s just how it is, and thank goodness for that!

Subscribers to this newsletter got to see this drawing last week, whereas the general public are only just getting their first glimpses of it today. But there’s still something left that’s JUST for the paid subscribers—a process video showing the step-by-step creation of this cartoon homage. (If you’re currently a free subscriber, now would be a great time to upgrade.)