Process Video: 2006

Here's a process video of the step-by-step creation of Stan!'s cartoon homage to the D&D Player's Kit—exclusively for paid subscribers.

This is another example of a great D&D cover image that is more or less unknown among most fans, even those who were playing the game when it was released in 2006. The reason is that the D&D Player’s Kit was a product aimed mostly at big bookstores like Barnes & Noble and mass-market toy stores like Toys-R-Us and Walmart. It was meant to sit on a shelf next to board games like Monopoly and Clue. It was a companion to the D&D Basic Game—meant to sell to non-gamer parents (or grandparents, or aunts and uncles) whose kids were just getting into (or wanted to get into) Dungeons & Dragons.

So, amazing as the cover is (and I think it’s pretty dang amazing) … it wasn’t on a product that the people who would appreciate it most were likely to pay attention to (or even see at all). But this is definitely a scene that an experienced player would look at and say, “What adventure is THAT from? I want to play that!!”

Subscribers to this newsletter got to see this drawing early, 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.)