Process Video: Book of Dungeon Encounters

Exclusive for Paid Subscribers

After releasing my cartoon homage to Erik Lofgren’s cover for The Book of Dungeon Encounters, I was surprised to have several people tell me that they recognized it from other publications. It turns out that this wonderful painting, whose title is “Minotaur Attack,” is available from the artist as stock art, and has graced the cover of at least two other products released by other indie publishers.

In making cartoonified version, I found it a challenge to get the right vibe. More traditional painters often create images that lean heavily into a particular color to give a piece a particular emotional vibe. Look at the original “Minotaur Attack” image and you’ll see what a great job Lofgren did casting this entire scene in blue. It’s a different matter for me, who works in line art with cel-style coloring, to get similar effects. Or maybe it’s just my lack of much formal training.

Anyway, if you compare my version with the original, I think you’ll find that my colors are VERY different from the ones in Erik’s painting … but I hope I’ve managed to still capture the vibe he created.

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.)