Original watercolor artwork, a new creative partnership, and a little Halloween gift.
In 2021, I began creating free PDF guides for Legends of Barovia, my expanded Dungeons & Dragons campaign for Curse of Strahd. What began as a personal project has grown into something much larger, thanks to the generosity and encouragement of this wonderful community.
Along the way, one of my greatest challenges has been finding artwork that truly captures the atmosphere of the worlds I'm creating.
Finding an artist whose style you love is one thing. Being able to afford that artist is another, especially when you're giving away your adventures for free.
For years, I've searched for an artist whose work could give Legends of Barovia its own distinctive look and feel.
Several months ago, I finally found one.
Meet Hardi
I came across Hardi's beautiful watercolor and ink illustrations while searching for artists. He wasn't working in the tabletop roleplaying industry. Most of his commissions were for weddings, family portraits, and personal artwork.
But something about his illustrations immediately caught my attention. His delicate ink lines, expressive characters, and soft watercolors had a wonderful quality that reminded me of traditional illustrated fantasy books.
I reached out and commissioned a few pieces, sharing some of the existing character portraits I'd been using for Gates of Barovia as references.
The results were wonderful. He captured exactly the atmosphere I had been looking for.
I asked Hardi whether he'd be interested in a long-term collaboration, creating character portraits, tokens, and landscapes for theater-of-the-mind scenes. We discussed a budget that worked for both of us, and I'm delighted to say that we've been working together ever since.
For the first time, I feel that Legends of Barovia, Legends of Saltmarsh, and my original adventures can begin developing a consistent artistic identity of their own.
And perhaps even more importantly, I'm excited to be working with and supporting a fellow independent artist.
A New Direction for Our Artwork
Over the years, I've used a combination of public-domain illustrations, commissioned artwork, and AI-generated images in my free PDF guides. With a limited budget, commissioning original artwork for dozens of characters and locations simply wasn't financially possible.
I've always been open with my supporters about using AI artwork. On two occasions, several years apart, I conducted community polls asking whether people were comfortable with its inclusion in my free guides. Both times, more than 70% of respondents supported its use.
I appreciated that understanding. Nevertheless, as an author and amateur photographer myself, I've always had mixed feelings about AI-generated artwork, particularly when used in published projects.
My preference has always been to work with artists, and now, thanks to Hardi and the support of this community, I can begin moving away from AI-generated artwork and toward original, commissioned illustrations.
It's a direction I'm genuinely excited about.
Made Possible by Your Support
Of course, this transformation won't happen overnight.
There are dozens of character portraits to replace, tokens to create, and countless locations waiting to be illustrated. It's a considerable undertaking, and one that will take time.
Every new portrait, watercolor landscape, and token brings us a little closer.
None of this would be possible without the generous support of our members.
Your contributions allow me to continue publishing free adventures while commissioning original artwork and providing ongoing work for another independent artist. That means a great deal to me, and I'm incredibly grateful.
We're already beginning to see the results of this collaboration. Hardi's artwork appears in our recently released Village of Saltmarsh guide and the original adventures Azure's Folly and River Dogs.
Next up is the updated Gates of Barovia, the first of our Legends of Barovia guides to feature Hardi's original watercolor illustrations.
There's still a long road ahead, but I'm looking forward to sharing that journey with you.
A Little Halloween Gift!
What better way to celebrate Halloween than with something wonderfully undead?
Hardi recently painted this gruesome zombie, and I've turned his original watercolor illustration into a set of tokens for your tabletop adventures.
As a small Halloween gift to the community, I'm making the Zombie Token Pack free for everyone!
The free pack includes PNG and WEBP static tokens, plus an animated WEBM token.
All three are ready for your next encounter in Foundry VTT or your favorite virtual tabletop.
Thank You for Your Support
I hope you enjoy the zombie tokens and find a suitably terrifying use for them in your next adventure!
If you enjoy my work, please consider joining my free newsletter for new adventures, artwork, and updates.
And if you'd like to help me continue publishing free adventures and commissioning original artwork from artists like Hardi, you can support my work through a donation or Ko-fi membership.
Thank you for making all of this possible.
Happy Halloween!
— Pyram
