Lord Rogan and the Jam, 2007, graphite.

This is the fourth of four drawings I completed for the upcoming second edition of Uresia, a fantasy game setting created by S. John Ross. Once I got to work, this one was quickly assembled.

Studies for Lord Rogan and the Jam, 2007, graphite.

Choosing grannies was tough. I tried to create ones that seemed to me both iconic and true to my own experience (not mutually exclusive qualities, I suppose).

Draft of Lord Rogan and the Jam, 2007, graphite and ink.

Posing Lord Rogan was fun, as was designing his costume. While drafting the costume I tried to channel Tenngren and Kirby.

Friends Discover Something Bad, 2006, graphite.

This is the third of four drawings I completed for the upcoming second edition of Uresia, a fantasy game setting created by S. John Ross.

I'm quite certain this one was the most difficult to complete, due mostly to the requisite figure interaction.

Studies for Friends Discover Something Bad, 2006, graphite.

In most cases I first worry over heads.

The basic design of the elf girl's head quickly materialized. I recall no additional drafts, only tweaks to the original drawing.

The fellow's head required more work. The scene description indicated a senior sorcerer, but a winning design wasn't immediately apparent to me.

For instance, the second head on the top row looks to me more like the Pardoner from The Cantebury Tales and less like a sorcerer. In my visual vocabulary, a sorcerer wears a high-collared cape and a wizard wears a pointy hat; that Pardoner-looking person's definitely a pointy-hat guy.

The final sorcerer design isn't particularly innovative, but it sufficiently serves the scene's requirements. Contrarily, I'm quite content with the elf design, especially her bug-themed costume.

Drafts of Friends Discover Something Bad, 2006, graphite.

I'd never suggest arranging heads then drafting bodies, but that's what I attempted for this drawing. As you'd expect, the technique was problematic, as evidenced in the second, awkward draft above.

Declaring this one finished was a relief. Whew!

Child of the Sea Dragon, 2006, graphite.

This is the second of four drawings I completed for the upcoming second edition of Uresia, a fantasy game setting created by S. John Ross. Since it depicts only a single figure, I think this drawing was, perhaps, the fastest of the four.

Drafts of Child of the Sea Dragon, 2006, graphite.

The far left sketch was my favorite of three or four thumbnails. The far right sketch came next, then the sketch of the hand-held game (on a separate sheet of paper). Using Photoshop, I combined the two sketches, moving the game into a reasonable hand-held position. A soft print of the merged sketches I used to render the final version.

Demon Girl Digs the Slime, 2006, graphite.

This is the first of four drawings I completed for the upcoming second edition of Uresia, a fantasy game setting created by Übermensch S. John Ross. Mister Ross is surely one of the nicest guys I've never met and it's a pleasure to contribute to his projects.

I think the four Uresia drawings are fairly representative of my current approach to drawing, a combination of good old-fashioned pencil work and Photoshop tweaks.

For me, interaction among figures requires planning. However, given the types of figures in this drawing (a cute girl in a dress and a dashing blob), the drawing quickly came together.

Drafts of Demon Girl Digs the Slime, 2006, graphite.

After completing the second in the above row, I forwarded it to S. John for a look-see. He suggested some adjustment to make it clear the slime's eyepatch is an eyepatch. An excellent suggestion! I scanned and printed the top half of the drawing, drafted some eyepatch decoration, then inserted the decoration into the drawing.