Issue 10: October 2026... Return of the Halloween Special!

If you missed the last issue, you can read it here.​
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Somehow the newsletter took a very brief 12-month hiatus and here we are at another Halloween. These things happen! Let's recap with some highlights:

So over the winter I went to DISNEY LORCANA CHALLENGE: RICHMOND. ​
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It. Was. Wild. For those not in the know, a DLC is a Lorcana tournament of several thousand players beginning their hopeful journey to the World Championship. I burned out my voice from chatting with players and their families, and burned out a hundred pens signing cards, posters, puzzles, etc. over the course of three days. I rarely step back or look up from my work, which has always has kept me focused on the business of painting, but to see folks playing the game and enjoying the artwork in such numbers was really amazing. Thank you to everyone who came by!

Then this past month I went to LIGHTBOX EXPO, a convention for artists mostly in the animation/game/entertainment industries.
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It was amazing and inspiring. I also burned out my voice there chatting with students, pros, some old friends, and my awesome Lorcana team. At Lightbox, I was lucky enough to be nominated for a Concept Art Association award for the Lorcana box artwork of Wilds Unknown. We didn't win in the end, but as we all know it's an honor to be nominated and it was a lovely event.

Also! Among my Lightbox haul was this hardcover ART OF JELLYBOTS book from friend-of-the-newsletter Nicholas Kole!! I've been waiting for this tome for over ten years, and I'm thrilled to be holding it at last. And If you'd like a copy of the book, they'll be available online soon...

The Everhaven Archives

There's still more to discover in the lost land of Everhaven, and this time we have more pirates... A scary captain, a cute little lizard, and a spooky wielder of fire-swords. (And for anyone new, Everhaven was a cancelled video game whose artwork we're exploring very slowly via this newsletter.)

But wait, there's Moria...

A sketch! For the past couple years, I've had such a full plate that it's meant cutting out sketching in order to meet deadlines and stay healthy. But last time I had a few spare moments, I drew this snippet of Gandalf in the Mines of Moria.

Puzzling News

By the way, if you're a fan of puzzles and silly old bears, the artwork from the Hunny Wizard card is now available in jigsaw form.

Folks, I'm on Bluesky, this time for real and you can actually see art there. The online landscape for artists is a bit of a nightmare right now, but I'm hoping this can reach the small cohort of folks who want to see it.

That's all for now, I'll save some more Lorcana stuff for next time and I hope I see you again before next Halloween... who knows! I'll leave you with the cover of a book my daughter made (The Cute Little Octopus)

Happy spooking,

John

​www.johnloren.com​