Issue 05: February 2025... The Winter Edition (Pt. II)

Hello! If you missed Winter Edition Part I, you can read it here.

Everyone around here has been under the weather with winter plagues, so I'm running very late on Part II, but I saved a few pieces of art to make it interesting. I also tried something new and gathered some Q&A questions on socials. I answered the short ones and took some longer answers for the newsletter. Seems like a pretty good system, and thanks for the submissions. A big question that emerged was tips for new freelancers, so I'm thinking that will be in the next newsletter.

And as promised, if you're interested in card signing info, scroll to the end.

Eems Come True

We recently got this update from Ben and James over at Land of Eem! The new Land of Eem roleplaying game setting will be...

THE UNDERLANDS.

I painted this cover for the new campaign setting book (as well as for the previous book, The Mucklands.) If you're not familiar with the Land of Eem and you're a fan of TTRPGs, or graphic novels or books, or puns, I urge you to check them out. The Eem team is a dream to work with, and I'm a big admirer of their creative powers. Here are some Land of Eem links:

Visit landofeem.com and join their newsletter.

Or order the new Land of Eem TTRPG Deluxe Box Set.

They also have a new Podcast! about TTRPGs and writing.

Or check out this Polygon article.

Q&A

Fresh questions, for the artists this time. For future Q&A's, you can always reply to this email with your question.

1. How do you decide on a color palette?

You can start with some big basic questions:

-What is the mood of the piece?

-What colors do I feel like using today?

-What is supplying the dominant color information (light or local objects)?

The first two questions do the heavy lifting: is this piece dark and rainy, or sunlit and saturated, etc. and then how exactly do I want to represent that with hues. Don’t discount the second question, the awesome thing about color is it’s a relative system. So while you can think about your lighting process in a quasi-scientific manner that references the real world, the starting point of that system can be as surreal and fickle as you want. So if you wake up with a burning desire to use lavender, just go for it and start working up from that point. To that end, I like to unify my shadow colors around a base hue so the picture takes on a distinct character, then I’ll look at the dominant colors of the light and the painting’s subject and start to develop the more subtle transitional colors those opposing forces create. In the case of a picture with a large subject or white light, that subject is probably going to largely define the palette. In the case of a picture with a really saturated light source or more subdued local colors, the color of the light itself will probably create the more lasting impression. Then the last, best part (imo) is when that larger structure is in place, and you can find the places that can support a super saturated accent color.

2. How do you keep drawing fun?

-Draw what you love. Cliche, obvious advice but I think people often put this aside in the name of discipline and grit and I don’t think these are necessarily mutually exclusive. You can learn anatomy drawing Spider-man, and you can put a sleeping dragon in your carefully studied landscape painting (those are just fun examples for me, insert your own whimsy.) Kids are great at this, and we tend to forget it in service of being academic, but what are you actually excited to bring to life on the page?

-Start over. We all know the feeling of a drawing that isn’t flowing, isn’t believable or legible. Just toss it out and do a new pass, find your way to the drawing you really want to make. It’s usually about the third attempt for me, I can’t belabor a drawing that I’m not feeling.

-Do experiments. I don’t enjoy when drawing feels like a performance or party trick, I want every piece to include some maneuver or tool I haven’t done before. There should be a nugget of discovery in execution. I think this also the best way to evolve style, coincidentally.

The Everhaven Archives

Here's another batch of Everhaven friends. I believe these were a blacksmith, a witch, and an explorer from various lands beyond the starter zone. The witch remains one of my favorites from the project.

Signing Info
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​Card signings by mail are happening! I am just a painter with few other skills, and so to facilitate the logistics running smoothly, I've enlisted the help of fellow artist Brookes Eggleston, who has much more know-how about shipping artwork and cards. To get full details and pricing, please email Brookes at lorcanasignings@gmail.com

First round of signings is open now. It will remain open through the end of March and then we'll pause to process the cards and prepare for the next round (it won't be too long, don't worry.)

If you happen to want something besides cards signed, feel free to ask and we'll figure that out where possible. Huge thanks to Brookes, and to those who have been inquiring, thanks for your considerable patience.

That's a wrap for now! Stay healthy <3

John

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​www.johnloren.com​