Good morning #PortfolioDay :D I'm Mike, still painting Fantasy Characters doing Fantasy Things (often in Fantasy Places), and having a blast doing it! Last year I got to do my first book covers, and this year I've got some rad stuff in the oven that should be publishing soon 😊

These Silicon Valley Geniuses Are Changing The Game Once Again By Replacing Good Things That People Like With Stupid Bullshit That Sucks Ass

Destishire town at night

Fireball Hello guys, this is one of the illustrations I did for the new D&D player's handbook! It was fun to explore how to paint such strong color harmony. Until next time, guys, enjoy! @Wizards_DnD @DnDBeyond #dungeonsanddragons

The idea that younger elves are still figuring out their inborn magical abilities (often by observing others) was something I made sure to sneak in there 😊

AD: Emi Tanji The main focus this time was on the elves' innate magic and their artistic inclinations as a long-lived species – playing music, doing some gardening, painting, or just observing others!

Third species opener that I painted for the new Revised Player's Handbook – Elves!

Oh, and a weird little easter egg: When sketching the orc in front, I based the design of their greataxe off of one of my fav old Wayne Reynolds D&D illos (from 3.5's 'Complete Warrior'), which showed half-orcs fighting a hag. Maybe an obscure pull, so I wanted to share :D

AD: Emi Tanji With Orcs' relatively short lifespan as fantasy races go, I really wanted to emphasize the multi-generational nature of a hunting party – kids and teens learning alongside the older folks. They're hunting with Harris's Hawks, if you're curious :D

Second illustration I made for the revised PHB – the species entry for Orcs!

AD: Emi Tanji I think I watched about a dozen hours of video on blacksmithing to figure out the processes/tasks/layout of a shop, so now I know those things forever

Sharing the first of my illustrations in the new PHB – the species entry for Dwarves!

One of the book covers I painted earlier this year!😊 [For Tor publishing, AD: Lesley Worrell]

This whips

If enforcing gender norms requires a constant state of surveillance and censorship then they probably aren't as biological or innate as you think they are

TTRPG Rates were also improved from past years, with compensation in the following ranges for my publishing work (much of which will be coming out this year 😊): Quarter Pages - 550-900usd Half Pages - 850-1250usd Character Art (vignetted) - 650-700usd Covers - 2100-3000usd

That's a total average of just under 24 working hours per finished illustration :D Quickest start-to-finish: 5.5 hours Longest start-to-finish: 69 hours

I've been going back through my 2023 work, with average time per piece spent as follows: Client Management/Emails - 1.6 hours Collecting Reference - 1.7 hours Thumbnails/Comps - 3.4 hours Drawing - 2.6 hours 3D - 0.7 hours (only used for ~35% of pieces) Rendering - 13.9 hours

on my spare time I've been making cute little isometric maps/tokens to support a mini-D&D-campaign we've been running on Roll20, which has been a fun little departure from full paintings! (new paintings soon though, my long NDA limbo is almost over)

I draw anniversary cards every year, and this year we got married so I got to draw that :y