Talon Dunning
Artists Notes
What can I say? I love Ravenloft. I'm an old-school Ravenloft fan from way-back, so I was, like, super-thrilled to get this gig. I used to play and run Ravenloft back in college (around the early 90's) so I'm pretty familiar with the overall feel of the setting as well as the characters involved (Domain Lords, etc.). So it's a lot of fun to get to draw characters with names like "Van Richten" and "Von Zarovich." That's one of the reasons I try to accept any Ravenloft project that comes my way if it involves portraits, even if I'm already up to my elbows in work. I just can't pass up the opportunity to draw these characters.
One thing I always try to do with Ravenloft (and really with any of my fantasy illustrations) is make sure that even the most generic "PC stand-in" characters are interesting. I want people to look at my pics and wonder who these folks are. The racial illustrations in the main d20 Ravenloft book (reprinted in the Ravenloft Player's Guide) are great examples. Each one of those characters has a name and a class and a few even have backgrounds. Like the Calibans are siblings, the dwarves are a married couple and the human on the right (the guy with the scar and the black robes) was a university rival of Van Richten who was expelled when a rumor spread that he may have a connection to the Vistani. So these aren't just random, generic examples of a race. They're characters. In some cases, they're even old PCs. The pics I've done for prestige classes are a little more generic, but even some of them have taken on lives of their own as I've had them appear in later illustrations.
Check out page 77 of "Gazeteer II." The three "PCs" being scrutinized by the disapproving Lamordians are three characters from previous books (specifically the Crypt Raider and Avenger from "Van Richten's Arsenal" and the female halfling from the Player's Guide). I did something similar in the "Gazeteer I," as well. Page 15 shows Van Richten's rival again along with the Anchorite of the Mists from "Van Richten's Arsenal." Even the Taroka Deck saw one or two repeat characters. Both the Five of Coins and the Three of Stars sport characters from previous books.
Overall, Ravenloft is my favorite setting to draw for. I love the creepy mood and the historical costuming. I usually choose to work in pencil on paper or bristol board, although I did venture into inks for the Taroka Deck, which, by the way, was the most stressful project I've ever undertaken just due to the sheer amount of drawings required. Some are more successful than others, but, as a whole, I think they came out pretty darned good. In fact, I've been pretty pleased with just about everything I've done for Ravenloft, especially my portraits. I really enjoy drawing those.
I sincerely hope that Ravenloft fans like my work and that I can continue to help visualize the setting in the future.
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