One of the greatest privileges of my career was contributing to The House on the Island, the eighth adventure in Goodman Games’ acclaimed DCC Dying Earth series. Rather than creating original illustrations from scratch, my role was a unique one: to take rough sketches by legendary fantasy artist Erol Otus, who also wrote the adventure, and complete them as finished pen-and-ink illustrations.
As someone who grew up inspired by Erol’s iconic work for the earliest editions of Dungeons & Dragons, this was something of a dream project. His unmistakable style—strange, imaginative, and unlike anything else in fantasy art—helped define the visual language of roleplaying games. It was both an honor and a challenge to preserve the spontaneity and character of his sketches while developing them into polished illustrations for publication.
I’ll admit I probably overthought every line! When you’re inking artwork by one of your artistic heroes, there’s a natural desire to do justice to the original vision. Fortunately, I did hear from art director Matt Hildebrand that Erol liked what I did, so that made me very happy!
Set in the wonderfully bizarre world of Jack Vance’s Dying Earth, The House on the Island is filled with exotic locations, surreal creatures, and dreamlike imagery. Helping bring Erol Otus’s imagination to the printed page was an unforgettable experience, and one I’ll always treasure.
Island Map sketch by Erol Otus
Canyon sketch by Erol Otus
Canyon Ink
House sketch by Erol Otus
House Ink
Fungal Fissure sketch by Erol Otus
Fungal Fissure Ink
