The Dungeons and Dragons Art Life

How I became an RPG Artist

(The extremely short version)

It was January 2013 when I got the Facebook message. Or at least, that's when I think it was.
Luke Gygax, son of Gary Gygax creator of Dungeons and Dragons, sent me a message asking if I could contribute any images to his first adventure module he was trying to get done for GaryCon V (iirc).
There was something about a bear pooping in the woods. I was pretty fresh to digital art and had how-to videos rolling most of the time I was working from home.
The artwork in that module was just terrible. I had never shot anything directly to print before. Much of it was too dark, anatomically terrible, or just not what I would consider print-worthy today. It was enough to get the wheels rolling though. I was working on art 8 hours a day after coming home from my new office job, that also required 8 hours a day (Plus an hour and a half of driving).

I went all in and attended GaryCon. It was at great expense, maxing out a credit card, eating baloney and cheese in the hotel room that I was sharing, all to get there with a portfolio of images.

I was rewarded with Frank Mentzer, one of the early founders of D&D, thumbing the portfolio within the first few minutes. Since that moment Frank has been a vocal supporter of what I do.
It was at that Con I met many of my connections that have kept me going. Zach Glazar from Lesser Gnome had an idea, a basic module plot, and a commissioned piece from Jeff Dee. He was in dire need of an artist. He missed breakfast that morning and got stuck looking at what I had. Many other friends were made, games played, and art shared.

A month or so later Zach needed a small map, then in trickled the needs. I wasn't the best, but I decided from the beginning that what was needed was to be on time. Every time a deadline came, I made sure to beat it.
I started to get a bit better with each piece. I also began to take the idea of my teen age dream of illustrating fantasy RPGs seriously.

Lesser Gnome ended up entering the market after a super kickstarter with a full on old school box set. Many lessons were learned by everyone. I picked up some new tools and we showed up at GaryCon VI with our new products. Almost a year later I went to telecommuting my office job to keep up, then shortly after to no office job to keep up.

The client list has grown, I was a guest at North Texas RPG Con This year, shared a room with my childhood art Hero Jeff Easley, and have made MANY fast friends doing exactly what I love.

I have been extremely grateful all along this journey, but I have made many sacrifices and have worked at improving myself and my art like a tireless animal. My immediate family has been supportive, and every month brings a nervous moment of making sure the rent is paid.

My own Webstore is always growing with products and these seem like the days of unveiling the dreams. Just waiting for the veil to come all the way off to see what is under there!

Every year I am invited back to illustrate for Luke. We go to Lake Geneva and pay homage to Gary and meet with all our friends. Texas is also on my list every year. The friends and support I have found there cannot be beat.

This short article leaves out the working in the cold basement in Maine, our move to Florida, the many struggles and challenges we faced, and new clients I met. I have lost count of how many times my work has been published in less than 2 years. I am not sure there even is a recipe to follow or share about my journey. It seems like a long string of hard work and accidental friendships.

Now in my down time, when I find some, I produce and print my own Role Playing Game Adventures compatible with the old school AD&D model. Oil paintings don't linger around long before they sell and ship out the door. I am truly humbled by all the support, and I wake up eager every day to improve my work in some way.

Game - on.
Lloyd Metcalf
http://LMetcalf.com

Gary Con V "A Life Well Played"

The Last Day

Saturday was very busy. I started early and ended late. I played "Tower of Gygax" with a few young fellas at the table. They may have been somewhere between 10 and 12, but their over excitement at the table was good to see. I didn't care that the Druid tried to pick some pockets or the bumbling around. We were all smiling, and their enthusiasm is something I hope will last as long as mine has.
I had a Chance to steal Diesel "DSL", Dave LaForce for an hour or so and talk about digital art, the Wacom, Photoshop and how I work. soo... no pressure.

Sunday

I grabbed a game of Gigantic with Chris Clark. An outrageously fun game that I NEED to get a copy of, where you play classic character types on a sinking legendary cruise ship.
We got to talk a little "business" afterward about Eldritch enterprises and how they work with artists. Next week I will have the contract signed, and you can say hello to the newest member of the art team of Eldritch. I am not sure if everyone is aware of who is involved with Eldritch, but it is a core group of Dungeons and Dragons old guard members. There isn't a ton of money involved, but I can do whatever I like with the images I give them and this has nothing to do with money for me. They have found a contract that is smart and gives everyone maximum creativity.
What does that all mean?
That means, cross a life long dream off my list.

The over -all

I met a bunch of the Gygax family, a bunch of the originators of RPG's, a bunch of artists, game designers, players, young and old. I didn't come across a single person I didn't like. I TRULY wish I had come with a few hundred bucks to blow. When I realized Elise Cousino (Gygax) (Every D&D old school player's dream girl ;)) was auctioning off her chainmail top that really is a piece of D&D history, I realized a fella should come to the auction with a full bank account. There were some other UBER collectible pieces in the auction that all the family and friends had donated to help Ernie recover from a fire. I hope they made a mint for him.
No one charges for signatures, and everyone came in honor of Gary Gygax Sr. "A Life Well Played"
I would especially like to thank Luke Gygax for letting me illustrate the module for the convention he wrote with Jim Ward and REALLY opening the door for me to get my feet wet and get everyone's attention right off the bat. I look forward to many more projects with him and TSR whenever they pop up for me.
I would also like to thank everyone who looked at my portfolio, talked with me, and gave their thoughts. Lastly, everyone who rolled dice with me and sat at the gaming tables.
This was truly a trip to remember and one I will never forget. It may have strained the purse strings this year, but was worth every cent, every moment.

Gary Con V Day one

 Getting Started at Gary Con

Everything was going smooth to start my trip off. I woke up early, double checked my bags, had a nice bagel and a couple cups of coffee and was running through my head everything I had to do to make my trip from Maine to Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, the birthplace of Dungeons and Dragons and RPG's in general.
I got to the airport and my flight was delayed before I even got on the plane. So for 3 and a half hours I opened up my laptop and did some final tweaks on Luke Gygax's flyers for his module which I had illustrated the interior and cartography.
My life is on my laptop, my art, and everything I planned on doing. Imagine my terror when the stewardess told me they would have to check my carry on, My laptop and all, to the underside of the plane on this small plane. I had images of brute tossing my precious  cargo like gorillas on a samsonite commercial.
It survived.
My connection in Detroit began boarding at 7:10 and we got to the gate at 7:13. I am not sure if I can emphasize how far Detroits' gate A49 is from gate C26, but suffice it to say that my hurried state from one to another was something remarkable. Somehow, I made it as they were boarding. Onboard, everyone seemed to have puts big bags where they didn't belong, and there was no room for my precious cargo again... and it was officially "checked". OHHH the panic as I let go of my life, portfolio, and art to someone elses hands.
In Milwaukee, everything survived!! From this point on - everything would be smooth!
Until the rental car company decided they neeeded to put and extra $200 hold on my credit card. No idea how I didn't hear about this.

 At Lake Geneva Resort

I came into the resort and immediately recognized my roommate Jeremy and shook his hand. Then he thought it would be funny to flip his badge over and say, "Hi, I'm Steve.." The exhaustion of travel sent me spinning and saying, "Ok... Hi Steve..."
Before I even checked in, ten minutes through the door Frank Mentzer was flipping through my portfolio and commenting on the pieces he liked, and how he liked to know that digital artists could also work in traditional media, Colleen was right! We talked about OGL and copyright info for module printing and I immediately was struck by how good this weekend would be. Frank is a very charismatic articulate speaker and was freely sharing his experience. HE took a card and I am pretty sure that somewhere between himself and Jim Ward we will be talking about maybe getting some work in some Eldritch modules.

The lodge was warm and inviting, the staff friendly and there was plenty to do. I WAS STARVING!! that bagel at 8:00 AM was a long time a go.
A run to Burger king and we were in action again. We grabbed a board game of "Ticket to Ride" and a drink and had a late night. Jeremy and I sat up talking about the Con, the games and what we would do.
I checked my schedule and saw I had an Old school D&D game with Tim Kask in the morning at 10:00. The first old school TSR employee, if I recall correctly, and legendary editor and DM.

 The next morning I got my badge and a little extra gear before breakfast and I found Tim's table and sat down to a good old school D&D module "Curse of the Weaver" sold by Eldritch. A fun story, a solid module and a fun game.

 Tim Kask (Behind the screen)

Tim worked his way through the module with the group. His first game of Gary Con V. I felt my character was dominating the social situation, and along toward the wrap up time, my character made a slightly rash decision and charged into a giant lizard (That may have been wounded) instead of fleeing.
This started the trend, and Tim enacted a coupe de gras and finished up the game a TPK (Total Party Kill) It was a good game, lots of fun, and The Curse of the Weaver is a great module.

After this I attended a seminar talk by Frank Mentzer about his time with Gary Gygax. It was both enlightening and entertaining. It was more of a "Let's all sit around Frank and listen to his tale" than a seminar really, it was just the title he chose for the talk.
Some Chinese take out and a nap was in order... and there we are.
The portfolio and artwork has all been well received, Luke bought me a drink and chatted a while this evening and SO many good things are happening. I really feel my work has a place in all this somewhere, and it's coming together. Not to mention the fun!
Tomorrow morning I sit in on Frank Mentzers D&D adventure, notes and photos will happen.