"Dungeons of Death" Dungeon Master Series #16 Hi-Res (Patreon)

Today I am happy to finally release the "Dungeons of Death" Illustration! This has been in the works for far too long, but I was having a lot of fun with it, so I ended up spending longer than I should adding details to every last little nook and cranny. 

As with my other illustrations in the series, it began as a traditional piece, before being scanned in and painted in Photoshop.  It was a commissioned image and will be appearing in a fantasy cover soon, as well as a 2025 Dungeon Master Series Calendar. 

SPOILERS AHEAD:

I don't like to explain my images in great detail. I don't even like to name them if I can get away with it. I love detective storytelling in images. I find it really rewarding to puzzle out what is going in an image for myself, rather than having it explained to me. Most of the time, the explanations end up turning an image with a lot of magic and possibility in it, into something prosaic and plain. So first and foremost, I don't want to take that joy of discovery and mystery and exploration away from the viewer.  But secondly, my avoidance of text comes from an internal conceit that a good image should be good with or without the benefit of any supporting text. Text can be a fun, additional little reward, something that provides an interesting wrinkle to the ideas presented in the image, but it must not prop up the image. If it does, it is proof of a poorly crafted image.  

That said, I always DO have a story in mind while painting images like this. I think that is important because it puts guardrails on the scene and helps me keep clear what CAN and CAN'T appear in the scene. It helps me understand my characters and their objectives. (No flying monkeys here, no spaceships, no Santa clause and 8 tiny reindeer, but yes to mist, yes to ancient stone walls, yes to rusty chains and patina bronze armor, and so on.) Having a story in mind, and reinforcing it wherever possible and appropriate makes for a more engaging and rewarding image for viewers to puzzle their way through.  

For this image, I am going to share my own behind-the-scenes internal ideas for the story, hopefully not in a way that will prop up the image, but to share my thought process. I hope this will be helpful for those of you who are creating our own images with narratives and world-building in them.  

THE STORY:

The image casts several of the usual dungeoneers from this series, engaged in a new heist. This time they have disguised themselves in the red and gold cloaks of the city watch, in order to fool the guards and gain access to a locked off and forbidden section of the ancient city, rumored to be filled with ancient treasures of incredible power and worth. This flooded ruin was once part of a great fortress of the old city, with many deep catacombs and dark chambers and hidden passages. It is now locked firmly with bars and heavy chains, and is strictly off-limits, because of some old plague or necromancer's curse or some-such nonsense. Our troop doesn't believe in fairy tales curses, but they do believe in the wealth of the old necromancer, which was legendary by all accounts.  

The results of our party's poor research skills are seen clearly in the image, as well as several curious artifacts they now possess, recently lifted from chests in the dungeons below, which presumably has caused the dead to rise and hunt for them through the ancient halls. Now the team is at an exit trying feverishly to escape with their forbidden plunder. But it seems that they must now turn and fight, for as with the rest of their miscalculations, the wizard, who promised he could deal with all the enchanted locks they might encounter, seems to have underestimated the challenge. "One of them is sure to fit! Which one, which one!?"

As with all of these images from the Dungeon Master Series, the final outcome of the encounter is still a roll of the dice!

-jg