Hey it's
#PortfolioDay
! I'm an illustrator, art director, and concept artist. And I'm currently taking on client work, so hit me up!
Here's some of my work, Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: the Gathering, Empire of Sin, and some older work I did for Pathfinder that I love.
Pedro Pascal says a residual check for ‘BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER’ saved him from going homeless when he only had $7 in his bank account.
“It literally is the reason I was able to stay in acting and not give up.”
(Source:
@etnow
)
Barbarian class opener illustration I painted for Dungeons & Dragons
@Wizards_DnD
Player's Handbook 2024.
Not only was it an amazing brief to work on with it's awesome depiction of a barbarian post dragon slaying, but it was fully illustrated in
@Krita_Painting
as well.
My art on my website is only "freeware" in that you can look at it and download it, admire it.
It is not "freeware" in the case that you can take it along with other artists' work and repackage to sell and make money from. That is called stealing.
I've sent this email to art directors I've worked with at Wizards of the Coast. I hope other Magic or D&D artists will do the same or similar.
#mtgart
#dndart
#MagicTheGathering
Hello
#PortfolioDay
, my name is Denman Rooke. I'm an illustrator, concept artist, and art director. I illustrate for Magic the Gathering and art directed Empire of Sin amongst other things.
Here's a few of the projects I've worked on:
And my latest work:
Good.
If you're a digital illustrator, use Krita instead.
I moved to Krita for all my personal and professional work about a year ago and haven't looked back. It's a better program.
I'm excited to share "A Man's Worth", an illustration I did for
@bwisegames
&
@BrandSanderson
's Cosmere® RPG's Stormlight Archive campaign setting.
Check out the project over at. It's already raised over $8 million 😮👉
So, a follow up on this. Wizards reached out to me today & we jumped on a call. They thanked me for being vocal about it, they agreed, & they reiterated their commitment as company to continue supporting human creativity & to not use AI. So that's good to hear.
I've sent this email to art directors I've worked with at Wizards of the Coast. I hope other Magic or D&D artists will do the same or similar.
#mtgart
#dndart
#MagicTheGathering
I had the honour of being asked to illustrate one of the coolest villains in fantasy lore, the Witch-king from Lord of the Rings.
'Witch-king, Bringer of Ruin' illustrated for Magic the Gathering's The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth.
#mtgart
#MTGLotR
#LordOfTheRings
Here's the high res art of Mischievous Geist for Innistrad Crimson Vow
#MTGCrimson
#MTGVOW
This peice actually comes with a bit of a story. The little kitten here is based off my friends' kitten Tanuki who passed shortly before I got this art brief.
Come along with me on my carnage (I mean course) check this morning. What should be one of the most beautiful golf courses in the country is being destroyed by herds of javelina. If anyone has a contact in AZ state govt that can help us find a solution please pass it along.
Oh no, I've made a viral. RIP my twitter for the next little bit.
All that to say, it's comforting to know so many of you agree with this sentiment.
Support the non-NFT artists in your life. It's hard working your ass off while caring about the environment.
@imandystein
No, I get that. But it can't come at the cost of the environment with Proof of Work crypto, which is a majority of what is out there. Not to mention that the whole crypto scene just has so many red flags of scams. so no thanks.
It's Portfolio Day again!
I'm an illustrator & concept artist in Ireland. Currently art directing, illustrating, & concepting
@EmpireOfSinGame
but also illustrating for
@wizards_magic
PS Is this hashtag just like "the wave"? someone just starts it and it starts trending again?
Hello my name is Denman. I'm an illustrator & concept artist living in Galway, Ireland. I've done art direction for Empire of Sin, and illustrate for Magic the Gathering. It's
#PortfolioDay
so here's some illustrations I've released since last time
Not unrelated to previous tweets. I'm sick and tired of artists not getting proper financial compensation for or control of their amazing work
I'm currently building an artist led game project based off tarot card illustrations
🧙♂️ Are you a fantasy illustrator?
Thread below 👇
Well, shit. It's
#PortfolioDay
again! At least this time I have a couple new pieces to share.
Hello, my name is Denman Rooke. I'm an illustrator, art director, & concept artist. Most of my recent work is under NDA, but here's a couple new Magic pieces as well as some old ones.
🚨NEWS!🚨
After almost 5 years with Romero Games I'm moving onto my next chapter.
I'm open for freelance & contract work now, so if you need any illustration, concept art, or art direction let me know!
I'm also open for a full-time gig if it's remote.
Please retweet!
Hello
#PortfolioDay
, my name is Denman Rooke. I'm an illustrator, concept artist, and art director. I illustrate for Magic the Gathering and art directed Empire of Sin amongst other things.
Here's a few of the projects I've worked on:
And my latest work:
The other week I wanted to do one last touch up on this fan art piece of Disco Elysium after I finally got around and beat the game. Just a quick finish up on the pistol really. Now I can call it done.
Man, what a great game.
Speaking of digital artists, I am one. And so I wanted to share a piece with all of you, Bear Warrior. It was the first digital piece I was proud of (~2012) and launched my digital art career. Download it and let's collectively own this exact duplicated digital file together.
Angel of Indemnity, my latest Magic the Gathering card for Outlaws of Thunder Junction has just been previewed!
Oil Painting on wood. 50 x 70cm. Auction details soon!
#MTGThunder
#MTGOTJ
#mtgart
#MagicTheGathering
New Magic art of mine just dropped! And not only is it my first named Legendary Creature, but also my first Commander! Check out Millicent, Restless Revenant in all her geistly glory!
#MTGCrimson
#mtgart
Two new commanders are entering the
#MTGCrimson
battlefield! Build up Blood tokens with Strefan, Maurer Progenitor, or build your Spirit squad with Millicent, Restless Revenant.
For all you who love NFTs, what if I told you we could support artists and could build communities together around our collective love of the art these creators make? They can be financially free
You can do that now without wasteful blockchains. Just commission art and share it
Hear me out. What if... What if there was no private landlords?
None.
All rentals provided or maintained publicly and rented to all at cost or financial ability to pay.
I'm sorry. This isn't it. If our industry isn't paying people enough and artists can't have sustainable careers, for the love of god, NFTs are not the answer. It's demanding better working conditions collectively. It's not the easy way, but it's the right one.
A titan in our industry, a lovely gentle human who has had a 40+ career, has done work for every big IP, has a Patreon ,etc, after much deliberation decided to join the NFT space. A lot of pivotal things are missed between folks anger at NFTs. I want to foolishly talk about it.
Unionise the game industry now before it's too late folks!
Get involved or create a union in your studio/area/country now. Organise locally and globally! ✊🎮
EA CEO Andrew Wilson says there's a "real hunger" among c-suite executives to use generative AI to speed up development while cutting costs associated with human labor and creativity.
More than half of EA's workforce can be "replaced" by AI, Wilson claims...
I had the honour of being asked to illustrate one of the coolest villains in fantasy lore, the Witch-king from Lord of the Rings.
'Witch-king, Bringer of Ruin' illustrated for Magic the Gathering's The Lord of the Rings: Tales of Middle-earth.
#mtgart
#MTGLotR
#LordOfTheRings
In case you haven't heard it yet, if you haven't received a pay rise this year, you've essentially received a pay cut of ~8% (in Ireland). Think about that.
Let's say you've been on a salary of €40,000, you're now essentially making €36,800.
That's a loss of ~€3,200 of pay.
Let me be clear, Wizards have previously been good in regard to not using AI and requiring their artists not to use it.
This is about their parent company, Hasbro, and it's CEO. WotC need to push back against this and the weight of artists can help.
Not sure where & why artists think they can get away with this shit.
And as a learning for any aspiring professional artists... don't do this! This is theft. Just because one flips the reference material that has been copied over and repainted a bit, it doesn't hide the theft.
Oh hey! My first Brother's War
#MTGBRO
art has been previewed. Evangel of Synthesis for Magic the Gathering. Here's the high res art.
#mtgart
#magicthegathering
Elvish Doomsayer has just previewed! My fourth and I think last card for Commander Legends.
Was a lot of fun to create a doppelganger take of Elvish Visionary for this one.
AD: Andrew Vallas
#mtgart
#MTGCMR
#CMRLegends
@acid_very
@imandystein
I have done a lot of research on it actually. I didn't know much of cryptocurrency or blockchain before the NFT wave hit digital art over the last couple years. The red flags aren't what I read anywhere, but my reaction to those very "communities".
And here's the high res art of Catlike Curiosity. The back of the double-faced card for Mischievous Geist.
My cat, Nunu, makes an appearance in this one.
I've got some news! 📣 Today was my first day at a new studio!
I'm very excited to jump onto another game project and work with all these fine folks making cool games.
For all my Irish friends, I'm not going anywhere. I'll still be based here in Galway, Ireland.
Absolutely astonished at the response from artists to this call.
Over 100 artists have expressed interest in a day.
Can't wait to start scheming with you all.
Not unrelated to previous tweets. I'm sick and tired of artists not getting proper financial compensation for or control of their amazing work
I'm currently building an artist led game project based off tarot card illustrations
🧙♂️ Are you a fantasy illustrator?
Thread below 👇
I found this an interesting watch.
I really do hope that AI bubble pops soon. And all the companies that have invested heavily in it collapse.
And all the entertainment companies that replaced artists with AI realise their 'pipelines' don't work anymore, and then they collapse.
@katriaraden
@SpencerKSchiff
@TheGlazeProject
You're trying to destroy the efforts of countless AI researchers and feeling smug about it. Blocking human progress to benefit the individual, and you have the audacity to virtue signal.
One of the bosses I concepted for Empire of Sin is making the rounds today for Mother's Day. It was based off John Romero's great grandmother who ran three brothel's during the 1920s.
#GameDev
#ConceptArt
#IrishGameDev
#MothersDay
Tanuki was a sweet and feisty little kitten. But sadly struggled a lot with illness in his brief time here. Since my friends Ian & Jessamyn are nerds like me and enjoy MTG, I asked if they minded I pay homage to the little guy and immortalize him in this card.
Exciting news, we've formed a GameDev Collective (name TBD)!
We're a group of independent game makers, contractors, and remote workers who wanted to share an office together.
Excited to be a part of the wider
@CREWDigital1
community as well.
#GameDev
#IrishGameDev
AI being used in their marketing a few months back and them adamantly denying it despite it being so obvious was a close call. And even at that some high profile artists stopped working with them.
If they embrace AI, you can imagine a whole lot of artists will leave in protest.
The game developers are alright.
Get this itch bundle of hundreds of games & help the people of Gaza by raising funds for Medical Aid For Palestinians
#Palestine
#Gaza
Our industry desperately needs union recognition. Team 17 only 2 weeks ago announcing their revenue grew by 31% this year, and then they turn around and lay off a load of staff.
If you're in the UK there's
@IWGB_GW
if you're in Ireland
@GWU_Ireland
Repost from
@clifff
on mastodon
Meta’s new app “Threads” is up pre-order in the App Store. Let’s do a quick check on what data they want from you compared to the official Mastodon app
Spoiler: Meta wants to know and track everything about you, and Mastodon doesn’t want anything
For
#throwbackthursday
here's a piece I did for Pathfinder RPG's Mythic Adventures' chapter opening illustrations. Art Directed by Sarah Robinson. This is still one of my favourite illustrations I've ever done. I like how it captures that classic fantasy illustration vibe.
#characterdesign
is trending, so here’s some character designs I did for Empire of Sin. I’ve so many of these, and I love every one :)
You can check out more of my Empire of Sin characters here: &
#1920s
#prohibition
#mobsters
So, I hadn't really shared it on social media yet, but just wanted to share that I'm going to be a father soon!
Caitlyn is due to give birth in December. We're very excited for this new chapter in our lives and for a cozy winter with baby.
So I made a game. BATTLE of TAROT. I've put the Beta version of the rulebook online now. It's FREE! you just need your own tarot deck, the rulebook, and a friend. It's the first iteration of the ruleset so any feedback is appreciated:
#tarot
#cardgame
@jejortizart
Agreed. And that was the main purpose of my email. To help give the good folks in Wizards the kind of weight and ammunition to make a case internally to any c-suite suits that entertain the use of AI that it will hit them in their pockets, since that's all they care about.
For all of those freelancers out there, with inflation as high as it is you probably need to raise your day rate by 10% to essentially keep your salary from last year. You shouldn't have to take the pay cut because your gov. is letting energy and food companies rake in profits.
oh shit, I'm 100 away from 3k followers.
... maybe I should do a giveaway. I've never done that before.
If you retweet this very tweet, I'll pick one of yinz at random when it hits 3k (or a couple days) for a box of MTG Strixhaven.
For those who don't know me, hi!
#MTGSTX
Hello
#PortfolioDay
, my name is Denman Rooke. I'm an illustrator, concept artist, and art director. I illustrate for Magic the Gathering and art directed Empire of Sin amongst other things.
Here's a few of the projects I've worked on:
And my latest work:
Here's the thing about asking for a living wage (and more) for art.
You will get people who tell you it's too much money to pay you. You will get people who won't respond to your emails.
Good.
They don't deserve your art work. And you deserve a living wage.
Highborn Vampire for Magic the Gathering's Zendikar Rising got previewed today by
@Kotaku
. While the card itself looks like it's meh, I really liked the metal vibes in this one 🤘. Check out the high res over on my site:
#mtgart
#MTGZNR
#MTGZendikar
@criodanomurchu
I moved to Galway in 2017 and from then until I bought my house in 2020 I spent ~€54k in rent.
Since buying, I save almost €10k a year. Not to mention the money I am spending goes towards something I own.
Private rental is exploitation and theft at the moment.