KNAVES - The Counsellor

Happy Monday, folks!

As I said in my last post, these past few days have ben hectic as usual and I haven't had as time as I'd like to upload the pieces as they come off the drawing board to the gallery here; that said, you get them all in one fell swoop, so that's got to count for something, right?

First up, as usual lately, I'll show you the most recent "Knaves: A Blackguards Anthology" illustrations, sponsored by the fine folks at Outland Entertainment. Curated by the amazing team of Melanie Meadors and Alana Joli Foster Abbott, this collection features various fantasy and contemporary set stories where villains are heroes of their own tales, and heroes explore the gray area between good and evil. So, I naturally jumped at the opportunity to be a part of something I don't usually get to do; namely, Fantasy Villains 
This image taps into a favorite dynamic of mine I felt like illustrating once given the chance to be a part of this project. Being the huge fan of the Lord of the Rings, I always loved the subtle spell that Gríma Wormtongue put King Theoden of Rohan through. It is a true testimony of Tolkien's subtlety and shows you not all of the villains up to take down the world have to be overtly ugly and treacherous. The enemy takes many forms indeed. In that same vein, I also liked how Tywin Lannister took advantage of one of his grandsons to put into effect his own will through the newly crowned and impressionable King. Which is exactly what we have here; this lad has found himself all of a sudden charged with quite a responsibility and there's always someone willing to take advantage of the situation.
I really love the freedom of exploration of both my style and rendering technique that this project has allowed me and I look forward to doing the last pieces before the campaign ends in the next couple of days

Speaking of which, as an interesting addendum to the rewards and book itself if you support the KS campaign, now you can also get a hold of these pen and ink originals from me as one of the tiers! So, if you like my artwork and fancy having an original, by all means swing by the campaign and grab a hold of it!

For more information and the possibility of becoming a backer, check out the KS here:

Knaves: A Blackguards Anthology

Thank you for the support as usual, my friends!

Nic.-