Hi everyone! A pretty short intermission post this week as we continue to update and add material for the upcoming book, but I wanted to take the opportunity to show off one of the fantastic guest art pieces that we’ll be featuring in the upcoming Beyond the Western Deep hardcover, done by none other than Jerome Jacinto!

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The piece began very simply with Jerome asking me what I’d prefer to see as his guest piece. That’s a pretty momentous thought exercise — what DID I want to see him render for the book?

Looking through Jerome’s previous work, something had caught my eye continuously, and that was his ability to handle crowd scenes. Whether it was a tavern or a tea party, he could handle a large group of characters in the frame and keep things interesting without it looking cluttered. That led to my thinking of Hardin and the Sratha-din — a pretty diverse group if ever there was one.

After that decision was made, Jerome began to experiment with Hardin, Bevan, and the other Ermehn. Quinlan and Dakkan crept into the sketches too, often in humorous scenarios like the homage to the Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure manga seen below. Some of these sketches I posted up on the site several months ago, actually.

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A loose scene was beginning to take shape: the Sratha-din has set up camp for the night in the ruins of an Ermehn castle near the border between Aisling and the Northern Wastes, a long-lost hint at their once-great civilization. As the Sratha-din relax and try to enjoy themselves, Hardin and Ashtor watch from above, content to see their cobbled-together tribe getting along so well.

Looking at the final piece, there are some great subtleties to it that I love — it also serves as a fun glimpse at possible off-panel proceedings while the comic is otherwise focused on Quinlan, Dakkan, and Kenosh. I couldn’t be happier with how this piece turned out, and Rachel and I both are extremely excited to feature it in the book.

We’ve also received guest art for the upcoming hardcover from Mouse Guard creator David Petersen and from Sean Wang, creator of the Runners webcomic series (found in the link bar to the right) and an artist on the classic The Tick comic series — so rest assured there are still a few surprises in the book even if you’ve pored over every webcomic detail.

Next week, we’ll be returning to our regularly-scheduled program!