Ending the Drought is a high-fantasy comic adventure detailing a short journey from the tales of the Dungeons and Dragons campaign that I run with my best friends.
This project was created as a part of my senior thesis show during the spring of 2021, and it showcases character design, packaging design, and detailed illustrations and writing on over 40 pages.
The project was displayed in Gallery 130 at the University of Mississippi as a part of their 2021 B.F.A. Senior Thesis Showcase. It contained four poster designs, five button designs, two t-shirt designs, two postcard designs, multiple sets of RAW polyhedral dice with their packaging, and a fully-illustrated comic book
Artist Statement:
A primary source of community and inspiration in my life comes from adventure, though not the type of adventure one might typically think. This source of adventure can lead one to journey across desolate mountains, through treacherous caverns, and across the paths of unique companions, all from the comfort of home. In a game like Dungeons and Dragons, anyone can be anything anywhere, and for my friends and I, we were the party of Drought’s End.
Inspired by the adventures and tabletop roleplay I had with my closest companions, this body of work is meant to give the reader a window into the world of fantasy and fun we created and voyaged across through a full-length comic book. Alongside collateral pieces such as posters, postcards, buttons, t-shirts, and homemade dice, a reader can meet the characters and see the monsters faced by the adventuring party we became during those campaign nights. With a call to action to “go create your own adventure”, this story seeks to give viewers the tools and motivation to try out roleplaying stories of their own. With life getting in the way of spending time with one-another, this game has been one of the driving forces that has kept us together, despite physical distance.
As a love letter to both my friends and our story, I used Photoshop to illustrate over 40 digitally rendered comic pages, bringing my skill for character design into the narrative stage. I hope that by enjoying my work, the audience will catch the bug of storytelling and help pass it on, just like my friends helped to pass it to me years ago. After all, the world needs more adventure.