© 2024 Dragonsteel
Interior illustration for Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson, special edition.
This illustration is one of my favorites in recent memory.
As with all my illustrations, no AI was used in the creation process.
Cover illustration for Dungeons & Dragons, Bigby Presents: Glory of the Giants
©2023 Wizards of the Coast
Personal Illustration | Digital painting, Photoshop
Prints Available
This piece is a multi-figure self portrait inspired by the past few years of fighting against burnout and anxiety.
After shutting myself down from making or posting art for a long time, I had a revelation that I was stuck in a bad loop, repeating negative thoughts to myself over and over: Thoughts like, “Why bother making art when so many other great artists exist?” (an especially easy question to take on board when you’re an art director surrounded by excellent work all day and aren’t permitted to create your own). Other thoughts started as everyday criticism but became amplified and engrained as part of my identity over time when left to echo in my head unchallenged.
In order to shift my thinking, I looked to some of my most resilient role models and friends, and also to my students. When I thought about how they go through similar feelings of self-doubt, I thought “I would earnestly encourage them, not try to shut them down… so why am I telling myself the opposite?”
I painted this as a reminder of the power I felt when I realized it’s ok to ignore negative voices, even when they’re disguised as my own. Perhaps it can also serve as a reminder to others not to extinguish their own light.
(scroll down for some process images)
© 2022 Cynthia Sheppard
Planeswalker illustration for Magic: The Gathering
©2019 Wizards of the Coast
Personal Illustration
December 2017, Digital
This was a re-work of an old Alice in Wonderland image I did ten years ago, and I recorded the process for YouTube:
Cover illustration for Dungeons & Dragons, Dragonlance: Shadow of the Dragon Queen
©2022 Wizards of the Coast
Illustration for Magic: The Gathering card Dark Salvation
©2016 Wizards of the Coast
Illustration for Magic: The Gathering story Campaign of Vengeance
©2016 Wizards of the Coast
© 2016 Tor Books
Cover illustration for World's End by Will Elliott
*note: in some printings of this book, the cover art is miscredited to the artist who illustrated previous covers in the series. These things happen sometimes, and Tor will attempt to correct the error in future printings.
© 2016 Tor Books
Cover illustration for The Drowning Eyes by Emily Foster
© 2016 Tor Books
Cover illustration for The Nature of a Pirate by AM Dellamonica
© 2016 Tor Books
Cover illustration for A Daughter of No Nation by A.M. Dellamonica
personal work
card illustration for Magic: The Gathering
©2014 Wizards of the Coast
