APRIL PRIME
April shares how she tackles concept design
I like to add shape and flair from fashions I see on the catwalk
Tell us a bit about yourself and your background as an artist. Where did you start, and what got you into it?
I’m an Australian concept artist and illustrator with a specialty in creature design. I was always super into learning about animals as a kid, so I just continued on that path! I went to Sydney University’s College of the Arts, where I studied print media, but most of my current skill set was developed myself through interacting with my mentors and peers. These days, it’s quite easy to access learning online.
I do! As both a dungeon master and as a player. Currently I play a high elf wizard in an incredible homebrew setting based off of ancient Australia and New Zealand, created by my dungeon master David Simon. I’m also currently working on fleshing out my own world, but it’s still a tad rough around the edges. On top of that, my best friend Evyn Fong (an amazing artist on D&D and Magic: The Gathering herself) and I are making a pretty cool adventure together too. I love collaborative world building and storytelling; as a DM it’s a great way to engage my own creativity, and as a player I get the joy of seeing the wonderful creations my friends make. Do you play D&D yourself, and if so what’s the appeal to you? D&D has a long history for artists, as well as gamers. How has it shaped your creative process and aesthetics?
D&D was (and is!) a HUGE influence on my art aesthetic. I grew up in the 90s, in that period where tabletop games had sort of died out a little, so as a young kid I was exposed more to fantasy through movies like Dragonheart, and cartoons like Rainbow Brite and My Little Pony.
I was in high school when I first started to develop an interest in D&D, and by the time I was in university, 5e had been released, which is when I took the plunge. Ever since then, I really hold the values of D&D creature design to heart – monsters that are just believable enough in the world to be grounded, but are also goofy. Do you have any heroes that have worked on D&D projects? Who are they, and any key pieces that you particularly love?
Tyler Jacobson for sure is one of my favourite artists, I wasn’t super into illustration at first (I still have a strong preference for concept art) but seeing his Red Dragon DM screen really made me go “Hey, I wanna do that!” I love all of his pieces for D&D, it’s really a treat to get to concept creatures and characters and have such amazing illustrators paint your designs.
Jason Rainville and Evyn
Fong are also right up there, they’re both my peers and idols, I’m glad I can bug both of them regularly for help! When creating art for D&D, what inspires you? What’s your relationship to D&D from an artist’s perspective?
I get inspiration largely from the natural world, as well as from haute couture fashion. As a creature specialist I’m usually tasked with redesigning existing monsters or making up brand-new ones; I like to look to real-world animals so my designs feel like they have a strong anatomical base, but then I like to add shape and flair from fashions I see on the catwalk. I’m mostly interested in creatures that are beautiful and elegant, but I’m also very attached to the big, fluffy, fat polar owlbear I got to make for the Rime of the Frostmaiden tale.
From an artists’ perspective, my relationship to D&D is definitely one of a cycle of inspiration. D&D is inherently a creative exercise, and I’m constantly delighted by the amazing things I see people make for their own games, on top of pulling inspiration from the canon lore.
What is it about fantasy art, and D&D in particular, that you enjoy the most? As either an artist or as a consumer?
Monsters! I just love the strange unbridled creativity of fantasy creatures. Creatures made for sci-fi tend to have heavier elements of real-world biology and anatomy (which is awesome, I love that too), but there’s just something special about the odd mish-mash creatures that tend to populate fantasy worlds. From ten-headed undead hydras to giant floating eyeballs, fleshdissolving cubes of jelly to talking magical unicorns, it just hits different.
What changes have you seen in fantasy art over the years?
Definitely we’re seeing more diversity in everything – locations, depictions of people and non-human species, inspiration sources are becoming more varied, and more and more voices are being given the opportunity to create. As people around the world are given the space to create, we’re tapping into fresh and interesting fonts of inspiration.