How D&D Saved My Art

It’s no accident that the very first artwork I posted on Instagram was a portrait of my Dungeons & Dragons character. That painting signaled a renaissance for me - it was one of the first finished pieces of artwork I had made in a long time.  

In fact, up until that point I had all but abandoned personal art in my adult life. I made art for school, but after that I hit a rut. What should I create when there were no assignment requirements?

Portrait of my first D&D character, Sarai.

That’s where D&D came in. It gave me some tools that helped me actually want to paint again. Hopefully these little discoveries can help if you are also feeling a little lost or overwhelmed on your art journey - no D&D skills required!

What Is D&D?

Do you remember being in elementary school and playing “House” or “Fairies” or some other variation? Basically, you and your friends each pretended to be a character and then made a story with each other. 

D&D is kind of like that, but with some structure - because, let’s be honest, it’s hard to freeform as an adult. You choose from a predetermined set of races (human, elf, orc, etc.) and a predetermined set of magical “careers” (wizard, warrior, etc.), and then the game has rules to help you select your abilities in a reasonable way (so no one is trying to use “bomb” in a game of rock-paper-scissors).

In addition, there is a player who isn’t actually a character, but is in charge of the world. That player creates the underlying setting, storyline, and objectives for the players - a sort of “god” if you will, or even a loose referee playing the role of Destiny. Together, you all create a story as you go.

That’s your super basic overview. Now how does that play into art?

Inspiration Needs a Starting Point

Art relies on creativity, but very few things are made from absolutely nothing. There is usually some inspiration that fuels our ideas. If not, we end up staring at the blank paper asking ourselves what to draw (not a fun place to be). 

On the other hand, we might have a grandiose abstract idea that we can’t force to materialize. There’s some cool lighting or an awesome mood we want to convey, but we don’t have a way to make it tangible.

D&D provides some groundwork for creativity. There is a world that already exists, with creatures and magic that has already been defined. This is especially true if you’ve already created a character. You have a jumping off point, and are not sitting there trying to world-build every tiny detail. 

Not having to create every little thing from scratch can be absolutely freeing. It eliminates that sense of being in a vacuum and having to summon grandiose ideas from the ether.

So build a D&D character - there are plenty of online tools! Or use a fantasy name generator. Or design a Harry Potter wand and create a corresponding character. Use these inspirations! You don’t have to represent these influences literally in your artwork (for creative purposes and, you know, copyright reasons). But it gives you an excellent place to start.

Motivation through Emotional Connection

Even if you’ve never played D&D, you probably know how easy it is to get attached to a character. Successful books and movies thrive on forging an emotional connection between viewer and character. You get excited for them, nervous for them, and cry when something bad happens to them (or heaven forbid they - gulp - die).

D&D takes that to the next level because this character is created and embodied by you. You take on their role and persona, explore their backstory and motivations, and have them make choices as the game goes on so they develop. It creates a very strong attachment. The first time my D&D character faced death, I was stunned by how panicked I felt. She couldn’t die now - still had so much life to live!

D&D made me passionate about something, and gave me a desire to continue exploring a character and the corresponding emotions. That fueled my creativity. 

Art thrives when you have an emotion or a message to convey. People talk about it all the time, but passion is such a motivating factor in art. Prior to D&D, I focused on realism and painting objects or landscapes from photos. This had always worked before, so it took me a while to realize that part of the reason I was losing interest in art was because I no longer cared about those things from a creative standpoint. They didn’t contain the story I wanted to tell. D&D showed me that I needed to shift my subject matter and tell the right story. That doesn’t necessarily mean I have to paint only D&D subject matter (I’m not a D&D artist), but I have to listen to where my inspiration is coming from.

Take a close look at your personal art and ask yourself: am I making what I want to make? 

I Found a Community

As an introvert, this last one surprised me. I didn’t think community was important, or that it would affect my art. But having someone that is able to share in your passion and is excited to hear the story you are telling is such a good motivator. 

D&D has a strong community. People usually love to share and talk about their characters. And the good news is that community isn’t unique to D&D - so many fandoms are built around this, or specific mediums or art techniques may have a following. Find your community, whatever it may be, and be a part of it.

D&D truly did save my art. The rich world and structure took away the stress of creating something from nothing, and it helped me find a story that I was excited to tell. Hopefully these pointers can help you find the joy in creating again. Like I said, it doesn’t have to be D&D! Find a framework, kindle an emotion, and then surround yourself with others who have a similar spark.