Hi, I'm RJ (Male, 30 years old, engaged to the amazing @barbatusart). I make a lot of art based on BG3 and (most recently) KCD2 that range across many genres - but I'm probably mainly known for the humorous comics and spicy stuff. You will also often see my character DU drow (explanation for the name in the FAQ) included in it! He's the big, scarred up gray fella.
I occasionally venture into delicate topics when discussing character lore and history, though I try to always be sensitive regarding the same.
TWITCH WHERE I STREAM SOMETIMES: twitch.tv/meanboss14
PSA: I get a lot of asks and unfortunately cannot answer them all 😔
Anyway, here's the guy of the hour:
🚨FAQ BELOW🚨
Q: Does your Durge have a name?
A: Nope! I named him "drow" when I played the game because I didn't feel like thinking up anything special. His lack of a name has become part of the character's lore and you will find him to always be tagged with "DU drow", or referred to as The Drow or just Drow.
Q: Can I draw/write something with one of your characters, a scene from your story, or any of your characters interacting with mine/other characters? And can it be NSFW in nature?
A: YOU ABSOLUTELY CAN, AND I'LL BE DELIGHTED TO SEE IT IF YOU CARE TO SHARE. I'm equally fine with NSFW as long as everyone involved (in the art and otherwise) is an adult.
Q: Where can I read your BG3 fan-fiction? And what is it about?
A: Right here! The main plot follows DU Drow, Astarion, and Shadowheart on a new adventure that fractures into a couple of different directions, but mainly focuses on the aftermath of the spawn that Astarion has released and the personal development of the main cast, alongside a number of original characters that get involved in the narrative. My goal was to create a kind of "DLC" experience, so you can expect a lot of themes that parallel the main game.
Q: What drawing software/tablet/brushes do you use?
A: I draw on a Wacom Cintiq 22, using Clip Studio Pro. I switch around brushes quite often but most of what I use comes from the True Grit packs and the DAUB super-bundle.
Q: Have you gone to art school or taken a class/course?
A: No and no, I've just been drawing for a long time.
Q: Are you American/British?
A: Neither! English is my second language.
Q: Why do you hate x character?
A: I have never said that I hate any characters, but I have described why my character(s) may not get along with them or even deeply dislike them. Those are two very different things.
Do you think that when it comes to writing (mainly fics, original stories, etc.), the flaws make the author, or does it have to be squeaky clean? I think personally that art is meant to have flaws, because that's what makes it human. However, I have been seeing that, especially within the weird ass AI spaces, that they insist that perfection is the default. When that completely defeats the purpose of creating art. How do you feel about it? Do you think writing needs to be the best in the word or are you okay with a little messed-up prose here and there?
Striving for perfection is just as worthwhile an endeavor as embracing your flaws - do whichever one keeps you from becoming creatively paralyzed. The quality or lack-there-of in AI art is redundant, it sucks no matter how it looks.
If DUDrow was to be a magic class for any reason, what class do you believe would fit him best?
This is Deep Lore but... He is!
DU drow has some home-brewed Blood Sorcery in him that he utilized sparingly as a Bhaalspawn (he preferred to get close and personal in combat) and promptly forgot after Orin scrambled his eggs. You could think about it like he re-classed to fighter upon waking up but forgot to take his sorcerer levels. Here's the two main spells he had access to - I have plans to expand upon this... Someday, lol.
I know you mentioned that in the Jaheira/Drow universe Astarion is with Karlach, are you planning on making any Astarion/Karlach art in the future?
It's not off the table! But it's not something I'm itching to do. If (When) I make more DurgexJaheira art that involves the other companions they are bound to make appearances, though.
hey i was thinking about getting into kcd, because of you mostly but also because after bg3 im starting to like rpgs a lot andddd also recently a lot of art from that game has been popping up on my feed. do you recommend it and is there any reasons in specific that you find it good?
Yes, I do recommend it! But mainly the second game.
There is not one specific reason but more like dozens of them, LOL. I adore the writing (it really emphasises the humanity in all its characters and how little people have changed in the last 500+ years) I adore the cast and their personalities, the protagonist in particular. The balance of goofass humor and tragedy is really well done. The gameplay loop takes a bit to learn, but it is actually really forgiving (you can still progress while being complete ass at the combat/not using the crafting system at all) and immensely rewarding/fun when you get the hang of it. I also found the combat really unique and it is the only First-Person Melee system I have ever enjoyed.
All of these perks were technically present in the first game as well, but they were very untuned - especially the combat. KCD2 basically perfected all of its original mechanics.
I think if you are on the fence AND you don't play a lot of difficult games - play KCD2 first. If you fall in love with it, you WILL have fun with the first game, jank and all. That's what I did and I don't regret going about it backwards.
If the premise sounds fun and you are used to playing kind of janky games anyway, go ahead and go through them in the intended order.
Do you ever have those moments where you look back on an artwork and go "Oh shit this looks like asss, I messed up [x thing]" etc. (even though it's completely fine) or do you tend to be more confident in your abilities? I know most (if not all) artists do it from time to time but I feel like I do that with a majority of my pieces, so I was just curious as to your own thoughts on that !!
Oh I do that with 99% of what I make. I genuinely don't even like to look at anything that is older than one full term gestation. I do feel like recently it's happened less - and I've had more and more cases of the opposite happening (something that I thought looked like ass when I finished starts looking really dope to my eyes a few weeks later).
The thing is that I am painfully aware that I am my own worst critic. The fact that my perception of my own art is wholly distinct from that of others is mundane to me, so it doesn't particularly bother me and I view it as just kind of a brain phenomena rather than a way to measure the quality of my work or my confidence.
Do you think DU Drow would be a good paladin or is our guy just bound to being a good ol' fighter? Btw, I love your work! 💗
Thank you!
I don't think I have enough experience playing paladins to give a proper answer - but what immediately comes to mind is that that is a little antithetical to DU drow's character. Paladins tend to stand for something - Vengeance, Justice, a Deity - but DU drow at his core is a man who makes it his mission to stand for nothing but himself - all the intricacies and pitfalls of that mindset included. He is basically the Realm's version of a sovereign citizen, down to believing that people should be able to govern themselves. I don't think this mindset jives with a paladin (but feel free to correct me if I'm wrong).
But I know what you are probably thinking: "But what about Bhaal and his bhaalist days? What about his oath to his father?" Obviously that could work, but a bhaalspawn of DU's nature is indebted to Bhaal regardless, paladin or not 🤷 and even then he would have made for a terrible one given his rebellious streak and explicit twisting of Bhaal's will to suit his own desires (not to mention Sarevok trying to sell his own version of the cult into his ear).
I think being a fighter just suits his personality the most throughout the majority of his life, and it's a pretty logical evolution of his teen-years, which were spent as more of a ranger class!
I adore that little narrator drawing you made in the Laezel comic. I had so much fun listening to her outtakes of the game that I immediately imagined the voice upon looking at that
Amelia is an absolute delight and probably the person I would most like to one day shake hands with from the VA cast. That woman is the heart of Baldur's Gate 3!
