From illustrations of characters, maps, weapons, and cities to creating your own dice, painting miniatures, creating real maps, and other DnD accessories. It is worth mentioning the path of creativity.
Playing DnD has opened a new world for me. And even though I am an artist I couldn’t even imagine how big the DnD Art world is. Here I started playing a new game but found myself surrounded by this amazing and ingenious art popping out from every corner. I am amazed and CHArmed by the creativity that comes from DnD fans.
I want to bring you closer to all these branches of art because I truly believe that they can help you complete your DnD experience and enrich your imagination.
Casting, coating, and creating
Dungeons and Dragons has a long history of being the best game to play when you want to have fun, be creative, and kill some time. The dice might be one of the most important components of the game and one of the necessary DnD accessories. But they are also becoming a form of art. There are so many shapes, sizes, colors, and materials you can use to make these dice. Each person has their own style and preference. There are companies that specialize in making these dice mostly out of plastic, metal, or wood but also the players themselves have started creating their own dice. And they make them from resin because it is easy to make at home. All you need is a mold and some imagination. Resin dice have crazy designs. It’s truly amazing what people do with these artsy dnd dice.
From custom shapes to hand-painted, glittery numbers and symbols, these dice are a way that players can express themselves. They’re like the jewelry of gaming: they can be flashy, ornate, and unique to each gamer’s style. Some of us have dice for every occasion and every character. In a somewhat superstitious way, each die has a purpose for us. Maybe we will use the red one when our character rages or a bigger one for more significant rolls. It is a fun world of changing dice and therefore you have to have a lot of them.
Sewing, knitting, crocheting
With this trend of hoarding DnD dice, this was bound to happen. In addition to buying dice in bulk, many have begun to develop new ways of storing dice. That’s how textile art got involved. Suddenly, various sewn, knitted, crocheted dice bags and pouches appeared. Coming in various shapes and sizes, personalized dice pouches are some of the DnD accessories. Some possess a dice pouch for every character they play and some have a big bag of hoarding for all their dice. But it is a great thing to have all your dice organized.
Crocheting dice pouches is also a field where I found my passion. I started crocheting even before I started playing DnD. Better said, I wanted to start crocheting but had no idea what to make. So when I heard about DnD and the dice storing problems it was an idea that was waiting to be made. I could finally put my creativity into something tangible and ultimately useful.
Wood carving
Another DnD accessory has evolved from Dungeons and Dragons. And this one involves all the craftsmen and women out there. The art of wood carving found its place in DnD. And yes, everything revolves around dnd dice.
So dice trays appeared, where you can roll your dice without them running away. Not everybody uses them nor do you need them to play the game but they are fun. And not only fun but beautifully crafted. The art of wood carving rose to a new level with these DnD accessories. It started with dice trays but it developed into dice vaults where you can store your dice. After that dice jails appeared because of all the natural 1 we rolled I guess. And lastly, the dice towers appeared. Their use is the same as a dice tray but your dice pass through a fun journey falling from top to bottom. And even though these are not necessary for your game they are a product of DnD imagination and creativity.
Painting and sculpting
DnD often uses battle maps and miniatures. The miniatures represent the characters and are mostly 3D printed today. And you can make custom ones or buy premade ones. The grid map helps the players and a DM to position their character miniatures during the battle. You use it to calculate the distance between characters during gameplay but lately, it is becoming a form of art. DnD streaming shows like Critical Role or Dimension 20 not only use grid maps but they went to the next level. Shows like this use miniature terrains to help players visualize cities, dungeons, and the like in detail. They use custom-made miniatures of their characters that seem almost realistic when put in miniature terrain. They build houses, castles, caverns, and cities.
These terrains are evolving so much that they are modular and you can use them in a variety of ways in different gaming sessions. The art behind it is not just 3D printing but most of the miniatures and terrain are usually hand-painted and hand-sculpted. Behind these DnD game accessories, there are a lot of talented people and you can check some of them on Dwarven Forge for terrains or Hero Forge for custom miniatures.
Illustrating
DnD character illustrations started as fan art. And what is the case with Dungeons and Dragons is that nowadays it has such a large audience and an even bigger fan base. An insane amount of DnD art is spreading through social media. People are drawing popular characters and setting illustrations from dnd streaming shows and podcasts. They are making illustrations of magic items and even making up their own homebrew stuff. Communities developed around this amazing game that supported each other. And for all of us that don’t have the ability to draw our own characters, just seeing other people’s fantasies put into a picture helped and helps now and again to stimulate and develop our own imagination.
Previously mentioned streaming shows, support and use a lot of these illustrations, and for others, social media has become a platform to find commission work. Their art is seen, appreciated, and justly paid for.
Music and audio creation
Many use music in DnD to enhance encounters, help visualize the environment and help worldbuilding. And our DMs have been using different kinds of music and sounds to open up another dimension to our DnD games. There are a lot of tabletop RPG music and audio samples people make so you can use them for your games. They make it easier for Dungeon Masters to DJ while running the game. The music and audio give the DM an opportunity to depict a specific battle or laughter in a tavern. Check out some music and audio on tabletopaudio.com or tabletopy.com and start using them in your home games but do not forget to support and donate.
Songwriting and poetry creation
One of my favorites. I feel like this one was mostly encouraged by the bard class in DnD. As a master of song and music, in DnD to roleplay a bard, you’re going to have to think of something. You can steal some ideas from someone, but the artistry should be there. Encouraged by playing the role of a bard, many have already written their first songs and poetry. And many have decided to play the bard class precisely because of their artistic expressions. The written songs and poetry are entertaining, witty, and emotional and can only provoke you to invest your time and imagination in this wonderful game. I’ll link some terrific examples here but no attempt to entertain your teammates can be bad, so start writing and singing.
In conclusion, DnD is a game that requires imagination and creativity. But also, it is a game from which creativity arises. There are many ways to express yourself through DnD you just have to find your way. In the end, even this blog is a way of expressing myself about the game I love to play and want others to try and experience the same. And making cute DnD accessories is just a bonus.
