The Italian artist Roberto Gatto is team lead at the animation-focused art studio Isshobi. Although digitally trained, he has fallen in love with the feel of traditional mediums and likes to work with watercolours, acrylics, gouache and ink.
He says his biggest influences are Hayao Miyazaki’s watercolour sketches and themes of fantasy and nature. Below, he presents four examples of his work, including from his RPG world Irydale and his D&D 5.24e compendium of loot and wonders Treasures Untold.
Silver Kingdom of Eldmir
“A look inside the Silver Kingdom of Eldmir from my RPG world Irydale. This is a place of wealth and peace, but it has a deep hatred for magic, as the kingdom was scarred in the Great Mage Wars.”
Article continues belowCalienne
“This is an illustration of Calienne, the champion of the Rose Knights from my Irydale world. I enjoyed contrasting her strength and beauty with this ominous, atmospheric lighting and background to create a striking image.”
Fields of Auriel
“Here is a depiction of the place that Calienne runs into to save her knights. For this piece, I experimented with brush inking rather than manga nibs, and also used Ecoline watercolours.”
Purpureus Bees
“A really fun illustration out of my upcoming book Treasures Untold. These giant bees are very friendly and make for great fuzzy companions and pets. The combination of greens and blues here is something that I never tire of!”
You can learn more about Roberto’s work at Isshobi.
This article originally appeared in ImagineFX. Subscribe to ImagineFX to never miss an issue. Print and digital subscriptions are available.
Get the gear
Inspired to try watercolours yourself? See our guides to the best watercolour paints and best watercolour paper, or check out the gear below.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
