EROL OTUS [Spotlight]
The legendary illustrator provides a rare glimpse into his creative process!
Hello all!
I’m over the Carcosian moons with excitement—one of the most iconic artists I've admired since my youth has shared a glimpse into his creative process...
Erol Otus!!!
Growing up during the early days of Dungeons & Dragons, I was lucky enough to encounter Erol’s incredible artwork from the start. His illustrations—vivid, otherworldly, and unmistakably Otus—have left a permanent mark on my imagination. Even as his style has evolved over the decades, it remains as instantly recognizable as a retina scan.
One piece that’s etched into my memory is his work on the Deities & Demigods… the cover of that tome and especially the Cthulhu Mythos section.
[Quick side memory: back in high school, when our AD&D group got tired of a particular adventure, we’d have all our characters shout “HASTUR!”—partly inspired by Otus's haunting depiction of that entity, which felt like Godzilla meets Eldritch horror. We'd imagine Big H stomping in like the giant foot from Monty Python’s Flying Circus and ending it all with glorious chaos. Good times.]
"Did someone mention my name...?"
No, Mr H…. honest! We did not! We were just saying “Hat, sir?” as our guest arrived….
[Whew, that was close.]
Erol Otus’s art didn’t just decorate the pages — it defined how we saw the worlds those books unlocked. His illustrations were the gateway, pulling us deeper into the strange, the surreal, and the unforgettable.
And now, getting a peek into the mind behind those images?
Pure magic.
EROL OTUS
My Creative Process.
When beginning a project hopefully an idea forms without struggling. Where does it come from? That moment before it appears is so fleeting. If nothing shows up stop thinking about it and go for a walk or do other kinds of physical exertions. This make me forget until something materializes, or not. If not try again tomorrow, also there is a chance for inspiration just as falling asleep or waking up. Rarely a dream.
For Goodman Games "The Monster Alphabet" at first I thought of individual monsters partially composed of single letter but then switched to single one with multiple faces formed by the letters. A totem pole-like monster. First comes a thumbnail rough:
Next experiment with color on the computer. So easy to try ideas out this way, what are the colors, the relationships of the colors. Crazy things that wouldn't be worth doing if you actually had to mix up the paints.
The digital colors can't be duplicated with real paint, but they can be improved upon.
A color study with the real paint guided by the color rough is next. Both to get the pleasing colors and check on the opacities. Acrylics vary a lot in opacity so making sure something won't be odd.
I print out the thumbnail rough to size of the final painting and transfer it to illustration board using graphite paper. If I don't do that I always lose something about the original composition, just a few lines to maintain it. I draw over these first in non-photo blue pencil then the final detail with graphite. I used to spray it before painting with workable fixative to prevent smudging but it made it harder to completely erase some of the lines where needed before painting with translucent colors. Instead I prevent smudging using tracing paper under my hand.
Final Painting:
For some projects I do many thumbnails first.
For Titmouse's card game I wanted to find something new about slimes, at least for me, before making the final.
The slime in the lower right felt most interesting to me, that became the final pen and ink illustration:
Some of my favorites pieces (which would include "The Monster Alphabet" as the newest from 2025) in chronological order:
A4 module cover 1980
Shub-Niggurath from Deities and Demigods 1980
Dragon Magazine Cover 1981
From computer game Starflight 2, Humna Humna bartering with its broodmother, 1989
From StarControl 2, Zoq-Fot-Pik 1992
Album Cover for The Lord Weird Slough Feg, "Limb Thing", 2000
3 Liches from the Dwimmermount Mega Dungeon, 2012
Gamehole limited edition print, 2016
Cover for Goodman Games' Dying Earth rule book, "Intimate Anatomy....", 2019
And there you have it… a rare glimpse into the creative mind of a living legend in the field!
I also wanted to add, in besides my fondness of the Cthulhu Mythos series he drew into being… I have a special enjoyment of his art in the Legion of Gold for Gamma World…. wait, I am going to stop myself before I go on and on…
A MYSTERY
Hopefully one day Erol will share one secret I am still curious about…. the character with the bat-winged helmet that appears across numerous works… the one with a blaster on the cover of the Expedition to the Barrier Peaks…. or scratching his head before leaping on the suspended discs in White Plume Mountain….
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