As I have stated elsewhere, when I started this project it was a very spur-of-the-moment decision. Working on sketches has always been a part of how I respond during roleplay sessions and so taking the time to produce the flashcard sketches wasn't a step away from the norm. When I approached Darragh about a more substantial collaboration, he jumped at the chance. The following is a short section by him on his reasoning behind the collab and his world that helped to inspire so much of my art in the past few years.
I have always wanted to work with an Artist on Ash & Clockwork
Built as the setting for my original undergraduate dissertation, the world and characters of Ash & Clockwork have quickly grown into something far bigger. Leaning heavily into the Myths, Monsters, and Heros of my Irish Heritage, A&C has a strangely evocative power that has enraptured more than a few of my friends. When I originally built the Roleplay system it was a way of learning more about my world and growing it naturally. I had no idea it would become such a wild, wacky, and genuinely fun game for myself and others. I had even less of an idea of how inspiring it would be for an artist like Terry.
Ever since he first showed me a sketch inspired by the goings-on of the campaign I have been longing for an excuse to collaborate with him. His use of exaggerated colour to portray emotion and his finished/unfinished style perfectly fits the broken nature of the world I have created. Each new drawing simply made me want more and we both discussed the possibility in passing more than once. But when the idea of creating a Tarot deck based on the characters and world we had been playing with for the past few years I knew we had hit on something special.
With a mix of writing, character descriptions, spreadsheets, and a lot of back and forth we came together to create something that I have grown to completely adore. I can only hope that this serves as the beginning of a longer-term working relationship and look forward to the continuation of the full High Arcana. The experience has been exhilarating and I can't wait to see how our friends and family react as it progresses.
-Darragh Kempson
Clockwork Writings
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