illustration
portfolio
2020-24
TheBrassGlass | J.A. Meyers
If you’re here, you’re looking for a visual storyteller for your tabletop game project or fantasy book. I know how to collaborate with an editor and meet a deadline; with more than 12 years’ experience in publishing, I also served over 5 years as an award-winning editorial cartoonist for The Day newspaper in New London, Connecticut. I’m a very fast learner, eager to bring your vision to life.
Bachelor of Arts, SUNY Potsdam (2007)
Software: Procreate, GIMP, Inkscape,
InDesign, Canva.
email: thebrassglass@gmail.com
website: https://thebrassglass.com
Gaming elements
A Dungeons & Dragons fan, myself, I’m available to produce art for tabletop and card games in both digital painting and lineart illustration, including cards, logos, crests, tokens, and spot illustrations. Email me for a free consultation on your project.
email: thebrassglass@gmail.com
Dream Dragon
Procreate, 2024
You’ll be working with someone who not only respects your needs and listens to what you have to say, but also values your vision. I am eager to accept and employ the feedback of my clients and art peers, as I did here.
This poster design was inspired by a tutorial that artist Derek Domnic D'Souza shared on Instagram, and the dragon was inspired by artist Philip Sue, whose landscape course I completed on the 21Draw learning platform; I’m always looking for ways to further develop my skills.
email: thebrassglass@gmail.com
Magda
Procreate, 2024
Promotional illustration for “Lennamore: A Soul for a Crown,”
a fantasy novel by C.M. O’Slatara,
based on a scene in the novel. The author had a vision of how the goblins should look, and I did visual research and drew up concept art based on the author’s descriptions.
Below, concept art for the piece.
email: thebrassglass@gmail.com
The Spellbook
Procreate, 2023
Dark storytelling using environment and props. The process started with gathering reference images for the space and visual inspiration, then creating a list of objects that might be found in such a scene. Next,
I made several thumbnail sketches of ideas before mixing and matching elements that appear in this final image. Below, a WIP showing the perspective grid; I blew out the flames and lowered the saturation of the candles to avoid distracting from the focal point. More on the process on next page.
email: thebrassglass@gmail.com
The Spellbook
Process
Left, my starting list and environmental mood board, which includes a photo I took at a historical site from my own personal photo reference library. Below, some of the composition thumbnail sketches. I combined strong elements from a few of them to build the final piece.
email: thebrassglass@gmail.com
Baby Cyclops
Procreate, 2023
This started with a prompt from my art mentor, Sean Bianchi, to draw a cute nonhuman character. This piece was used to practice building up setting and using details for storytelling. I used a stock image of a craggy Greek coast as a subtle photobash in the distant background to add depth.
Below, the original concept sketch; I made the dismembered hand a bit smaller in the final version for a better sense of scale, and improved the anatomy.
email: thebrassglass@gmail.com
Unicorn Hunt
Procreate, 2024
Her brothers didn't tell her why they brought her to the wood that day. They left her at the treeline, where wildflowers grew aplenty; she sang to herself as she picked a bouquet for her mother. At once, the light breeze that tugged at her skirts and braids fell still. She heard a pawing and a grunt behind her. Turning, she caught sight of the most beautiful and yet most terrifying creature she'd ever beheld...
Inspired by medieval lore and the style of Disney’s “Tangled.” I sought to juxtapose the bright colors, beauty and magic of the foreground with the danger of the hunters lurking at the periphery of the scene. Her face is meant to capture both fear and awe at what she’s beholding.
email: thebrassglass@gmail.com
Outfits
Procreate, 2023
These are outfit designs for a character in a flintlock fantasy story set in an alternative world inspired by the 18th century.
From the moire sash over the armor to the evolution of shoe
and waistcoat styles, I looked
to portraits and paintings, extent items of clothing and different types of fabric and trim to design these. Each one serves a different purpose and reflects a different part of life and socioeconomic status of the character. I have a keen eye for detail and shape language.
email: thebrassglass@gmail.com
The Dead Bird
Procreate, 2020
An older daughter is entrusted with far more responsibility than her young years should have to bear. She also has to contend with the understanding that her father might not come back from war. This anxiety and grief are manifested in small things that would never have bothered her before, such as finding a dead dove on her way to market one morning.
The Old World setting is as much a character as any of the people we meet. It is defined by uneven planes of unplanned growth and the shift of earth, wood and plaster over centuries, just as life itself takes unexpected dips and strains. Inspired by old streetscapes and the uneven floors in my 1803 home.
email: thebrassglass@gmail.com
Tears of the Princess
Procreate, 2023
My homage to J.C. Leyendecker and the Nintendo video game Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.
The tall hat and moon in Leyendecker’s "Giving Thanks," November 1910 cover art for The Woman's Magazine of St. Louis (below), immediately made me think of Link’s ancient armor helmet and the blood moon that plays such a huge role in the game.
email: thebrassglass@gmail.com
My process: Nightlight Duet
Procreate, 2023-24
- Full illustrations begin with a list of ideas, followed by collecting photo references
and building a mood board.
- Next, I create a set of thumbnails to explore concepts, poses and compositions.
- If I am designing characters from scratch, this stage also will include outfit sketches.
- Next, the client and I decide on which sketch to further develop into a final sketch.
- Client then reviews the final sketch to determine if changes are needed.
- Once the final sketch and any revisions are approved, it’s on to coloring or painting.
- I usually send two to three updates on the progress of the piece for client feedback.
- Client receives a preview of the finished piece with watermark for last revisions.
- Once final piece is approved, client receives high-resolution file with no watermark.
Contact for a free consultation and quotes for your project: thebrassglass@gmail.com
