Greetings to our amazing community, and welcome to the twenty-second edition of our Stars of the VTT Galaxy interview series. In this series, we illuminate the already bright stars that make up our community of Bazaar Creators.
We are pleased that we had the opportunity to chat with JB-Media, an independent creator from northern Sweden who specializes in creating high-quality TTRPG assets and monster tokens entirely from scratch. Every piece he made is designed to give DMs the tools they need to build immersive worlds and unforgettable adventures.
Step into the world of JB-Media and see how one creator is transforming the TTRPG experience!
Our sky consists of many stars. Each of them illuminating our planet. As you can guess, the stars are you. Yes, it's you, the great content creators who, in your own unique way, shine on our worlds. Thank you for being part of our heavenly sky and weaving the fabric of our Community.
Let's meet today's star.
Introduce yourself, for those who don’t know what you do, what would you describe yourself as doing for a living?
Jason: My IRL name is Jason, for the sake of the interview!
I was born in Liverpool, England, a city of art and a capital of culture in Europe, so I have grown up surrounded by a variety of art and music my whole life, and took an interest in photography as I entered adulthood working with products from brand such as Sony, Sennheiser, and Bose for many years after finishing university.
After meeting my wife, I moved to Sweden, where I have continued to do the occasional photography work, but have evolved over the last 2 years and have begun selling my passion art in online spaces.
What’s one random fact about you?
Jason: A random fact about me... (thinks)... I am a happy father to 3 beautiful Birman cats and 10 grumpy chickens.
How did you get started creating TTRPG content? And how has your style and approach to creating TTRPG content evolved?
Jason: I entered the VTT world as many did during the pandemic, and found myself lacking in assets I wanted to use to decorate the maps I had (like I could with the physical collection I had accumulated over many years of cutting up craft foam). I started to make very basic items that I couldn't find or didn't have the option to get from other amazing creators at the time, such as Forgotten Adventures and The Planet Hoppers.
From my neurodivergent need not be dependent on others' work, I delved head first and hyper-focused on making my games 100% my own creation. When I first started, I had access to Photoshop from using it for my Photography, and had a good understanding of the tool's capabilities and limitations, so I winged it approaching my creations in a very photographer-biased process by taking pictures of the object I wanted to create and importing it into PS to draw it out then. I have no formal art training, so this all was a learning curve for me.
As I became more capable with my very cheap and small pen tablet, I started to implement more artistic decisions in those drawings, and this is where my art style became more aligned with what it is today. This was probably the biggest turning point to date, and it was when my art became independent from my Photography.
Have there been any significant turning points or influences on your art? And what have been the key lessons along the way?
Jason: My players have been the biggest influence on my art, and my pack or scatter items are often to fill a need for the games I run for my friends, so the art I put out there is kind of their story progress. In terms of style influence, I fell in love with works from Alphonse Mucha, who I often use to reference color palettes and textures.
The biggest lesson from my long journey has been to surround myself with honest but kind people, those who respect you enough to tell you to try something again until you improve.
Your work seems deeply personal, given that you create everything solo. Where does the inspiration come from in the work you do? Or perhaps, your “muse”?
Jason: I feel a deep need to create and produce something new, and I suppose that striving to evolve and develop my expression of myself is my "muse".
What are your goals moving forward with your content?
Jason: Moving forward, I would like to get into animated assets and monster tokens.
I have created personalized Spiritual weapons for some of my players that my own ridiculous standard and imposter syndrome will not put out publicly, but I would like to develop those skills further to eventually push myself toward entering that area of the VTT space.
You mainly create assets and monster tokens, occasionally battlemaps. How do you approach designing unique content? What factors do you consider to ensure the assets enhance the gameplay experience?
Jason: Using my experience of running homebrew and/or sandbox TTRPGs, I like to have options with the visuals of the objects/monsters in each encounter. I hope to get the attention of the GMs who run games like I do, so they feel confident that the monster they choose to throw at the players will be the correct vibe for the encounter they are running.
To bring us back to my photography background, I believe the color of the monsters and scenes can have a huge impact on how immersive the gameplay experience is, and for those who have a color vision deficiency, I have found chroma options immensely help with clarity during a battle.
Are there any particular themes or styles you enjoy exploring in your asset collections and maps?
Jason: I really enjoy darker themes in my work. The process of making something look more scary and mysterious is always an interesting adventure for me.
I also enjoy making singular assets that are a little less serious, such as rubber ducks, cute toads, or a chest full of socks just to provide some in-game positivity for those needed cognitive breaks from the darker aesthetics I often lean toward.
How do you approach token creation? What is your typical workflow when creating tokens, from concept to completion?
Jason: The first thing I do now is sketch down an idea in a little A5 book I carry around with me, allowing me to plan out the composition of the monsters I make. Figuring out the top-down view is difficult, so I find lightly sketching helps me find out the clearest way to make it obvious what the thing I'm drawing is.
Once I have a general idea, I'll import it to Affinity Photo to begin the digital drawing using a pen tablet, and a bunch of custom brushes I have made along my journey.
I often start with layers working top-down and outlining each core layer with a 1px border for separation of height. When the basics are down, they sort of look like weird colored blobs stacked on top of each other, so using the sketch reference on a low opacity layer above them, I begin to shade and texture them, altering the composition of the drawing from the sketch if needed as sometimes the digital version doesn't come across as clear as the sketch once the textures and colors are applied.
When I'm happy with the default look of the token, I will use a chroma shift on the layers I want to alter the color, sometimes adding minor details to specific color variants that provide a little more character.
The last thing I do is send out the default to a few trusted GMs to try out on their preferred VTT to see if they have feedback or run into clarity complications once imported. From this point, I'll make any adjustments needed.
Balancing creativity and managing all aspects of your business must be challenging. How do you handle the workload and still maintain the quality of your creations? And how do you handle burnout or creative blocks? Do you have any strategies to overcome them?
Jason: It can be hard. I think, because TTRPG art is a business of passion, it makes finding time for it easier, and as a solo creator, I have no hard deadlines to work toward, and that removes a lot of the pressure I assume other commercially successful creators have to deal with.
When I get burnout, I have learned over many years of living with neurodivergence to lean into the burnout and accept that my mind and body are telling me to slow down, saving the less cognitively demanding tasks for those occurrences, has helped me manage the balance between the creativity and the business tasks. I go into any new project to improve the quality of my art rather than maintain the quality, as I try to be honest with my skill level being new in the scene and this expression of art. Knowing I'm still in my journey to getting better helps me settle with the results I'm getting, learning from the process so I can implement new skills or use a different approach moving forward.
When I get a creative block, I will doodle a generic object from my surroundings, something simple like a knife in the kitchen or a decoration my wife has displayed for the current seasonal holiday. Not having a goal for the pieces and with no intention for it, once it's complete will trick my brain into thinking of something more interesting to draw, often leading me into a a tunnel vision for a new bundle of objects/monsters. Sometimes, just starting anything with no goal is the cognitive reset I needed to get going again.
With so many amazing creators out there, how do you stay true to your vision while also standing out in the marketplace? What do you think sets your assets apart from others in the industry?
Jason: I try to focus more on producing what I want to see in my games. I'm not under financial pressure to fill a void in the market, and this gives me the freedom to create the things I enjoy, and am excited to use myself. I hope having that approach means I hit some gaps and needs in the market that are more specific.
I think the drive to create something I enjoy shows in my work, each asset and token is a creation I was passionate about at the moment of its development, and I hope that translates to the people who see my art. But having this approach means if it's a swig and a miss the impact on my mental state due to the fear of failing is drastically reduced, as it is something I was making for myself regardless of the market. If other people have also benefited from my creations it becomes an additional joy, rather than my joy depending on the success of the art.
What are the biggest issues facing you as a smaller content creator?
Jason: Currently, the biggest issue of being a smaller creator is not really knowing how my work impacts those who invest in my work.
I haven't quite gotten over the fear of random people using my work and judging it and never knowing what they think. When I make a sale, there is always a voice at the back of my head saying: "I hope they like it", and I'm not sure at what point that stops or if it ever will.
What role does feedback from the community play in your creative process in general? How has the support of your patrons impacted your ability to create and expand your TTRPG content? And how did the feedback influence your approach to future projects?
Jason: My patrons help me narrow down what is working and what is not. I focus on what they like, pulling from the successful assets, and implementing those qualities in my work moving forward. With no formal art education, knowing what the typical consumer likes and dislikes is a void in my knowledge, and patron feedback helps me navigate that gap.
What are your goals and aspirations for your Patreon page? Are there any exciting plans or upcoming projects you'd like to share with your patrons?
Jason: I would like to get to a level where I can have high-tier exclusive content. Having an audience that relates to my work enough to invest in the more eccentric pieces I create, work that I wouldn't put out commercially on a market, is something I strive for.
Last month, I started a doodle assets collection that is and will continue to be free and public of random scatter items I doodle when playing TTRPGs. I often doodle to keep my hands busy, like a fidget toy, so my mind can be focused on the session. So I thought, why not make something weekly or fortnightly, once I have a little collection of these digital doodles, and maybe someone out there will find a use for them.
Can you share some examples of your favorite or most challenging pieces you've created?
Jason: Yes, of course! My most challenging piece recently that really pushed my creative skills was a Krakens head. I wanted it submerged in water to try and portray the size and scope of these eldritch horrors. Making something look like it's sitting in a body of liquid was difficult for my current skill level, so I was very proud of how it turned out.
Another piece I'm proud of is a top-down token for a little fey creature called a Brigganock, who I just found adorably ugly.
And what's your least favorite piece of content you've created? (If it exists).😊
Jason: A piece I'm less excited about is a Firenewt Warrior that I whipped up fast for a game I was playing later that same day. It's definitely something I will go back to and re-work, but as it looks right now is a piece I'm less proud of and was more a work of need than passion.
What game systems do you play? What VTT do you use?
Jason: I run Dungeons and Dragons games in a small community for people who have had negative experiences playing TTRPGs in the past. I have dipped my toes into Alice Is Missing, Cairn, and Call of Cthulhu over the last year also.
The spicy question- what is your favorite VTT to run on? What kind of improvements do you want to see in it?
Jason: My favorite VTT to run and play on is Foundry VTT (I currently run my games on Foundry), and I love its tools, mods, and community.
I have little feedback for improvements with the VTT itself, but I would love more videos demonstrating the options in the VTT that DMs and players can utilize. I find there is a lot and things can be missed if you don't do a full dive into the updates and patch notes.
How do you think the TTRPG space is evolving, and where do you see your work fitting into that evolution?
Jason: I think the 3D space in VTT is getting increasingly popular and I hope to delve into 3d assets.
I also think with the success of shows like Dimention20 and Critical Role, more communities will start to produce their own shows and I'm looking for creative options to provide content for such shows such as overlays or unique digital dice.
Do you have anything you want to say to the greater TTRPG/VTT community?
Jason: I would encourage the TTRPG community to embrace diversity and welcome change in all its forms, as it is one of the most beautiful things about being human and being in a space where the imagination and its limitations directly determine the stories you tell. New experiences can only expand your creativity in this space.
What advice do you have for individuals looking to join the world of TTRPG content creation, specifically in tokens and assets?
Jason: I would advise people looking into producing assets and tokens to draw what they are passionate about, create art they would use themselves, and only compare themselves to their own previous work and not what others are putting out there.
What are your plans in general for the future as an RPG creator? Are there any personal or professional goals for your career as a TTRPG content creator?
Jason: One day, I would love to team up with like-minded people to create a monster manual and/or a spell book for any TTRPG system.
Working with a good team in a community I enjoy being in, and a part of to produce good quality content for that same community is a goal I think all creatively driven individuals can relate to.
Thank you, Jason, once again for your willingness and time for this conversation.
Jason: Thank you for this opportunity!
You can follow the image links below to learn more about JB-Media, and follow him on various social media:
