In this episode, we sit down with friend, artist, game designer and art director for Swords Without Master Shel Kahn to talk about... all of those things! We touch on the different roles of art in game design, working with abstract imagery, refining your taste as a chooser-of-images even if commissioning original art isn't realistic, and the ways artwork and visual design elements help out the game design endeavor. Art... it's good!

Show Notes:

• The Swords Without Master Kickstarter - funded now, runs through February 13th 2026!
• Shel's website and webcomics
• Buy By Crom!
• The Beguiling Bookstore
• Elemei (our glyph artist for Swords)
• Movies: Captain Blood, Don Juan and Troy

Games Mentioned:

• Traveller and GURPS Traveller
• TORQ
• Shel’s Pocket Dungeons
• Wolfspell

And there's more:

• Unwritten Earths Symposium
• Our Patreon
• Join the Discord
• Nathan's games
• Eppy's games
• Music by Will Jobst