“My mother is an artist. So, I was surrounded by the environment and tools of the trade from the beginning. I left the humble hills of Ithaca, NY at 17 to pursue art at New York University. Alas, it was a poor fit. I spent two frustrating years at New York University. The art program was geared to Fine Art and Performance Art than to Illustration.
Many years later, I attended the much more commercial & illustrative minded Columbus College of Art & Design. Three and 1/2 years later, I walked out with a degree in Applied Arts. But CCAD was much more than a piece of paper. It really gave me the tools to pursue my career.

Right before entering CCAD, I got my first break into the role playing field as an illustrator.  I landed a freelance job with Iron Crown Enterprises for Eidilon: City in the Sky.  After that, I branched out to the Champions line, due to my love of comics and superheroes.  Now, I've been illustrating for RPGs for some 15 years.  And I continue to play the games.

Which is how I got involved with Houses of the Blooded.  Due to my involvement with the Sons of Kryos podcast and Judd Karlman and Jeff Lower, we had a chance to playtest HotB.  I LOVED the game right off the bat, being a die hard romantic and a believer in giving players more narrative control than the average RPG.

I often do doodles while at the table.  I posted these doodles up and John Wick saw them.  He contacted me and we talked about the direction of the art.  This was very exciting.  A nice twist on the usual "how to depict a fantasy world"... and the Victorian archeology notebook was born.  Sketches surrounded by comments by 2 archaeologists who are uncovering ven artifacts and disagreeing about their significance.   I worked closely with John on the "comments" that surround the artwork and it was a blast to do. 

I hope readers and especially players of HotB enjoy the art as much I as enjoyed creating it.” 

storn a. cook