How one artist landed a 6-month dream gig making art for Liam O’Brien’s Critical Role fantasy book
In April 2023, Liam O’Brien, co-founder of the popular web series Critical Role, released his debut children’s book, “Der Katzenprinz,” featuring enchanting illustrations by artist Charlie Borovsky. This collaboration marks a significant milestone for both O’Brien and Borovsky, who initially crossed paths through the realm of fan art. Borovsky, now based in Prague, began his journey as a fan of Critical Role’s “Dungeons and Dragons” campaigns nearly a decade ago. His admiration for the series led him to create fan art of O’Brien’s character, Caleb Widogast, which ultimately caught O’Brien’s attention. After years of mutual recognition, O’Brien approached Borovsky in late 2023 to illustrate “Der Katzenprinz,” resulting in a six-month intense creative process that saw Borovsky dedicate himself entirely to the project.
The project was a labor of love for Borovsky, who described the experience as a transformative journey. The artistic process began with brainstorming and concept work, where Borovsky enjoyed the freedom of translating O’Brien’s narrative into visual form. The collaboration was smooth, with O’Brien providing minimal feedback, allowing Borovsky to flourish creatively. The culmination of their efforts resulted in a beautifully illustrated 112-page book that has resonated with readers. Borovsky expressed immense satisfaction in seeing O’Brien promote the book, noting that it validated the hard work and stress involved in meeting deadlines. This experience not only highlights the creative synergy between O’Brien and Borovsky but also underscores the evolving landscape of opportunities within the Critical Role universe, where passion and talent can lead to professional collaborations.
For aspiring artists looking to break into the industry, Borovsky shared valuable insights based on his journey. He emphasized the importance of developing a personal art style that balances uniqueness with versatility, allowing artists to appeal to various publishers. Additionally, he advised artists to curate a diverse online portfolio, participate in community events like portfolio days, and engage with art directors on social media. Borovsky also highlighted the significance of fan art as a pathway to recognition, noting that Critical Role often recruits artists from their fan community. As “Der Katzenprinz” continues to gain traction, it serves as an inspiring testament to the power of creativity, community, and the realization of dreams within the vibrant world of Critical Role.
Liam O’Brien worked on “Der Katzenprinz,” his first book, with artist Charlie Borovsky.
Critical Role; Insight Editions
Critical Role cofounder Liam O’Brien released “Der Katzenprinz,” his first children’s book, in April.
The book comes with 112 fully illustrated pages by artist Charlie Borovsky.
Borovsky, who spent six months working on the book, explained how he landed his dream gig.
Like most creatives who wind up working for
Critical Role
, Charlie Borovsky was a fan first.
Borovsky, who’s based in Prague, said he started watching Critical Role’s “Dungeons and Dragons” campaign on Twitch, a stream that remains a mainstay of
the crew’s nerdworld business
.
Ten years on
, as Critical Role
sells out stadiums
for its live shows and makes
Amazon-backed animated series
about the stream he watched at home, Borovsky has found himself contributing to it. He is the artist for
Critical Role cofounder Liam O’Brien’s
“Der Katzenprinz,” a 112-page children’s book.
O’Brien, Borovsky said, had been aware of his work and portfolio from when he began posting fan art of the former’s wizard character, Caleb Widogast, in 2018. But it took more than five years before O’Brien approached Borovsky and asked if he’d like to do the art for “Der Katzenprinz.”
“In autumn 2023, we started talking in emails, and it wasn’t until the winter of 2024 that we started the project,” Borovsky said.
“He approached me about it and asked if I wanted to hop on, and I was like, ‘Hell yeah, this sounds really up my alley,'” Borovsky added.
Then came a six-month crunch time for Borovsky, where “Der Katzenprinz” was the only art project he worked on. Borovsky also makes art for other tabletop role-playing projects and has been a freelance creative for books and games alike.
“It was like, my life. I wasn’t doing anything else,” Borovsky said. “I’m also chronically ill, so if I have a job, I have to just do that, and I won’t have enough hours in the day to do anything else.”
Working with O’Brien was smooth, Borovsky said, and they moved quickly from thumbnails to line art, then finished artwork.
“Honestly, Liam was really nice and easy. I only had a few notes from him, and most of them were just like, ‘This looks great, keep on going,'” Borovsky said.
Borovsky said that the early concept work was his favorite part of the process, because he got a lot of creative freedom when conceptualizing how the work would look on the page, in concert with
O’Brien’s writing
.
“It usually gets harder toward the end of the project, where you just have to do the manual work of actually rendering and shading everything,” Borovsky said.
The most rewarding part of the project, Borovsky said, was seeing O’Brien promote the book upon its release.
“That made it so worth it. It really warmed my heart after some of the stress of the deadlines, actually seeing him talk about it and genuinely seeming like he’s really proud of the project,” Borovsky said.
How to get a nerdworld dream job
“Der Katzenprinz” is a story written by Liam O’Brien. Charlie Borovsky did full illustrations for the tale.
Insight Editions
Borovsky told Business Insider his tips could help artists, whether they hope to get a gig with Critical Role or other businesses.
First, Borovsky says, it’s essential to define your personal style as an artist. That means getting better at the fundamentals of art so companies will be convinced that you can deliver what they’re asking for.
“I wouldn’t say to focus on having an art style that will be so different from everybody else that everybody will remember you,” Borovsky said. “That’s really not the point. You need to have a style that will be good for all the different publishers, but still unique enough that people can recognize that it’s yours.”
Secondly, Borovsky says that there’s a demand for artists who not only draw characters but also have some versatility.
“Not only focusing on characters, but doing all the other things, creatures, magic items, environments, that’s what you get work through, usually,” Borovsky said.
Borovsky added that it’s important to curate your online portfolio with a diverse array of items that you can draw.
“I definitely say you need to participate in the online things of portfolio day, and just following art directors online,” Borovsky said.
“Sometimes, art directors post online, saying, ‘We’re looking for an artist,’ and you can drop your portfolio link under the post,” Borovsky said.
If you’re hoping to work for Critical Role, Borovsky suggests making more fan art to get noticed by the company’s creative team — and to keep honing your skills.
”
Critical Role is really good at picking artists from their fan art circles, instead of outsourcing it to somebody totally new,” Borovsky said.
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Business Insider
