Before Gabriel Pickard was a full-time artist, he was a chef, at times living off commissions and side jobs — including a brief stint of window washing. When a friend recommended that he sell some of his drawings on the Roll20 Marketplace, he had no idea that he would one day become the best-selling Independent Creator on the platform!
As part of Roll20Con 2022, we’re celebrating his success and the myriad contributions he’s made to the TTRPG community by launching Gabriel Pickard’s Appetizer Platter, a collection of 100 maps and tokens from some of Gabe’s best-selling Art Pack series including Critical Trails, Save Vs. Cave, and Village to Pillage.
The best part? It’s absolutely free for all Roll20 users!
Gabe, who has described his work as “incredibly meditative,” recommends that Creators not only relish the imagination that goes into creating works of art, but also the craftsmanship and mastery of process that helps shape success.
His Art Packs can take anywhere from a week to a couple of weeks to complete (working eight to nine hours a day) based on complexity In addition to his tangible contributions to the Marketplace, Gabe has helped onboard several other Roll20 Creators and regularly connects with fans through Roll20 and Twitter.
In the spirit of building the creative community and inspiring others to follow their dreams, we asked Gabe for his top advice for aspiring Creators. Here’s what he said:
- Look at what’s available already. What does the market look like? Investigate quality, the number of assets in a set, and pricing - this is all available for you to peruse.
- If you aren’t already well-practiced, spend time refining your skills.
- Be mindful that it takes time to build up a library that can serve customers – many of them want to keep a consistent style in their campaigns.
- The other artists around you are your community, not your competition. Many of us are very helpful and nice, and there is room for everyone.
- Have fun. I’m having fun! I hope everyone has as much fun making and enjoying art as I do.
Gabriel Pickard’s Appetizer Platter is available now on the Marketplace. Enjoy!