One place that always suffers when creating indie games is artwork. It's hard to afford or justify artists for a smaller game, and the budget for art on large projects can quickly balloon, usually leaving creators with few decent choices to create a dynamic and good-looking project.
Finding public domain art is time-consuming and often results in more time hunting for the right images or cutting out the piece of the art you want to use.
AI-Generated art is sloppy, ugly, and, let's face it, anathema to most indie creators and game collectors. (I personally refuse to support any robots taking jobs from indie creatives.)
Sometimes the cover takes priority, leaving the interior pages vacant and empty.
Stock Art is the perfect solution to these problems!
With the Stockroom, I am planning to create a large series of useable artwork designed with book layout and filler art in mind—little beasts and treasures to fill the empty spaces in your creations. This first collection, SKULL and BONES, is an assortment of skeletons and skulls. The art will be easy to use, and the license allows for recoloring or editing the images, making them even more versatile.
All of the art in the Stockroom can be used for almost* any project you can create, whether for personal games, youtube video elements, online assets, or published TTRPGs!
Each piece is hand-drawn, and you will get it in three easy-to-use digital formats.
COLOR ART
This file is a full-color piece of art, ready for immediate insertion into your project. Depending on the image, it will either be a full-resolution image with a background or an isolated piece of colored spot artwork in PNG format.
LINE ART
Just the simple black line artwork of the image. This works especially great for Black & White books, subtle filler art, or you can overlay it onto existing artwork/backgrounds. This will be an isolated transparent PNG.
LAYERED FILE
This is the most versatile option. This layered PSD includes the line art, the colored art, isolated flats of the colors, and any background on separate layers, making it simple to edit, adjust, or color the image to fit your project needs! You can use this file in Photoshop, Procreate, and most image editing/art programs.
COMMERCIAL LICENSE Each image also includes a permissive extended commercial license allowing you to use or modify the art for most any project, including multiple books and ones that you plan to sell for profit. (See the License section below for details on what it can't be used for.)
This collection includes 15 unique skull illustrations. Each piece will have a classic watercolored version with background and the pure black inks. These skulls were originally sketched out for my game TOMBPUNK, but they have all been freshly redrawn with crusty black inks and classic RPG linework to nestle comfortably into any dungeon or tomb.
Each skull includes four versions of the art for maximum versatility.
The Skelly Boys were originally drawn for my series of RPG meeples, the Stick Figures. There are five thematic collections, each with 9-10 skeletons. Low Fantasy:
High Fantasy:
Harryhausen:
Unearthed:
Sci-Fi:
There were also a couple of bonus skeletons, and they will be included in the collection:
Each skeleton will be isolated and have color and black and white versions with transparent backgrounds. They will also include a separated PSD file with flat colors.
As a free bonus, all collections will also include simplified, smaller versions of ten skulls and a handful of isolated bone illustrations for accent pieces.
There are four available reward levels, depending on how much art you want. $20: SKULLS. Get the full set of 15 SKULL stock art. $30: SKELLY BOYS. Get 51 thematic SKELETON stock art pieces. $40: THE COLLECTION. This is the complete collection of art from this project! It includes both collections and two free bonus sets:
SKULLS: 15 isolated skull art pieces
SKELLY BOYS: 51 thematic animated skeleton art pieces
BONES: 5 scattered, shattered bone art pieces
ICONS: 10 simplified skulls for smaller decorations
$250: THE STOCKER. In addition to the Complete Collection, you will become a full Member of the Stockroom for 12 months! For more details on this reward, see the next section!
Previous RPG pages I have designed with elements similar to these!
As a member of the Stockroom, every month (Starting September 1st, 2026), you will receive:
15-20 new pieces of stock art based on that month's theme
2 votes towards the next month's theme
Access to the members-only section on Discord
Random art and TTRPG element drops, such as handmade fonts, art links, discoveries, and templates.
I'll also post work-in-progress sketches and behind-the-scenes peeks at the art on Patreon and Discord.
IMPORTANT NOTE: This will be the same content that will be released to members of my Patreon. It is just offered here as an alternative for folks who don't want to sign up for the Patreon separately.
Previous RPG pages I have designed with elements similar to these!
The Monthly Collection:
The Stock Art I release for the monthly stockroom collections will be different from what we are releasing here - rather than a collection of variants of the same item, each month will be designed around a specific Theme. (I go into a bit more depth and have example art on THIS POST on Patreon.) Here's how that will work:
Each month, I will release a poll, listing 3-4 options for a theme for an upcoming set of stock art. Members of the Patreon and Stockers here on Backerkit will be able to cast their vote for which theme they'd like to see next!
Depending on the winner, I may do a second poll asking for feedback on the preferred art style for the month. I like to draw in a variety of art styles and want to make sure that these collections are as functional for members as possible.
The winner of that theme will land on my drawing board, and I'll get to work.
Every day or two, I will post new pieces or work in progress on the Discord and as Patreon updates.
At the end of the month, you will get a link to download the full monthly collection. You will also have access to the DriveThru RPG version of the collection so that you can always access it there.
Each Monthly Theme Includes:
I want to make a collection of artwork that does more than feature cool illustrations; I want to draw on my experience as a TTRPG Graphic Designer and give members a complete toolkit for that art. Every month, you will get:
Hero illustrations: Large pieces featuring action, villains, or characters that can be used as full-page illustrations.
Landscapes & Locations: Isolated structures and full environmental locations in a variety of sizes.
Items and Loot: Treasure, clothing, vials, chests, and other little pieces of ephemera.
Weapons and Armor: Isolated pieces of unique weapons and gear.
Creatures: Monsters, goblins, and little beasties.
Vertical and Horizontal filler art: Scenes, spot art, and items to help fill those awkward spaces on the page.
Design elements: Borders, boxes, and backgrounds to help tie the pages together thematically.
Inspiration: I'll also release a pack of links to typefaces, patterns, or backgrounds I used while creating the collection, along with other little goodies like game and movie inspirations, Spotify playlists, and public domain art when available.
By backing this project, you get a full COMMERCIAL LICENSE for the artwork. That means you can freely use them in both personal and for-profit games and game-related projects.
YOU CAN:
Use the art in print media, including advertising, editorial publications, books, and consumer merchandise.
Use the art in videos or multimedia presentations
Use it in printed or digital projects, both free and paid
Online, or internet-based media (max resolution 72dpi).
Modify the artwork to suit your needs
Color or recolor the art
Crop or use part of the art as needed
Integrate the art into other pieces of art or creations
You have full permission to crop, cut, color, and use Stockroom art as needed to fit your project's palette, vibe, and layout!
That said, there are some restrictions to using the art: YOU CANNOT:
Use the art in any racist, sexist, or illegal content.
Use the art as a logo or to produce physical items such as merchandise. (Skulls on hats or mugs, etc.)
Hey folks! My name is Kris McClanahan, and I'm an artist and designer. I've been working as an artist since 2010 and making TTRPGs and games since 2018, doing the art and graphic design for dozens of indie RPGs. I've worked with Parable Games, Gallant Knight Games, Netflix, John Carpenter, Duffer Bros, Firefly, Adept Icarus, Salt Heart Games, Maestro, and more indie studios.
As Deeply Dapper/Octopress Publishing, I have designed and published indie TTRPGs and card games.
I also make a podcast called DIE ALONE that focuses on indie solo TTRPGs and board games.
I adore horror, art, weird old things, and big dogs.
