Game Designer and Comic Artist Ste Pickford shows he doesn't need a photo mode with his remarkable illustrated Elden Ring playthrough journal.
FromSoftware's Elden Ring has taken the gaming community by storm, launching its players into a fantastical world full of macabre characters. With surprises at every turn, the game has captured a truly unique sense of adventure - one worthy of being immortalized.
Inspired by the game's NPC designs and frightening, awesome environments, game designer and comic artist Ste Pickford (of The Pickford Bros) decided to capture his own adventure in the game in a special way. Bringing his own dynamic art style to FromSoftware's world, he's illustrated a stunning Elden Ring playthrough journal.
Ste Pickford is a veteran game designer and comic artist hailing from the UK; after over 30 years of designing games with his brother, John Pickford, the two dedicate their time to developing indie games and working as design consultants. Throughout his career, Pickford has stuck to largely artistic roles and continues to draw comics like Plok.
Warning, mild spoilers ahead for anyone still making their way through Elden Ring's early game!
STE PICKFORD'S ELDEN RING PLAYTHROUGH JOURNAL
This time, Pickford has joined the gaming community as a player to delve into the world of Elden Ring. Though, rather than live-tweeting his experience, he's created a particularly special way to memorialize his playthrough. Sketching out everything from his Tarnished character to the game's most iconic environments, Pickford has illustrated his way through Elden Ring.
An illustrated guide to the Denizens of Roundtable Hold!
Pickford's Tarnished Bandit
Here, Pickford's illustrations give viewers a closer look at the sheer detail of Elden Ring's characters. From gnarled hands to intricate metalwork, it is impressively detailed for a series of sketches. Additionally, the dramatic shading adds an incredible sense of depth, creating dynamic collections of Elden Ring drawings that seem to breathe on the page.
Pickford has also stated that each page takes roughly and hour to do, with only a rough pencil sketch beforehand "to get the proportions just right. All in all, it's remarkable how accurately he was able to illustrate the game (Caelid looks as hellish as ever!) with such a quick process.
Following that, Pickford's recorded thoughts provide an look at the game through the eyes of a game designer and artist. We can see his questions, struggles, and successes - a true overview of his entire adventure thus far.
Unfortunately, these are all of Pickford's current updates on his Elden Ring playthrough journal. Though he has stated that his game is now further along than the journal, it's possible another update will come in the future!
Finally, to see more of Pickford's stunning artwork, check out his ArtStation page or also on Twitter!
Elden Ring is available to play on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.