Below is a subset of work I believe represents my current professional interests and capabilities. This is the stuff I love to do. If you’re interested in working with me on these kinds of things, you can reach out to me at shel@portablecity.net to talk about what you’ve got in mind.
jump to Comics, Art, Concept Art, Education or Tabletop RPG Modules
Comics
I’ve been creating my own comics for over a decade, and have no plans on stopping.
-
A Brief Guide to (early onset) Wizard Puberty
A Brief Guide to (early onset) Wizard Puberty is a silly but sincere explanation for bystanders of what is happening when their friends become disabled, as narrated by a very… ~ read more ~
-
Adin and the Dead Man’s Sword
This short story was written for a followup Weald Comics anthology, set in the same world as Orin and the Dead Man’s Sword. You can read the whole thing on… ~ read more ~
-
By Crom! – Life Advice from Conan the Barbarian
By Crom! is a joke-a-panel autobio webcomic featuring life advice from the ever-practical, mighty-thewed Conan the Barbarian. You can read it all for free on my Stories website, right here.… ~ read more ~
-
Lomy in the Abyss
Lomy in the Abyss is a humor webcomic about highschool and heavy metal at the turn of the millennium. You can read the archives on Stories. ~ read more ~
-
Orin and the Dead Man’s Sword Comic Sample
Orin and the Dead Man’s Sword is a one-off, 24 page, wordless fantasy comic about tripping across a cursed sword while lost in the forest. It was printed in 2014… ~ read more ~
-
The Listening Station
This short four-coloured risograph comic is a tribute to finding new music back when we had to go into a record store to do so. Set in the world of… ~ read more ~
Education
My work in education spans writing, project facilitation, custom game design, mentorship and workshops.
-
Gaming at the Museum – Introduction!
In July I spent a week running a Dungeon World campaign as part of summer camp for 16 kids, aged 9-12, at the Aga Khan Museum in Toronto. It was my first longer campaign… ~ read more ~
-
Teaching Comics, Zine-making and Visual Literacy at OSF
In autumn 2017, I taught a four week comics course at the Oasis Skateboard Factory, an alternative highschool within the Toronto District Schoolboard. OSF has a project-focused curriculum, so our… ~ read more ~
-
Playing Night Forest with the Dames Making Games Community
We played Heart of the Deernicorn’s Night Forest as a community gaming event at Dames Making Games in Toronto, and loved it! Herein lies a review of our experience, and… ~ read more ~
-
Digital Camera Blogging
Folks seemed interested and excited about my Your Cellphone Camera’s Digital Processing Settings and You post, so I think I’m going to do some more specific posts about different things… ~ read more ~
Art
I’ve been working as an illustrator and independant artist since 2007; my work spans digital and traditional media, defies genre, and foregrounds storytelling.
I work to make worlds you can fall into.
Concept Art
I’ve been working in concept art for videogames since 2011, specializing in stylized, colourful, magical worlds.
-
Blue Sky Environment Concept for unannounced solarpunk game from Peculiar Path
Blue sky ideation process for environment designs and world building for an unannounced game from Peculiar Path. The final image: The linework: Stages in the design process – we started… ~ read more ~
-
Four Solarpunk Character Designs
These four characters were designed for an unannounced Peculiar Path title. Below are some of the stages these characters went through. We started with a skeletal template to help simplify… ~ read more ~
-
Proof of Concept Artwork created for Solarpunk project with Peculiar Path Games
Solarpunk setting overview illustration for an unreleased game from Peculiar Path Games. I learned a lot about different types of boats creating this! Details, process work and research below. ~ read more ~
-
Low Poly Environment Designs – Bakery
These were created for and are owned by Numizmatic Games, for an unannounced game. ~ read more ~
-
Jungle Environment Design Concept Art for Pillar of Fire
This is a concept art sheet for Atlas Games’ upcoming project Pillar of Fire. We developed a series of these environment samplers inspired by microorganisms and fungal structures. ~ read more ~
-
Predatory Creature Design for Pillar of Fire
This is a concept art sheet for Atlas Games’ upcoming project Pillar of Fire. We developed a series of alien creatures inspired by microfauna. ~ read more ~
-
Urban Fantasy Character Designs
Digital design lineup of four spunky teens off to investigate spirits in their city. Below are some of the process pages used to develop four complimentary designs, focusing at first… ~ read more ~
Tabletop RPG Modules
I’ve been producing my own adventures and table accessories since 2017, focused on delivering unforgetable stories via system-agnostic designs.
-
The Ghost Houses of Phylinecra – Pocket Dungeon Zine & Pocket Pack
The Ghost Houses of Phylinecra is a system-agnostic, story-heavy dungeon crawl about a community recovering after disaster, and how a goddess might try to understand mortal grief. The village of… ~ read more ~
-
The Corruption of Pelursk – Pocket Dungeon Pack
The Corruption of Pelursk is a system-agnostic tabletop RPG hexcrawl/dungeon, written by Shel Kahn. The Isle of Pelursk holds a glowing, steaming, mist-shrouded secret at its heart, and once you’ve… ~ read more ~
-
Keep on the Shining Isle – Pocket Pack
Keep on the Shining Isle is a system-agnostic dungeon featuring a haunted ruin, a mystery cult and some very tempting apples. Pick this up to send your home campaign on a… ~ read more ~
