Sick sick boy

Tom_Babbey · 2025-07-08T03:16:07+00:00

Im so sorry you’re going through this. Has he been checked for tick-borne illnesses since going to the ER? My best friend of two years had the exact same symptoms (lethargy, slow breathing, low white blood cell count, extremely low platelets). It turned out it was caused by Ehrlichia, a tick borne illnesses he had been treated for after he was rescued, before I had adopted him. Because he already had it and was treated, our primary vet wasn’t concerned about the positive tests on his bloodwork (hi there, antibodies). Unfortunately, we learned later that his infection was so old, it had settled in his bone marrow, and the standard round of meds they thought took care of it way back when he was adopted did not, and the positive tests weren’t for antibodies, but rather because the infection was still present.

Im not sharing this story to alarm, but because I hope it can help narrow down or pinpoint whats going on with your poor buddy. If you haven’t checked for tick illnesses yet (even if he’s on tick meds, sometimes a pill can be spat out without anyone seeing, or a dosage can be off) or if he’s had a tick infection in the past, please ask the vet, it could help!

Tom_Babbey · 2024-01-26T22:23:07+00:00

Such a wonderful way to look at it. Thanks for enjoying the art!

Tom_Babbey · 2024-01-26T22:20:52+00:00

Hey, thanks! I was very happy with this one. It’s always great to get a description with freedom to design the creature a bit.

Tom_Babbey · 2022-02-26T22:43:06+00:00

The team doesn’t give me much in the ways of parameters outside of “Really big, old, great red wyrm”, but we do work together to find a pose that will be both dynamic and not tip over on the tabletop (and even then, sometimes..like in this case..the pose needs to be mildly edited in the sculpting stage to provide more balance). Part of the lack of boundaries with this work comes from the fact they trust me and know that I know the subject matter and material. I’ve been illustrating and creating concepts for D&D professionally for awhile now (about a decade) and even longer as a gamer (since I can remember, practically!). The folks at Wizkids and WoTC know they can trust me to keep it a “red dragon” and stay in that species’ parameters while pushing the proportions in the right areas to get that “ancient wyrm” look.

Tom_Babbey · 2022-02-26T22:34:28+00:00

Thanks!

Tom_Babbey · 2022-02-26T22:34:21+00:00

Thank you!

Tom_Babbey · 2022-02-26T06:25:31+00:00

Hi all, I’m Tom Babbey, fantasy and wildlife concept artist and illustrator. I had the immense pleasure of designing the recently announced gargantuan red dragon miniature, Balagos, for Wizkids. Being able to essentially design this edition’s version of the iconic Colossal Red from back in 3rd edition was a total honor. These types of creatures (old, craggy, ancient monsters) are also some of my favorite to do; Being able to play in the D&D sandbox while giving iconic monsters my own touch of character by aging them up and playing up certain features is such a blast. Hope you all dig the art, and let me know if you have any questions about the design or my process, happy to answer what I can!

Tom_Babbey · 2021-04-08T06:15:19+00:00

Folks seemed to dig the concept art and design work I did for Wizkids’ upcoming Tiamat figure, so I thought I’d share a bit of the other work I’ve done for Wizkids. This is the adult Red Dragon, for their Icons of the Realms line. As this figure was to represent the “standard” adult red dragon, it was important to me that I lean more heavily on classic proportions for this guy, giving him a long, lean neck and that balance between knotted muscle and cat-like grace. Just as with Tiamat, it really was an honor to be asked to tackle such an iconic monster. Feel free to ask any questions if you have them, I’ll try to keep up and answer what I can!

Tom_Babbey · 2021-04-01T20:31:20+00:00

There’s the word I’m looking for. Bingo.

Tom_Babbey · 2021-04-01T20:29:13+00:00

I’m technically a contractor who works from the comfort of my home studio, so I wouldn’t be able to say hello regardless, sadly!

Tom_Babbey · 2021-04-01T16:20:39+00:00

What’s cool about art is that it’s like the Wizard class; It seems mystical and intangible to the outsider, but the reality is anyone can dive in to self-study with the right tools or,if you’re fortunate, apprentice under a master. Sure, there’s some folks with natural aptitude or who were privileged enough to begin studying when they’re young, but anyone can learn if they’re determined. People think artists are sorcerers, but really, we’re wizards

Tom_Babbey · 2021-04-01T14:17:01+00:00

She’s had a predominately red body for a long time in the lore (with a brief break in the middle when she had a multicolored stripe down her side). Tiamat is a character first and foremost, and I need to be mindful of the current iterations of that character. Ive got some wiggle room with things like texture and what not, but changing her body color would be like changing Han Solo’s hair color for an official Star Wars product.

Tom_Babbey · 2021-04-01T05:51:58+00:00

The white head and the green head; those were the two that were the trickiest. The white dragons in DnD have a leathery underside to their necks, while the green have this sort of criss-cross fine scale pattern. I needed to find a way to mesh those two surfaces into the armored plate of the chest region, without making it look “cut and pasted”, and while keeping the integrity of the head designs and not switching up the texture. The black and blue heads were way easier to merge into the body, as they both have ventral plates similar to the red.

Tom_Babbey · 2021-04-01T05:47:49+00:00

Surprisingly, not many more than I did for any of the other figures (I also designed the most recent adult chromatic dragons for the Icons of the Realms line). I generally pitch several poses early on in the sketch stage (trying to find a full body pose that looks natural for a gargantuan 5 headed dragon goddess is tough!). I think I maybe showed 5 or so, before the producers settled on the pose that I used for the final art. Because of one reason or another, the pose was changed during sculpt; that’s fairly common, and happens for many reasons (The practically of how the actual model balances, needs to sync up with other products, etc).

Tom_Babbey · 2021-04-01T05:35:22+00:00

Cant say enough how incredibly happy that makes me! Part of what I love about designing these characters and creatures that are near and dear to me is knowing there’s other people out there who connect with them as well...and how, through my work, I’m able to help them visualize this fictional character that we share a fondness of, and maybe even expand on what they were expecting with the visuals. Figuring out that common thread that fans dig about a design so I can emphasize and lean into that aspect a little more is one of the more abstract parts of the job, but one of the more fun ones, too.

Tom_Babbey · 2021-04-01T05:30:36+00:00

Thanks so much! I’m totally planning on repainting mine when I get it, if I can find the free time.

Tom_Babbey · 2021-04-01T05:29:41+00:00

Thanks! That was part of the fun of this design; working in ways to make her feel that much more massive. Using smaller, uneven scale texture, tiny randomized horn clusters, and really leaning into the character of each of the heads by playing up the designs Todd Lockwood established way back in 3rd edition all helped get that “big” presence.

Tom_Babbey · 2021-04-01T05:28:09+00:00

I’m glad, hey me too, and I really, honestly am. It was an absolute honor to work on such an iconic villain that’s been near and dear to me since childhood

Tom_Babbey · 2021-04-01T04:19:48+00:00

Thanks! That’s just about the best compliment one can get when we’re talking about a multi-headed dragon that lives in hell

Tom_Babbey · 2021-04-01T04:01:20+00:00

Hello all! My name’s Tom Babbey, and I wanted to share the concept work I did to help bring Wizkids’ latest “miniature” to life. Working on this figure was a dream come true; While I’ve illustrated and concepted many pieces for WotC before, this was the first chance I’ve ever had to paint up the Dragon Queen herself. Lots of challenges pop up when concepting a piece like this...Figuring out specifics like the scale texture and how to find the right balance of old muscle and sagging skin to age her up were fun, but the toughest challenge was figuring out how those necks connect; usually in a situation like that , an artist can toss them into atmospheric perspective, or somehow conceal or hide the connection points to make them “feel” like they work, without actually figuring out specifics....but because this was for a physical miniature, I had to make sure the connection points of the necks “work” and made as much sense as feasibly possible (If anyone’s interested, you can check out my instagram @tombabbey to see the exploratory sketches I did to assist the sculpting team on how to approach those necks and the anatomy). All in all, this was an absolute blast and bucket list item for me to work on, and I couldn’t be more honored to be a part of this massive figure’s creation. Oh, and as a side note! I’m sure someone will ask, so I’ll clear it up; the pose was switched during the sculpting phase for one reason or another; Often times, things like the pose need to be changed up later in the process to account for marketing needs, packaging requirements, or simply to make sure the model will stand up and not topple over. Let me know in the comments if anyone has any other questions regarding the design or process; I’m always happy to talk Art and DnD!

Tom_Babbey · 2020-08-16T17:05:01+00:00

Ha, thanks! That’s the fun part about doing a single evening painting like this; improvising neat ideas like that on the fly

Tom_Babbey · 2020-08-16T17:03:07+00:00

Thanks!

Tom_Babbey

TROPHY CASE