21 New Superheroes for Origin Story

Just when I thought my Origin Story chapter was complete… Jamey Stegmaier asked me to illustrate 21 more cards for the Origin Story promo pack: Heroes and Villains Mini-Expansion.

And honestly, it felt so lovely to step back into this world.

Origin Story, published by Stonemaier Games, was my very first board game illustration project, long before Wyrmspan, long before 200 dragons took over my life and my studio. So coming back to these characters felt a bit like revisiting the beginning of my board game illustrator journey.

But this time, I wanted to approach the artwork a little differently.

For the original Origin Story board game, I was finding the visual language of the project: how to paint superheroes in watercolour, how to make them feel powerful but still human, bold but still soft, comic-inspired but not too comic-like.

For these 21 new superhero characters, I wanted to push things a bit further.

I played more with angles, movement, and perspective, trying to make the illustrations feel a little more cinematic. More like you've just caught the character in the middle of a scene, not simply posing for a portrait.

Vampyr, Limited Edition to 10 prints.

Hairs flying.
Super powers glowing.
A character seen from above.
A tiny moment before something big happens.

Anchor, Limited Edition to 10 prints

And for once, which does not happen to me that often, I actually have a few characters I really, really like.

Scraphead is one of them.

I think Scraphead is such a cool character. In my head, Scraphead is a she, but you're completely free to imagine whoever might be hiding inside this streetwear-meets-ninja figure. There's something a bit mysterious about her, which I really love.

I also used a new brush I recently bought for parts of the hair, and the angled shape gave me these lovely, dynamic brushstrokes that felt perfect for the energy of the character.

I filmed a short video of the painting process too, so you can see how Scraphead came to life in watercolour on my YouTube channel.

As always, every character was painted by hand, with real watercolour, real paper, and the usual mix of fun and back-to-childhood magic.

I'm adding a selection of 10 of these new Origin Story characters to my shop.

They will be available as original watercolour paintings and as limited edition fine art prints, signed and numbered, in editions of only 10.

Arsenal, Original Painting in watercolour

So if you are into comics, superheroes, board games, watercolour art, or if you are simply happy to welcome a new little super-person into your home or board game room, this might be your moment.

Blandish, Limited Edition A3 size

Origin Story already means so much to me.

And now it gets a few more heroes.

Browse the new Origin Story original paintings and limited edition prints →

Colourfully,
Clémentine