My inboxes have been riddled with family and friends asking about which Art Prints they can choose from - the add-on that shows up as you're setting up your pledge. For simplicity's sake, that add-on only shows three pieces of art, but throughout this campaign, personal appeals, and even some of the previews, y'all have gotten glimpses at the illustrations Bea Joy Javier put together for this game. I'm a storyteller, and as you can imagine, I could type and talk about these illustrations for hours. But my words will fall short of expressing the gratitude and enthusiasm I have for Bea and the work she's done to bring Letty's everyday adventures to life in this game.

(I may also be at a point where 'adventures' has that semantic satiation - that thing where you say a word too much and then it sounds funny? But moving on...)

I'd like to share with y'all the illustrations we made for this game and briefly call out the story or details behind each. We'll actually do these in the order that Bea and I worked on them, so you'll see a little bit of how our ideas progressed. We did start with a list of cards - or scenes - that we wanted to portray. We didn't focus on any game mechanics, just how to take things that Letty does or experiences and bring them to life in Bea's illustration style. She's awesome, I'll stress that point forever, really.

Nom, Nom, Nom
As mentioned in a previous update, depending on the treat you would offer Letty, she'll run off in celebratory grandeur to enjoy the (bigger) treat. She may be getting wise to  the pattern of giving her a "big" treat before I run off to an errand. Really anything to prevent her from looking back with those "can I go with you" eyes.

Cuddles
If you have a dog, you know. For a long time Letty would share the bed with her mom, usually resting on top of her at the end of the day. Whenever Letty is touching or in contact with her mom, even while sleeping, she seems to be smiling. Those two are truly adorable. Though now, I think Letty believes the bed, the couch, my desk chair, are all hers and takes up all the space; just sprawled out like she owns the place.

Walk in the Park
Bea and I started doing illustrations for the game around Letty's winter season, so many of the reference photos and recent experiences we had was her in her "Melissa-yellow" coat enjoying the snow. (Playing in the snow has to be amongst Letty's favorite things to do.) Ever curious, ever adventurous, Letty in a city park: nailed it.

Belly Rubs
When Letty gets comfortable on the bed, on the couch, anywhere, she goes from a little snuggle bug into a "conqueror of the soft warm places!" And her first decree is usually "pet me!" She only asks for them when she's very comfortable and feeling safe. But yeah, she loves belly rubs.

Fried Egg
Every morning with her breakfast Letty gets a fried egg! I don't presume to know the science or even theory behind it, but it helps her coat - I think - stay soft? She's already a short-haired dog so it's not like she really sheds a whole lot or has a rough coat. Also, she's been getting fried eggs as long as I've known her (since 4 days after she went home with her forever friend), so maybe my frame of reference is missing. She is very vocal when that egg is cooking, she's so excited. I also hear that "Grandpa" (Melissa's dad) makes the "best fried eggs," but I can't tell if Letty's a good judge when it comes to picking one fried egg for breakfast.

Dinner Dreams
When Letty sleeps, she sometimes does that little flinching thing that dogs tend to do. I never know what she's dreaming about, but sometimes I like to think it's about food. This was all I gave Bea to go off of to create this card illustration. While cropped a little bit in this preview, this card features a fried-egg-spaceship beaming Letty down into the land of kibble and chicken amongst the fried egg mountains. So creative, and this end result is among my favorite illustrations in the game.

Tug of Rawr
This is actually the genesis of the whole game. A random afternoon in the fall, Melissa and Letty were playing with Letty's toys before her dinner time. Letty was being a bit vocal about getting food, so Melissa started playing with her by tossing her toys around. Sometimes Letty would chew at the toy - probably more to take it to say "your hands are free, it's dinner time!" - and sometimes Letty would take a toy and run off to gnaw away at its squeaker. Among Letty's favorite toys is "Mr Fox," pictured here.

Bath Time
Betrayal. Every reference photo I have of Letty related to bath time just has her dagger-to-the-heart eyes with a look of betrayal. Letty loves to roll around when she's outside playing, so you can imagine Bath Time is a very regular thing at her house. As you'll see on the campaign's page previews, too, this illustration has perfectly captured that sentiment. Letty expresses that "I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed you trapped me in the tub and got me all wet" kind of looks. But hey, then she's clean and those daily fried eggs means she's extra soft! (I think, again, I don't know about things, like, science.)

Go Get It
When Bea first put together the illustrations for "Tug of Rawr" she gave me two options. They were both awesome, so we said let's make both. The opposite perspective from the genesis of the game as well as the "Tug of Rawr" narrative, sometimes Letty gets a toy and takes off to play by herself. Say any of her keywords ("dubya," "tee-argh-ee-eh-tee," and more) and she'll forget that toy even exists. But until then, she's super happy with her Mr Fox.

Adventure Dreams
There were two "I'm sleeping" cards I wanted to build into the game. And the second one, this one, was meant to capture those times when Letty would do that little puppy park and move her legs like she was running around, somewhere. Again, I don't know what puppies dream of, but I'd like to think it's running around with their friends and family. The days when Bea and I were talking about this illustration, Letty had a run of play dates with her friend Ivy. So naturally we thought it made sense that Letty would be dreaming about Ivy, snow, and other non-descript-friends because "Ivy! Snow!" God, I love her.

Car Ride
Oh does she love car rides. I honestly can't tell if it's because she's with me (or her mom, or both of us), or just to be in the car. The prospect of jumping in the back seat and cuddling into a ball to snooze is just cuteness overload. In Chicago, even without being in the center of the city, there are a lot of lights, a lot of traffic, and things can be stop and go. When that happens, Letty typically perks up, asks politely for some windows to go down, and then smells all of the things of - well - wherever we are. She definitely can tell when we're near her home, my home, or the park.

All My Friends
I know we just had an update yesterday about Letty's friends, but that was more to talk about some of the specific dogs we've tried to bake into the game. Lani, Ivy, Letty, Saint, and Lemon were the core group of dog park friends Letty made when she first started going to the park. I didn't meet all of these dogs at the same time, but I always imagined all of them, ready for adventure - but really excited to go on an adventure together.

Pouty Puppy
Letty is more food-motivated than toy-motivated. When she does get toy motivated, she always seems to get that one toy stuck under the couch. And I don't always notice that her toy is missing. Letty lays down, tail wagging in happiness, staring at the thing she wants or me as a way to get her toy back. She does this, too, when she wants dinner early, or would rather watch animal documentaries than space exploration on the evenings we spend indoors. Actually, on that note, she pouts a lot when I put on those sci-fi shows, maybe she is just impatient for her mom to come pick her up from a play date.

Puppy Park
For this card, I expressed to Bea that I wanted to create some place where she and her friend Ivy would go and play with all of their dog park friends and make some new ones. What Bea came up with was this beautiful depiction of obvious and subtle diversions for the girls. While a bit cropped for the sake of this preview, get this: Ivy and Letty are playing in a ball pit, at a puppy park designed like a tennis ball planet, with a puppy-print footpath, jungle-gym, tennis ball fountain, and dog-bone fence! Bea's shared her creative process with me, but I'll still ask "How does she come up with these creative ideas?!" It's cause she's awesome, that's the real answer.

Neighborhood Stroll
This is my favorite illustration from the core game. Melissa takes Letty on long involved walks. cough Mr. Nick? Not so much. cough cough We typically do a few blocks around home, or a lap around the dog park. It's not far, but there are plenty of smells and things to explore. The colors of this illustration, adding of the tulips (a favorite flower), and even the butterflies, all create this composition that I'll be putting on my wall after the campaign ends. I love it. (Did you read the bit about Letty's relationship with butterflies? It's in the backer-exclusive portion of the first update, check it out.)

Head Rubs
I won't even pose to you such an obvious question. Letty. Letty's a good girl. From boops on the nose to ear scratches to head rubs, Letty loves affection. I think her mom knows of that "perfect spot" behind her ears, too. Letty'll ask me for head rubs, but when she's home with her mom, there are different satisfied grunts and kisses Letty gives her mom from head rubs that I don't seem to manage. Aww, writing all of this without Letty here with me now is making me miss that girl.

Munch, munch, munch
Similar to the "Tug of Rawr" and "Go Get It" cards, the two treat cards, this being the second, highlight Letty's behavior when offered a treat. There are these frozen duck and beef treats that she really enjoys and - if I'm being honest and hoping her mom doesn't read this - I will shower Letty with those treats. So that became the concept for this illustration! View from inside the bag of treats raining down on the best girl in the world!

Come here love
Oftentimes before a nap, Letty will do her "big stretch" as she climbs up onto the couch. Sometimes that stretch turns more into Letty teasing if she wants to play or cuddle up on the couch. In either case, it brings Letty closer, and who wouldn't want to be closer to Letty?

Up, up, up
Yes, ok, sometimes she needs extra encouragement to come hang out. And yes, also, ok, Bea made two adorable adaptations of what I was going for in this illustration and I just said "all of them, please!" I don't know if it's happy or hopeful, but inviting Letty to do anything (without saying her keywords) tends to put a smile on her face.

Template of Treats
There was a higher-end pet supply store near me that I would take Letty to after we'd go to the park. Even with her mom in tow, we would spend time at the park, maybe grab a coffee, but stop off at this store to get some Letty supplies. (Fine, I admit it, I mean "treats" but I'm going to say "supplies" so it doesn't seem like I spoil her. I realize what I just wrote, yeah.) When we would go, there was one staff member there who developed a relationship with Letty. Letty would always be happy to see her, and would obey all the right commands because she knew this staffer had a big jar of treats behind the counter. Letty would behave so well it was like she was at her place of worship. So, naturally, Bea and I tried to come up with a slightly different presentation of this card that celebrated one of Letty's favorite places.

Play Time
The Letty "token" is this two-sided card that passes between players. The one side features "Play Time" which informs players when they can play particular cards. We tried to dream up what the pose or scene would be when Letty was saying she's "ready for play time." Bea came up with this idea that Letty was mid-roll at the park, looking up at you saying any variety of "can I roll, more?" or "can I have belly rubs?" or even "no, I don't need a bath, come play!"

Nap Time
Similarly, the other side of that two-sided "token" is when Letty is tuckered out. When either of us are working from our respective homes, Letty has a very specific places, blankets, and nesting rituals to get comfy and settle down for a nap. In this illustration we used the design from her mom's "Letty-napzone-area" and the blanket from "Mr. Nick's office" to paint the picture that - hey, this girl is tuckered out and snoozing. 

That's a bit behind the illustrations that are in the game. Each of these illustrations is in the core game at differing frequencies (based on the mechanics of each card). However! Each of these illustrations will be an available option for those opting for any kind of art-related add-on or pledge. Naturally after this week when we have the pledge manager available you'll see each of these options.

We have more bits and bobs to share out this final week of the campaign. Thank you all for supporting Adventuring Letty and if you haven't already, share the campaign with your friends so they can enjoy Letty's adventures, too!

Much love,
~Mr. Nick