Melissa Gay

Hi! I am a painter and illustrator of fantasy, sci-fi, and TTRPGs. My inspiration for creating art comes from the natural world, both as explored through science, and as storied in myth and legend! I want my work to evoke that state of wide-eyed wonder we all viewed the universe with as children. Beginning my career as a scientific illustrator, I have since worked for Baen Books, Llewellyn Worldwide, Hay House, Apex Press, 78 Tarot, and many tabletop roleplaying game companies, including Evil Hat, Pelgrane Press, Third Eye Games, Sagaborn, DoJ, and more. I have won two Chesley Awards for my illustrations. My imaginative realist work has been featured in ImagineFX Magazine, io9, tor.com, and several of the Infected By Art anthologies. I’m a proud member of the Changeling Artist Collective and of the Association of Sci-fi and Fantasy Artists. Apart from drawing and painting, I am never happier than when in the woods hunting for secret waterfalls and climbing on rocks, and I can whistle a passable Eastern Screech Owl call.