Bones and Ink come to Gothic: Jussi Pylkas and Stygian Archers

Cover Image
Erik's Curiosa

As our exploration of Gothic continues, focusing on the three subtypes of Evil, Demons, Monsters, and this week, Undead, today, we stop to dig up the works of Sorcery Artist Jussi Pylkäs.

With bold lines and comic-inspired sensibilities, Jussi’s work blends storytelling and style, evoking the pulp roots of fantasy illustration while adding his own dark humor and grit.

In Gothic, our highly anticipated next set releasing December 5, Jussi brings that same energy to Stygian Archers, a moonlit vision of skeletal marksmen, spectral bows drawn and ready. It’s in his words, “just classic skeleton vibing - the dark forest, the moon, the necromanic glowy magic thingie…the good stuff.”


Finding His Voice

Art has always been a part of Jussi’s life, though his early inspirations came less from fantasy painting and more from comic books. “My style definitely has a comic vibe,” he shares. “That’s my background and what drew me into art originally.”

Influenced by Mike Mignola and Petri Hiltunen, you can see both in his work. Jussi adds, “I’m definitely still finding my own spot. You can kind of see me going back and forth in my Sorcery work, but I kinda like that there’s some changes in style choice in there.”

While he’s still experimenting with mediums, his go-to tools remain practical and tactile. “I mostly work with markers, ink, and acrylics,” he says. “They give me better control. Oils just never seem to dry properly, though I do want to try them out more, but right now I’ve been sticking with what’s familiar.”

Joining the Realm

While Jussi has been a Sorcery staple going back to Alpha, his original entry into the realm was by chance. “Erik found me on ArtStation,” he laughs. “So, luck, basically?”

At the time, it had been years since he’d worked traditionally. “It had actually been a loooong time since I drew or painted non-digitally, so we agreed I’d make one piece as a test,” he recalls. “I guess it was good enough since I’m still here.”

That “one picture” became the start of a growing body of Sorcery work - iconic pieces such as Battlemage, Headless Haunt, and Sugarplum Pixies.

Resurrecting the Archers

When Erik reached out about Stygian Archers, the goal was to complement Jussi’s earlier piece, Bone Rabble. “Erik wanted this one to match the earlier painting,” Jussi explains. “So the same color scheme and background came naturally. The most important element was the blue smoketrail - that energy rising out of the skeletons themselves.”

The connection gives both pieces a sense of continuity, as if the undead army from Bone Rabble has returned, now under necromatic command. “There’s the suggestion of them being resurrected from the same army,” he notes.

The finer details, however, took time to get right. “I did do a bit of back and forth with the bows of the skeletons,” Jussi admits. “Originally, I wanted them to be a lot more detailed, maybe engraved metal or spiny bone bows, but when I imagined the picture at card size, it just felt more pleasing to keep them simple. The glowing bows stand out from all the skeleton-y stuff.”

Even the smallest touches demanded patience. “The bowstrings were a pain,” he laughs. “I wanted them to have a blue tint, but whenever I washed color over the white base, they disappeared into the background. They’re a small part of the picture, but for some reason I was adamant about making them visible.”

That stubborn attention to detail pays off: Stygian Archers feels alive, or rather, unalive, with eerie light and motion, a quiet echo of Jussi’s first undead creation now fully risen beneath the moon.

Freedom in the Realm

What excites Jussi most about Sorcery isn’t just the art direction, it’s the freedom. “The game itself is awesome,” he says, “but the best part is the freedom left for the artists. I get to tell my own little stories and create moments frozen in time.”

That sense of storytelling runs deep in his work. “I do think of myself as a visual storyteller,” he explains. “I always have some sort of world or scene in mind when starting a piece. It’s nice that Sorcery doesn’t have strict rules worldbuilding-wise, so I have a lot of freedom to imagine new cultures or characters.”

He laughs as he describes one example: “Okay, so this takes place in a nation of Aztec-type culture where insects are considered gods.” Even in more familiar fantasy scenes, the thought goes deeper. “For example, in Phase Assassin, from Alpha and Beta, the monarch and the advisor are just typical fantasy officials, but the assassin has more going on - protective bandaging, enchanted eyes, and equipment to move between planes. You can even see the veins on their head showing how that line of work is slowly taking a toll. Voidhopping probably isn’t something mortals should do very often.”

Into the Realm

Blending the stark contrasts of comics with the darker atmosphere of Gothic, Stygian Archers stands as both a haunting companion and an evolution of Jussi’s earlier skeletal works. A moonlit resurrection, simple, effective, and unmistakably his.

Tune in later this week to see the reveal of Stygian Archers as we take a closer look at the Undead, one of the three pillars of Evil in Gothic, alongside Demons and Monsters.




Find more at Jussi Pylkäs's artist page

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