For Sorcery artist Truitt Parish, art has always been part of the family language. Growing up in a household of artists, pencils and paints were as common as conversation. His early ambitions leaned toward the scientific. Fascinated by the precision of the natural form, he aspired to be a scientific illustrator. But over time, curiosity led him from observation to imagination. Exposure to fantasy literature and game art opened the door to something larger: the chance to invent worlds of his own.
This shift changed everything. “I think there’s magic in creating one’s own little world,” Truitt reflects, “and being part of that tradition.” It’s a sentiment that runs through all of his work for Sorcery: Contested Realm, where structure meets strangeness, and realism gives way to wonder.
Within Gothic’s library of forbidden lore, few works feel as unsettling as Truitt’s De Vermis Mysteriis, a vision of discovery turned to dread, arriving December 5 with Sorcery’s upcoming set, Gothic.
Summoning the Concept
When the commission for De Vermis Mysteriis first arrived, Truitt didn’t have a clear picture of what the final image would be - only a feeling. The brief called for a cursed book, a relic brimming with forbidden power, and he began exploring how a writer might react to what they’d unleashed.
“I was interested in the person reading the book and how they were reacting, almost as if they were being cursed,” he recalls. Early thumbnails focused on that relationship between curiosity and consequence, sketching out a figure caught mid-revelation. But as the piece evolved, so did its focus.
After a series of iterations and discussions with Sorcery creator Erik Olofsson, Truitt shifted his gaze from the reader to the horror itself. “I had a dragon-type thing coming out of the book attacking the reader,” Truitt explains, “Then Erik and I decided to remove the reader and focus entirely on the creature emerging from the pages. That’s when I made it more worm-like and Lovecraftian rather than draconic.”
What emerged was something far more primal, a writhing, otherworldly entity bursting forth from knowledge itself. A painting that transforms curiosity into catastrophe.
Building the Scene
To bring the concept to life, Truitt relied on both improvisation and practical experimentation. Searching for the right light and shadow, he turned to a familiar place for inspiration: his parents’ house.
“I used some props I found at my parents’ house. I found a massive, really old book that I propped up and lit from the inside using a strip of LED’s and then I positioned a little sculpture I made using tubing,” he shares.
The setup created the piece's defining feature, the eerie, upward light that makes the book seem alive, radiating revelation and ruin.
Designing the Monstrosity
While the composition centers on a single moment of emergence, every texture carries intention. “I just wanted it to be creepy,” Truitt says with a grin. “Something that felt like a Lovecraftian narrative, maybe even a bit dark academia in tone.”
He approached the creature's design like a biologist gone mad, borrowing forms from nature and warping them into nightmare. “I’m proud of the creature design,” he notes. “I based its mouth on a microscopic image of a tardigrade, a water bear, and then dialed it up to eleven, adding those tentacles you always associate with Lovecraft.”
Even the book's cover hides a story of its own. “Erik didn’t want text that would clash with the printed words, so I designed a small Celtic-style knot that doubles as a stylized version of the monster itself,” he explains. The result is both elegant and unsettling, an artifact that hints at danger before a single page turns.
Hidden Horrors
And as in any good cabinet of curiosities, he couldn’t resist slipping in a few oddities. “The skulls on the shelves are real species,” Truitt reveals. “One is a saber-tooth, and the other is from a babirusa, an animal whose tusks grow through the roof of its mouth. It just felt like the perfect creepy detail to include.”
Each element adds to the layered eeriness of De Vermis Mysteriis, pulling tangible fragments of the real world but reassembling into something disturbingly plausible.
Into the Realm
De Vermis Mysteriis captures the thrill and terror of forbidden discovery, the moment curiosity outweighs caution and the consequences come clawing through. Truitt Parish’s meticulous craft and imaginative daring make this piece a perfect fit for Gothic’s blend of beauty and dread.
As Gothic approaches its December 5 release, Truitt’s work stands as a reminder that some books should never be opened…but it’s hard to resist looking anyway!
Truitt will be at YetiCon 4 2025 this weekend. Sorcery: Contested Realm events start at 5 PM on Friday, where attendees can see this piece in person and be the first in the world to take home limited prints.
Find more at Truitt Parrish's artist page
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