Well found, riders of the free world, and welcome back to our “Meet the Artist” column.
Today we are going to introduce you, Heraldo Mussolini, an incredibly talented artist, who is working on both characters and creatures.
Without further ado, let’s meet Heraldo, and if you missed the last two interviews you can find them here: Marcin S. and Rich L.

VsD: Tell us something about you. Where are you from, how did your passion start…
Heraldo: My name is Heraldo Mussolini, and I’m from Río Cuarto, Córdoba, Argentina. I’ve been drawing since I have memory, and I discovered my love for dinosaurs and other prehistoric creatures at the same time. So I have a  passion for paleoart and scientific illustration that comes from my early childhood. That and the fact that I was born in the bosom of a family in which art was always encouraged, drove me to keep making art since then. Currently, I’m working as an art teacher and a freelance illustrator.

VsD: When and how did you first fall in love with the fantasy genre?
Heraldo: I fell in love when I was a kid, watching movies like “Willow,” “Labyrinth” or “Legend.” But the moment in which I started making fantasy art and not just exclusively paleoart, was after watching “The Lord of the Rings” and reading Tolkien’s work, still my all time favorite movie and books.

VsD: What are the visual artists that influenced you the most – and why?
Heraldo: I’m not original naming Frank Frazetta, but being not just one of the greatest fantasy art illustrator but one of the best artists of the second half of the 20th century, I have to say that he was one of the first ones that made me love fantasy art. Being a huge fan of Middle Earth, I also admire the art of John Howe and Alan Lee. And thanks to Magic the Gathering I came to know artist like Karl Kopinski, Chris Rahn, Jesper Ejsing and Even Mehl Amundsen, among others, that also became big influences and sources of inspiration.

VsD: What do you like about Against the Darkmaster?
Heraldo: I like that its an RPG with a nice and pure classical fantasy flavor, and as a D&D player I would really like to play Against the Darkmaster with my group of friends, especially being a project with very cool and passionate people developing it! Plus it’s the first time I got the opportunity to contribute with my art in a fantasy RPG, so that makes it very special.

VsD: Which one is your favorite fantasy work of fiction?
Heraldo: As I mentioned before, I’m a big Tolkien fan. My two favourite books are “The Lord of the Rings” and “The Silmarillion.”

VsD: Which Against the Darkmaster character (or, in your case, creature) did you enjoy drawing the most? And why?
Heraldo: I really enjoyed drawing the Kraken, because I can just let my imagination go loose with fantasy animals like this, and not being worried about realistic proportions and things like that.

We’ll definitely show more of the wonderful illustrations Heraldo has prepared for Against the Darkmaster in the near future, in the meantime you should absolutely visit his DeviantArt or find his Facebook Page to check out his stunning gallery!