Nick Thornborrow
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nickthornborrow.bsky.social
Nick Thornborrow
@nickthornborrow.bsky.social
3.3K followers 470 following 790 posts
http://www.nickthornborrow.com
Artist • storyboards • illustration
Prev: BioWare, Humanoid Origin
He/Him
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Prints: https://www.inprnt.com/gallery/nthornborrow/
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nickthornborrow.bsky.social
First time seeing “Did You Hear What Happened in Salem?” out in the wild.
A bookshelf in a book store. Three copies of a book entitled “Did You Hear What Happened in Salem?” Are positioned with the cover facing forward. The cover illustration depicts two nervous puritan girls whispering. The tone of the illustration is spooky.
November 3, 2025 at 2:07 PM
nickthornborrow.bsky.social
Just like with Hades 1, Hades 2 has me going down a Greek mythology rabbit hole! I’ve dusted off my copy of Edith Hamilton’s book. And this Orphic hymn about Melinoë goes hard.
a two-bodied specter sprang forth from Persephone's fury. This specter drives mortals to madness with her airy apparitions as she appears in weird shapes and strange forms, now plain to the eye, now shadowy, now shining in the darkness— all this in unnerving attacks in the gloom of night. O goddess, O queen of those below, I beseech you to banish the soul's frenzy to the ends of the earth, show to the initiates a kindly and holy face. 5]
October 26, 2025 at 6:40 PM
nickthornborrow.bsky.social
If you see this, post something monochromatic.
Illustration of a puritan girl having a bite mark on her forearm examined by a somewhat sinister looking puritan man with a tall hat.
October 4, 2025 at 2:32 PM
nickthornborrow.bsky.social
Thanks for the prompt! I’m Nick and I illustrate books, and tory board and direct cinematics on video games.
Cartoon illustration. Two kids exploring an island at dusk. Lighthouse in background. Girl is holding a flashlight and wearing a pink hoodie stepping off a rock. Boy wide stance wearing a backpack. Cover illustration for “Story of the Saints” featuring a bearded take on st Francis and a wolf Cover for “did you hear what happened in Salem?” Featuring two paranoid looking puritan girls whispering against a spooky background. A barbarian and a nymph wadi g through a stream.
October 3, 2025 at 6:45 PM
nickthornborrow.bsky.social
Tonight’s plein air sketch. It was a fun way to spend an evening with neighbours. Grateful to everyone who showed up and made some art!
Painting of a detail from a brick 1900s public building. The detail is of a dormer jutting out of a shingled roof. The dormer has three windows. A central arched window and two smaller windows flanking it. It’s crowned with a concrete trim, and a concrete keystone on the arched window.
September 29, 2025 at 4:42 AM
nickthornborrow.bsky.social
What are we all doing this Sunday?
I know what I’m doing and I’m kinda nervouscited about it. I’m running a plein air workshop for my local neighborhood community group. These two paintings were in preparation for this event. Wish me luck!
Gouache sketch of an old brick elementary school. Gouache painting of an old brick elementary school.
September 28, 2025 at 4:20 PM
nickthornborrow.bsky.social
On the surface, the new guideline stating ‘adult art may not depict non-consensual acts’ sounds sensible. But the grey area is so vast. Like we’ve all seen those retro pinup illustrations depicting unexpected wardrobe mishaps. A non consensual exposure. Could I post that?
Two nude coupled in a sauna. Censorship blocks depict the Bluesky logo.
September 21, 2025 at 5:10 PM
nickthornborrow.bsky.social
A work in progress on my latest bout of madness. A bunch of freelance work has meant no time to dedicate to my indie game pursuits so the bite-size time I have has been going into meditative painting exercise.
An incomplete paint mixing grid composed of scanned squares of colour mixes. Vertical and horizontal are pure colours and tints of the same colours respectively, and the corresponding grid squares are mixes of the colours on the horizontal and vertical. Scanned duo tone 2X3 painted swatches. One column is two pure colours, and their respective mix, and the second column is is tint of the same colours. Scanned duo tone 2X3 painted swatches. One column is two pure colours, and their respective mix, and the second column is is tint of the same colours. Scanned duo tone 2X3 painted swatches. One column is two pure colours, and their respective mix, and the second column is is tint of the same colours.
September 19, 2025 at 4:48 PM
nickthornborrow.bsky.social
This pleases me.
Painted Triad three colours and their mixes arranged as a diamond. Painted Triad three colours and their mixes arranged as a diamond. Painted Triad three colours and their mixes arranged as a diamond. Painted Triad three colours and their mixes arranged as a diamond.
September 19, 2025 at 1:33 AM
nickthornborrow.bsky.social
Siblings.
September 18, 2025 at 6:59 PM
nickthornborrow.bsky.social
And now to have SOME FUN!
Paint swatch with mixes of three primary colours, their secondaries and a tertiary, and a tint of each of those colours. Paint swatch with mixes of three primary colours, their secondaries and a tertiary, and a tint of each of those colours.
September 16, 2025 at 12:05 AM
nickthornborrow.bsky.social
Favourite recent paintings
Painting of a blue burger shack surrounded by sand and dune grass with trees in the background. Painting of a storm drain discharge pipe with a stone creek bed, flanked by dunes, concrete blocks and grasses. Painting of a translucent blue acrylic resin duck. Painting of nasturtiums
September 15, 2025 at 4:07 PM
nickthornborrow.bsky.social
This whole photo set is great, but this particular photo is peak. Like if this isn’t an allegory for life…
Photo of a man probably in his fifties with messy hair and a mustache wearing shorts, knee high wool socks, black biking cleats, button up shirt and I think a wax jacket. He’s sitting on a grassy ditch with his bike lying just cropped off frame. The man has clearly had a fall, with a gash on his knee and forehead. Despite that he looks like he’s just suppressing a smile and smoking a pipe looking directly at the camera.
September 13, 2025 at 11:39 PM
nickthornborrow.bsky.social
Cat bath ASMR
September 13, 2025 at 8:39 PM
nickthornborrow.bsky.social
Colours. I just think they’re neat.
A variety of painted colour swatches painted in gouache. Each swatch is divided into a 2 by 3 grid. One column in each depicts two different out of the tube pigments on top and bottom and the middle square being a mix of the two. The second column is the same but each square is lighter because it’s mixed white. The top row of swatches are mixes of various blues and cadmium lemon yellow. Row 2 of swatches are mixes of cadmium lemon and various reds. Row three of swatches are cad yellow and Opera pink, and three variations of blue and opera pink.
September 13, 2025 at 6:05 PM
nickthornborrow.bsky.social
the icon, the artist, the art.
Illustration of a young mage apprentice woman caught in a snare net in a tree. She has an annoyed expression. On the groudn stands a smug looking young ruffian man with his arms folded looking at the mage. IN the background are stone ruins and a lush field of greenery. Photo of the artist. Cover illustration for "Did You Hear What Happened in Salem?" Two puritan girls whisper nervously. Moody blood red sunset in the background and a spooky tree. Interior black and white illustration from "Did You Hear What Happened in Salem?" Fanciful depiction of what a Salem towns person claimed to have seen in the night: A wolf or bear like beast transforming into three witches who flew away holding sticks.
September 8, 2025 at 4:36 PM
nickthornborrow.bsky.social
Nothing happens in this video. I just want to illustrate that getting pics of Penny with her tongue out isn’t a matter of lucky timing.
September 8, 2025 at 12:48 AM
nickthornborrow.bsky.social
The artwork under the jacket is pretty cool too. Did I mention my excitement that this is out in the wild?
Front cover art under the book jacket of “Did You Hear What Happened in Salem?” Which features a wolf or bear like beast transforming into three hags. Back cover under the jacket of “Did You Hear What Happened in Salem?” Which features a woman with her back turned to us on trial in front of a panel of seated constables and magistrate types. An audience of townspeople look on.
September 2, 2025 at 5:22 PM
nickthornborrow.bsky.social
A box of books showed up at my door so I finally got to see these in person! You can get your hands on this today! I’m smitten with how this turned out.
“Did You Hear What Happened in Salem?” By Katie Kennedy. @katiewritesbks.bsky.social
September 2, 2025 at 3:29 PM
nickthornborrow.bsky.social
Nasturtiums done in thirty minutes.
Gouache sketch of nasturtiums. Two orange flowers surrounded by big circular green leaves fill the painting.
August 31, 2025 at 1:09 AM
nickthornborrow.bsky.social
Here’s the brush. Banana for scale.
Photo of the paintbrush that I called comically large in my last post. There’s a banana too except it’s made out of two tiny pieces of Lego.
August 30, 2025 at 11:51 PM
nickthornborrow.bsky.social
I bought a 3/4” brush and was thinking “this is way too big.” Gave it a go anyway and challenged myself to paint this in a half hour before lunch with it. I like it. I like the comically large brush.
Photo of nasturtiums. Painting of nasturtiums.
August 30, 2025 at 6:37 PM
nickthornborrow.bsky.social
I never posted the scan of this one! This storm drain was the boundary for many capture the flag games as a kid. The dunes have changed so much since I was a kid, with the dune grass completely burying the boardwalk that used to be here.
Gouache painting of a storm drain with concrete blocks to prevent erosion. Sand and dune grass along the stream bed.
August 28, 2025 at 2:49 PM
nickthornborrow.bsky.social
Ha! You’re an Easter egg!
Caricature of Amanda that appears in the book
August 27, 2025 at 11:29 PM
nickthornborrow.bsky.social
Gang, this book is so good.
August 27, 2025 at 9:27 PM