Featuring artists Katerina Ladon and Alexander Ostrowski

The Moonshae Isles are where wild magic, ancient tradition, and the Feywild all collide into a mix of unpredictable adventure. You never truly know what awaits beyond the next bend, over the next wave, or in the next forest clearing. The two artists featured in this article—Katerina Ladon and Alexander Ostrowski—helped bring this energy to life in Forgotten Realms: Adventures in Faerûn, crafting pieces that invite Dungeon Masters and players to feel the wonder, danger, and mystery of the Moonshae Isles.

• A Journey Into Fey-Inspired Nature
• Feywild, Rusted Curses, and Uncanny Creatures

Where Wild Adventure Calls

Forgotten Realms: Adventures in Faerûn and Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerûn contain a combined 284 lovingly crafted pieces of new art that are ready to inspire your adventures.

If you want to see more of the contributions made by Katerina and Alex to the Forgotten Realms books, check out the D&D Discord below!

• See More on the D&D Discord

A Journey Into Fey-Inspired Nature

Artist: Katerina Ladon

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Katerina’s chapter opener for the Moonshae Isles is a snapshot of a story just before it truly begins. A young Ffolk woman surfs on her Windskiff, but there's much more to see as you look deeper. You'll find the adventurer's Faerie Dragon companion, see the natural wonders of the Moonshae civilizations, and get hints at greater adventure. In one image, we have an excellent idea about what you might find in the wondrous setting.

“I imagined a young woman, a Ffolk, raised in a peaceful and very traditional environment (perhaps the village you see on the ancient tree), leaving home for a new adventure,” Katerina explains. “I imagine that her journey will become much more difficult and obscure than she expects, but for right now, she’s not aware of the dangers of the outside world.”

Building a World from a Waterfall

Artist: Katerina Ladon

Behind the adventurer, Katerina focused on using the environment to deliver as much Moonshae flavor as possible. “When I have a specific setting and a brief that requires specific actions, I always try to build the composition with what an environment (and, in general, the mood) offers.”

For this piece, she wanted to showcase the Moonshae Isles’ unique blend of natural grandeur and surreal magic. “In Moonshae’s chapter opener, I absolutely loved the setting and wanted to show as many of its elements as possible, from gigantic ancient trees to towering cliffs and emerald waterfalls, and bring out its magical and faerie-inspired atmosphere,” she says. “Choosing to place the young woman on a waterfall seemed the ideal solution to show most of the landscape from above.”

The Ffolk Culture

Katerina recalls designing the Ffolk's garb, and details what inspired the final result: “From early 2000 sci-fi movies to high-fantasy vibes, for the design of the Windskiff and the Ffolk woman’s dress, we decided on blending intricate patterns with classic elements reminiscent of the fairies of European legends.”

That mix gives DMs a visual cue on how to portray this prominent Moonshae community: familiar enough for a culture that exists in the Material Plane, but showing distinct threads of their connection to the Fey. “Finding the right look sometimes requires several iterations, usually weeks or months to hit the mark,” she says. “Personally, in terms of design, I aimed to create something original for this piece. I really hope I succeeded!”

Feywild, Rusted Curses, and Uncanny Creatures

Artist: Alexander Ostrowski

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Alex’s concept work for the Moonshae Isles focuses on the way the land itself feels different here. Forests are thicker, leaves grow larger, and the Feywild's influence is ever-present. However, the Fey's tendency for trickery isn't the only danger adventurers will face: a deadly rusting curse erodes creatures and landscapes, setting up a sharp contrast between overflowing life and unnatural decay.

“The Moonshae Isles are all about the Feywild and its influence, so I tried to consider that with all the concept art I made for this place,” Alex explains. “I made plants larger and more lush, forests more dense with moss and other plants growing up the trees and the colors more bright and inviting. It is like the Feywild is bleeding into the wilderness in a gradual way and supercharges growth and life.”

Uncanny Wonder at Your Table

“In my mind, characters would walk into what may seem to be a regular forest, but the deeper they go, the more uncannily lush the forest gets,” Alex says. “But by the time they notice, they may have already stepped through a Faerie Crossing.”

“For me the Feywild is associated with an uncanny wonder that blurs the line between beauty and danger,” Alex notes, “and I hope that is something that these designs show and that ultimately DMs can use and players can feel in their game.”

The Rusting

Artist: Alexander Ostrowski

A key contrast to the setting's lush nature is the Rusting—a supernatural curse caused by environmental destruction. This curse has spread throughout the isles, and is one of the most significant dangers to the way of life cherished by Moonshae's native creatures.

“The rusting provided a really nice design challenge, because at first it is hard to imagine how a living, organic being could start rusting,” Alex says. “I decided to explore creatures turning metallic first and then going through different colorful stages of rusting, combined with layer after layer flaking off their bodies. A bit like paint flaking off from rusty cars.”

The result is a set of designs that feel both magical and disturbingly physical. “In some of the designs for creatures in mid-rust, I exposed the inner anatomy, especially the skeletal anatomy, which makes them seem to rot away,” Alex explains. “This creates a contrast to that supercharged nature of the Moonshae Isles and marks that curse as something deadly and unnatural.”

Butterfly Wings and Faerie Crossings

Artist: Alexander Ostrowski

To capture the Moonshae Isles’ blend of beauty and danger, Alex drew from nature as much as from lore. “There are some specific references I looked at for the Moonshae Isles,” he explains. “Because I wanted to create a feeling of uncanny wonder and also had that Feywild connection to work with, I looked a lot at different flowers and especially different butterfly wings.”

Those patterns ended up everywhere, giving otherwise traditional fantasy creatures a Fey-inspired twist. “I applied these beautiful and whimsical patterns in a lot of places, including on monsters,” Alex says. “It combines beauty and danger in a way that is very fitting for the Moonshae Isles and provides a nice contrast to the curse of the Rusting.”

Ready to Forge Your Own Tale?

Katerina’s Windskiff-riding Ffolk heroine and Alex’s lush, unsettling Moonshae concepts can help inspire your own adventures! Whether you create a campaign based on the Rusting, wild Fey magic, or the open ocean between Moonshae's many isles, having a visual reference can ground your storytelling and inspire new threads.

Inspiration and storytelling await in Forgotten Realms: Adventures in Faerûn and Forgotten Realms: Heroes of Faerûn, where over 280 pieces of original artwork accompany character options, ready-to-play adventures, and lore to inspire your next great quest!

Mike Bernier is the Content Marketing Manager for D&D Beyond, where he helps bring the worlds of Dungeons & Dragons to life. When he isn’t adventuring across the multiverse in search of his next great story, Mike can be found gaming, hiking with his partner, or cooking something delicious while his dog waits for him to drop a bite.