What are they?

‘Morsels’ are handmade, medieval woodcut-inspired little guys that you can print out and use as minis for your TTRPG table.

I called them ‘Morsels’ because they represent smaller bits of ink work, as opposed to my regular-sized drawings. I might make more of these in the future, so I wanted an over-encompassing name for them.

In case it’s not abundantly clear, they aren’t meant to be eaten. Although, you COULD still eat them, if you really wanted to. I don’t personally recommend it: They’re pointy, and even if you season them, they don’t taste very good...

The Philosophy

During the medieval ages, the average person was accustomed to seeing asymmetrical, distorted, or what we would nowadays consider ‘ugly’ faces everywhere.

Imperfections were ever-present in the day-to-day life for a medieval person; and as such, these ‘ugly faces’ were regularly depicted in the arts: in the margins of illuminated manuscripts, in the gargoyles and fantastic creatures inside gothic cathedrals, and in the wonky fellows depicted in woodcut print carvings, among many other examples in literature, textile work, etc.

This type of art is at a stark contrast with our own forms of expressing ourselves in the current day; where we’ve made both a habit, and a challenge to chase perfection at all costs, by depicting figures in a ‘clean’, highly manicured way. By smoothing away any flaws, or features that stand out from the rest. That is, anything that makes our own form of self-expression unique.

I believe, especially in these times, where almost everything we see or interact with is accomplished via a machine (and, frankly, not even made by humans anymore) that we should kindly reject the pursuit of perfectionism for perfectionism’s sake, and consider instead celebrating the features that distinguish our ‘ugly’, imperfect, asymmetrical, and ultimately human forms of expression. There is both beauty and joy in making art no matter your level of skill. You don’t need to be ‘good’ at it.