Of Dragons and Demons: The Art and Legacy of Kevin Kanai Griffith

A framed Malthael Sketch by the late Kevin Kanai Griffith (2013) next to his Frostmourne sword

We never know how long we have, or what our lasting legacy might be. I'd like to think that, generally speaking, a life long-lived is a good one, and so it's all-the-more painful when friends or family pass away "too soon."

In 2013, I shared a memorial blog about fellow artist, and nature and bird enthusiast named Caroline Muchmore, who passed away from Cystic Fibrosis (she was 26 years young).

  

And today, and for the last few years, really, I've wanted so desperately to share the legacy of a fellow artist and dear friend Kevin Kanai Griffith with the world, but attempting to do so feels like an incredibly impossible prospect. I simply can't hope to encapsulate someone in a few paragraphs and scattered images, but I'll try my best.

Memories of Kevin
 

Kevin Kanai Grifftith's birthday is March 24th, and he would have been 34 this year. Unfortunately, sometimes the lights that burn the brightest are sometimes snuffed out far too soon, and Kevin passed away on October 17th, 2014 from Alveolar Soft Part Sarcoma (ASPS) cancer (he was 32 years young).

The Late Kevin Kanain Griffith's Blizzard ID Photo

Kevin was a Senior Artist at Blizzard Entertainment, and if you played World of Warcraft or Diablo III, you were undoubtedly touched by his artistry, and if you were lucky enough to know him, you were awestruck by how authentic and giving a person Kevin Kanai Griffith was.

I first met Kevin in 2009 at a Sketch Group he’d helped get up and running at Blizzard.  At the time, I was working in the Community Development department, and was eager to stretch my creative muscles and connect with like-minded individuals. I’d been directed to the sketch group by a fellow artist, Jessica Johnson, and in short order I connected with Kevin and he was off and getting me set up on creative mailing lists about sketch groups, live drawing sessions, art challenges, and more. This might not seem like a big deal to many since Kevin was an artist, but it takes a certain kind of person to see the best in others and be willing to spend time and energy helping people and, well, Kevin was just that kind of guy.

 

Kevin wasn’t one for cliques. When folks from other departments or specialties showed interest in joining Sketch Group, Kevin did any and everything in his power to make them feel welcome, regardless if they were already employed at Blizzard as an artist, or were someone interested in learning and spreading their wings. He took time to get to know people and introduce people to one another. He was as inclusive and open as any artist I’ve ever known, and genuine to the core. Whether he was spending time helping other creative souls flourish, or working on his own assortment of projects, he was always striving to bring out the very best in himself and those around him.

• Kevin kept a blog with much of his artwork here: http://cowandcheese.blogspot.com/
• Kevin's Health blog is located here: http://cowandcheesehealth.blogspot.com/2012/07/i-haz-cancer.html
• You can check out the Bonus Camel blog (for Blizzard Sketch Group) here: http://www.bonuscamel.com/

Kevin was a close friend and mentor to me, and I will miss our talks so very much. I am thankful also to everyone at Blizzard, especially those that welcomed me to sit in the Environmental Artist pit in the Diablo III area for a few years. Whether I ever said it aloud or not, it meant the world to me to be able to sit by Kevin on a daily basis, and I know that it meant a lot to him as well. The people at Blizzard are seriously the best.

I'm also thankful for knowing Kevin for how much he inspired me on my art and encouraged me to believe in myself and my abilities. I'm thankful for his awesome choice in partners in crime, too, because he chose wonderfully in his wife/widow, Connie Griffith, and I am thankful that through Kevin, I've had the opportunity to grow closer to her, and discover an incredible, lifelong friend in the process. 

 

Kevin and Art
 

Kevin loved Diablo something fierce, and he was always eager to stretch his skills as an illustrator and contribute to all sorts of Community and development initiatives, and inject his special humor along the way. He created a number of holiday pieces for Diablo III during his tenure, and the top one holds a special place in my heart because I remember so many hilarious discussions we had while he was creating it. During one particular evening of OT, I remarked the lower right boggit (then hairless) wasn't reading as female to me. Boggits didn't have hair, though, so we couldn't come up with a solution... until I mentioned perhaps she was wearing the scalped hair of a Hero or adventurer. Maybe the Enchantress?

We laughed about it, and the idea stuck, and Kevin added it to the illustration. If you look carefully, you can even see blood trickling out from under it... ;)

A piece of holiday art that Kevin created for Diablo III.

 

Kevin was also instrumental in encouraging me and offering critiques on one of my first Blizzard-sanctioned illustrations I ever did a few years ago for a Community blog for the holidays.

"Season's Wishes" final illustration by K. LeCrone - Completed on December 23, 2013

Gestures like offering to critique my work meant the world to me as a growing artist.

Here’s a small selection of some of his art which spans some of his contributions to Blizzard as well as his personal work. You can find his galleries on DeviantART and Blogspot. If you want to learn more about these pieces and many others, please check out his personal galleries. I've also uploaded over eighty pieces of his art and some photos to this Google+ Gallery to make sure they have yet another location to reside for posterity, and aren't lost to the sometimes fickle winds of the internet.

 

  

  

     

In addition to being a welcome ear for oh-so-many conversations, Kevin also offered me heartfelt and much-needed advice during some stressful and complex times as I navigated balancing my work-life balance at Blizzard. He chose to stay upbeat even during his own health trials, and kept his humor and caring about everyone else around him right till the end. 

"Planet Eater" - by Kevin Kanai Griffith

While Kevin and I never played World of Warcraft together on the same server or guild, we definitely played Diablo III together, as well as a bit of Heroes of the Storm and a hefty dose of Minecraft on his custom server. It was always a hoot to group with him, and it was fun to watch him play with fellow artist Neal Wojahn, as well as Brandy Camel (one of our Diablo III Community Managers) and a member of the Diablo III community. He truly loved the games he worked on, and interacting with players and coworkers alike.

I am so incredibly thankful for the time we had as friends, even if it didn't feel like nearly long enough. While it brings me sadness to think that I won't get to chat with him any longer this life, or see his latest art updates or new tools or books he's discovered, but I am also so, so happy that he can finally be at peace away from that awful, awful cancer. After immersing myself in so many movies and games where in the nick of time, a cure miraculously arrives to save someone, I think many of us were met with the harsh reality that sometimes there is simply nothing we can do but hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

I've said it many times, but seriously: fuck cancer.

Honoring Kevin
 

Kevin's lasting legacy was honored in a number of ways. In addition to a memorial service that was a celebration of his life, the Diablo III team also introduced a number of updates in Patch 2.3.0 that were a nod to him, including Kanai's Cube and the Barbarian area where Immortal King Kanai resides, the Ruins of Sescheron. You can learn a bit more about them in the Diablo III videos below (both of which I helped capture after becoming a full-time artist at Blizzard in 2015. Fitting, isn't it?).

There's even a secret mini-event called Udder Cowlamity that only takes place during the month of his Birthday (March).

Kevin was also honored with a World of Warcraft NPC, Kanai Griffith. Kanai Griffith is a Forsaken art teacher located on the mountain ridge on the southeastern side of Coldarra in the Borean Tundra, and his dialogue is very Kevin-inspired, right down to the doge memes it references. :)

Additionally, Kevin was honored in Gamer for Life: A Fan Art Tribute for KKG. It was an ambitious project organized by Gamers for Good, and in it, 283 game artists came together and donated 476 gorgeous art pieces to be used in the campaign to raise funds for the fight against cancer.

 

Unfortunately, the project was not completed until after his passing, but the funds that were raised were split between two charity organizations in KKG's memory: Game Changer and CureASPS.

Many, many people created art for this project, as well as included relevant art. Kevin and I contributed the following pieces:

"Final Fantasy 6 Level - Lethe River Battle with Ultros" - by Kevin Kanai Griffith

  

"Primal Fury - Altered Beast Fan Art - Project KKG" - by K. LeCrone, Completed on March 3, 2014

You can read more about this piece and the process I used for it in this blog update: Altered Beast Fan Art for a Great Cause - Project KKG.

Our Living Legacy

 

But like anyone else, living or dead: Kevin’s legacy doesn't really end there.

His passing actually made me rethink and reevaluate quite a lot in my own life, and in a way I'm not afraid to admit, some of the discussions we had helped prompt me to take the risk of changing careers and moving into more creative and rewarding roles, which you can read about in these blogs: Onward to New Opportunities within Blizzard and BlizzCon 2015, and My 2015 Year in Review. 

Even more recently, in October of 2020, I joined the Diablo team as a Lead Artist, and am *thrilled* to take up an artistic role in a franchise that means so much to me. 

Kevin believed in me and encouraged me, and I wish he would have been alive to hear that I am now a full-time artist at Blizzard, but then: I think he knew I had it in me all along, and that it was only a matter of time until I figured it out for myself.

 

While it makes me very sad that I will never again be treated to see new art or a silly quip from him, in a way, Kevin’s legacy lives on in all the lives he touched along the way. And by proxy, everything we create and the people we inspire, well, in a way we live on through them too.

So, what will your legacy be?

Here's to you, Kevin, and all the lives you touched along your incredible journey! And thank you, for everything, and most of all: for being uniquely you.



If you feel so inclined, please share this blog to help perpetuate Kevin's memory and consider donating to Game Changer and CureASPS to help the many other "Kevins" out there.

Of Hummingbirds and Memories: The Art and Legacy of Caroline Muchmore

I actually had another blog planned for this week, but after doing some thinking, I realize that writing all this out and sharing it with you all is infinitely much more important to me.

"The Lightbearer" - Completed on July 7th, 2012

I lost a few people that were dear to me last year or so in succession, and one of them was a fellow artist, and nature and bird enthusiast named Caroline Muchmore, who passed away from Cystic Fibrosis last July. She was 26 years young.

We all have people that touch our lives and leave a lasting impression, and Caroline was certainly one of those people for me. She was dear friend and inspiration to me, and was actually the first person I told about the surreal hummingbird experience I had shortly before my maternal grandmother's passing.

The Hummingbird Experience

My mother and I are incredibly close, and this closeness carried over into our longstanding love for my maternal grandmother. My grandmother and I share the same birthday, and truly she and I were in so many ways cut from the same stone. Over the years, her health began to fail her, but her spirit stayed strong, and even up to her last month with us, a simple tune or familiar melody could send her “booping,” singing, and smiling as she stood with her walker. Her smile and love could light up a room.

A Photo of My Maternal Grandmother, Gertrude Taylor

As my grandmother’s health worsened, I went from visiting with she and my mother on an almost-weekly basis to staying with them at length and using up every drop of my stored vacation time to support them. To this day, I would not have done it differently, and my time could not have been better spent.

In any case, on the days leading up to her passing, I, as many people in my position probably have done, continued to look for signs that would tell us how much time she had left. To reassure my mother and I and let us know it was okay, much as we spent countless hours at her bed-side talking with her, reassuring her, reading books to her, singing to her, listening to music with her, we still were not sure how much longer she would be with us. At one point, she had a burst of incredible clarity and alertness that she’d seemed to save up for me that I will keep with me the rest of my life, and which utterly, truly made me believe that even if those close to passing seem unresponsive, they can still hear us, but I digress.

On the morning before my grandmother’s passing, my mother and I took a quick break to have some breakfast while someone from hospice watched over my grandmother in her room at home. The last few days had been utterly stormy, rainy, and miserable, and it was my mother that pointed out that the storm had broken and it was warm and clear outside. She suggested we step outside into the garden for a quick breather, and I agreed that the fresh air could do us some good.

When we stepped out, however, my mother motioned for me to be still, and pointed to a hummingbird some five feet away or so that was behaving quite peculiarly. Now, in Southern California hummingbirds aren’t exceptionally rare, but they also aren’t very common in that area, and there really weren’t any flowers around, so it was strange it was there to begin with.

The hummingbird was hovering an inch or two from the ground, and it was moving back and forth in odd patterns that seemed to form a line along the screen door inside which my grandmother was resting. It would pause, fly along it, come near to my mom and I, then go back, over and over, sometimes coming within inches of us, and we watched on with awe.

This went on for over four breathtaking minutes.

Had I not thought to record some of it on my iPhone (which I realized midway through was in my hand), I wouldn’t have believed it. But it went on and on. The little hummingbird hovering, then zooming just over the grass, parallel to the screen door, then over or around my mom and I, higher-up and eye-level, and then back again.

It was an incredibly surreal experience.

I have shown the video I took to a number of avid bird-watching friends including Caroline, and none of them could explain it either. It just… was. And I’m sure there are a lot of possible explanations out there: might it have been my grandfather in spirit? An angel? Simply a sign meant only for my mother and I? I know in some Native American mythologies they are symbols of resurrection or messengers of the dead, but I don’t pretend to know what it was or how it came to be there, other than to know it was powerful. And even as my uncle unknowingly hollered to us from inside and the hummingbird flew off, I just knew it was going to be okay. That my grandmother was going to be okay, and my mother and I were going to be okay.

Hummingbird Memory Mug

A couple weeks after my grandmother’s passing, my mother and I went to a pottery-painting studio called Color Me Mine to relax from everything (including all the funeral arrangements) and paint some ceramics together. It was the first time we’d done this in probably 15+ years. But I already knew what I wanted to paint.

"Hummingbird Memory Mug" - Completed on April 1st, 2012

I ended up later giving this mug to my mother for Mother’s Day, and though it didn't turn out quite as I intended, it really means a lot to me. I tried to paint the colors similar to how I remembered them, and opted to also put the blades of around the bottom to try and recapture the moment I’ll forever have in my mind, and heart.

Memories of Caroline

In some ways, this is one of the hardest things I've ever had to write, simply for the fact that I want so desperately to share Caroline’s legacy with the world, but attempting to do so feels like an incredibly intimidating prospect. It's impossible to capture someone adequately in a few paragraphs and choice words, but I'll try my best.

The Late Caroline Muchmore's DA ID Photo

This piece was done as a gift to me by the late Caroline Muchmore on April 27, 2004, and on this evening, I want to help keep her legacy alive by telling you a bit about her impact on me and sharing some of her art and beautiful galleries with you.

"Heart of the Redtail" - by Caroline Muchmore - Completed on April 27th, 2004

So much of what we do touches others. Whether it is through our words, art, smiles, or kind gestures -- the possibility and potential is all there, but it's up to each of us to rise to the occasion and try to realize it in our own lives. I had the pleasure of knowing Caroline for around fifteen years, and it was amazing growing beside her as an artist. When some people would implore for me to draw the latest popular trends and tropes, she was one of those people who continued to encourage and inspire me to draw and create pieces that meant something to me. And her work inspired me SO much too.

Here’s a small selection of some of her art which spans way back to 2002. You can find her galleries on DeviantART and the Yerf Archives. I've also uploaded about eighty pieces of her art to this Google+ Gallery to make sure they have yet another location to reside for posterity, and aren't lost to the sometimes fickle winds of the internet.

  

 

  

   

 

In addition to supporting me and giving me heartfelt and much-needed advice during some incredibly hard times (such as when my grandmother was approaching her time to pass on), she was an authentic person during her own rough times, and she weathered the storms with grace and strength, and kept her humor all the while. 

"The Birth of Hummingbirds" - by Caroline Muchmore - 2008 

While Caroline and I never played World of Warcraft together on the same server or guild, I'd frequently hear stories of her exploits in Azeroth. Even after her identical sister, Grace (also a WoW player), passed away in October of 2010 from the same disease, Caroline enjoyed stepping foot back into Azeroth on as regular a basis as her hospital visits and internet connection could support. Like so many people out there with disabilities, WoW was a place where she could find relief. Though she eventually had to give up raiding due to the onset of the later stages of the disease, she continued to enjoy playing the game when she could, chatting with friends and trying for achievements and mounts such as the Raven Lord and Timeless Proto-Drake up to the very end (she managed to get both). Despite being in and out of the hospital, her awesome guild-mates also helped her finish her legendary weapon questline: Dragonwrath, Tarecgosa's Rest.

Caroline on her Raven Lord Mount

I am so incredibly thankful for the time we had, even if it didn't feel like nearly long enough. While it brings sadness to think that I won't get to babble with her more in this life, or see new art updates from her, but I am also so, so happy that she can finally breathe easy. I think after one-too-many episodes of Star Trek I always thought there might be some blessed cure to save she and her sister from Cystic Fibrosis at the last minute. But that was simply not to be.

The Lightbearer

When I found out Caroline's health had started to fail her at last, I began work on this piece, but only completed it after her passing. As such, it was a strangely haunting sort of mourning and art therapy for me. As is the case with most art, the scan of this piece truly does not do this piece justice, especially since there are a lot of iridescent inks mixed in there that make parts of it truly shimmer.

"The Lightbearer" - Wip _ ACEO Sketch - June 30th, 2012

"The Lightbearer" - WIP - Linework - July 2nd, 2012

"The Lightbearer" - WIP - First Paint - July 6th, 2012

I completed this piece on July 7th of 2012. It is a small ACEO-sized (2.5 x 3.5 inches) gift for the late Caroline Muchmore and her husband.

"The Lightbearer" - Completed on July 7th, 2012

Our Living Legacy

But like anyone else, living or dead: Caroline’s legacy doesn't really end there.

Her passing actually made me rethink and reevaluate quite a lot in my own life. While it makes me very sad that I will never again be treated to see new art done by her hand, in a way, part of her legacy and art lives on through everyone she touched. While I can't point to how deep that influence lays between some of her art and my own, I know it's there, and in a way when I do certain things in my art (ornate, jeweled birds high among them), I'd like to think that, in a way, it perpetuates some of this unique vision and artistry, and that whoever sees her art might be similarly touched. So in a way: her legacy lives on with all of us. And by proxy, everything we create and the people we inspire, well, in a way we live on through them too.

So, what will your legacy be?


Fly free with your sister, Caroline. And thank you, for everything.


If you feel so inclined, please share this blog and consider becoming an organ donor, or donating to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation to help the many other "Carolines" and "Graces" out there.