Nikki Dawes

Nikki Dawes is an American illustrator and concept artist whose work spans imaginative realism, fantasy art, and portraiture. She has created illustrations for Wizards of the Coast, Hasbro, Critical Role, Darrington Press, and Penguin Random House, contributing to numerous Dungeons & Dragons books from 2020 through the 2025 core rulebooks, as well as Critical Role titles and HeroQuest. Her work has appeared in publications such as ImagineFX and Infected By Art, and she has received multiple awards from journalism and art organizations. Dawes maintains an active freelance career—with the assistance of her manager, Buddy the Cat.