Blackwing Volume 20, behind the design

The Blackwing Volume 20 pencil celebrates tabletop gaming and the cherished moments they create. The design for this special edition takes inspiration from the polyhedron 20-sided dice used in popular tabletop roleplaying games such as Dungeons & Dragons. Take a detailed look at the process behind the pencil and how we ended up with the final design.

Tabletop Roleplaying elements that inspired Vol. 20

For Vol. 20, we set out to create a pencil that would spark your imagination. At Blackwing, we are huge fans of tabletop roleplaying games that allow you to craft your own characters, go on epic adventures, and tell a story. Some of our references included Dungeons & Dragons and other fantasy role-playing games which ultimately led us to zero in on the actual physical, analog tools that help us play these games – a pencil, paper, and all-important D20 dice.

Early sketches and pattern experiments for Vol. 20

Our early sketches for Blackwing Vol. 20 included different types of gaming dice like D4s to D12s which all have their own distinct looks and uses. We also explored other game pieces and symbols from chess to playing card suits and mahjong. As with every Blackwing Volumes release, the storytelling helps inspire our design choices. We pinpointed some important emotions and elements that are evoked through tabletop gaming like a sense of adventure, complex strategies, and relationship building among friends.

Our final design decisions for Vol. 20

After honing in on our final design, we wanted to add something special to make this pencil really stand out. Just like the act of rolling dice or moving a game piece, we wanted Vol. 20 to have a tactile experience. The pencil features a raised spot gloss treatment so you can feel the grooves of the polyhedron pattern printed on the pencil.

Vol. 20 Polyhedron Pattern Overlay

Blackwing 20 celebrates tabletop games and the cherished moments they can create. Each pencil features a raised polyhedron design inspired by gaming dice, a gold imprint, gold ferrule, red eraser and our firm graphite that is perfect for keeping track of hit points, or tallying a final score.