Anthony Coffey & Jesse Labbe: Art in Board Games #34
I have been into tabletop games since I could remember. Fireball Island was a pin in my childhood timeline. Soon after that, Hero Quest began to open my eyes to all the possibilities that you could create with a game; the worlds that could be designed and all the adventures to be had exploring them. With such a love for illustrations, games just felt like the natural next step.
Editors Note: This week I'm talking to not one, but two artists from indie publisher Certifiable Studios. Their names are Anthony Coffey and Jesse Labbe and after spotting their amazing work on the Kickstarter game 'Who Goes There?' I got in touch to find out more.
Hi Anthony/Jesse, thanks for joining me! For our readers who aren't aware of your work could you tell us a bit about yourself and what you do?
Anthony: Hey Ross, I'm an 2D/3D artist and game designer. I moved here (Ridgeland, Mississippi), from Dallas, when I was brought on to Certifiable Studios. I work on anything from game mechanics, illustrations, and 3D modeling; to animation, rules, or graphic design layout. The team is small, so we all tend to wear a lot of hats around here. It sounds redundant, but free time is usually spent doing more drawing or working on concepts for future projects.
Jesse: Well I would wear as many hats as Anthony does but I have a funny shaped head, so I am pretty particular about what I put on it. It's mainly because of that I don't do any 3D molding or animation (again only because of my misshaped head not because I don't know how). But I do, however, do a lot of illustrations as well as game mechanics.
You work together at an indie publisher Certifiable Studios, so before we get to the games can you tell us more about how the studio was set up, what your goals are and how the team got together?
Anthony: I'll defer to Jesse since this one is more for him. haha
Jesse: Well at first, I wanted to make a hat company, but then Rick (also at Certifiable) reminded me about my deformed head...so I thought what else can we do? GAMES! Let's make some games! Actually, I have been into tabletop games since I could remember. Fireball Island was a pin in my childhood timeline. Soon after that, Hero Quest began to open my eyes to all the possibilities that you could create with a game; the worlds that could be designed and all the adventures to be had exploring them. With such a love for illustrations, games just felt like the natural next step.
I worked on a couple of games under the roof of other companies and learned a lot of Do's and Don'ts. I had an idea for a game called "Ash to Bone", but wasn't ready to hand it over to someone else. I partnered up with Rick More (the brains of the studio) and Tah-Dah...Certifiable was born. We wanted to start small before going into "Ash to Bone" because it was a larger project, so we came up with "Endangered Orphans". That was received on Kickstarter better than I would have ever imagined. Next came "Who Goes There?" followed by "Stuffed". Now we are finally back to where we started....about to start production on "Ash to Bone".
The studios first release Endangered Orphans of Condyle Cove was successfully Kickstarted back in 2016. What can you remember about that project and what lessons did you take away from it moving forwards?
Jesse: Wow, where to begin? If there was a checklist of all the things not to do, we would have checked "yes" to each thing on the list. We seemed to do everything wrong for that (our first) Kickstarter. We had nothing about the game on BGG (Board Game Geek). We did a cold launch having never mentioned anything about the game to anyone. We didn't have even one video showing a play through. We didn't have the rules posted. We had no stretch goals prepared and we were constantly telling everyone that this is an awful (as in mean theme) game! But, we were really lucky and had some amazing backers come aboard during that campaign. It was because of them we were able to do what we did with the success of that game. We had so much fun during that campaign. We even received a ton of gifts from the backers, which I have since learned was unusual. Dozens of bags of coffee, t-shirts, toys, whiskey, letters, hats, cookies, flowers, stuffed animals and a lot of pants (it's a long story). Wow, gotta love our backers!
Anthony: During this Kickstarter project, I was helping from Dallas. Jesse asked if I could sculpt the pawns for a game they had on Kickstarter which is how my part in "Endangered Orphans" started. By the time I came to work at the studio full time, "Endangered Orphans" was already in the final stages and being sent to the factory for production and I helped set up print files for the production assets for the game. I had learned a lot about the process from the short amount of time I was working with Panda (our production facility we used on EO). I have also had a small amount of experience working with factories in China from a previous job, so that helped me hit the ground running when I started here.
Who Goes There? was a massive success on Kickstarter last year, were you surprised and why do you think it did so well?
Anthony: I think we were all surprised with how well the campaign did. We all had high hopes, but I don't think any of them were that high. I think part of the success of Who Goes There? is definitely owed to the success of Endangered Orphans as well as the dedicated backers it brought. We also try to be very responsive and transparent when dealing with our backers and I think the level of communication and honesty adds to that. With Who Goes There? we knew where we wanted the game to end up in terms of quality, so we set our stretch goals accordingly. There are always things that come up during a campaign, but for the most part we tried to have the campaign and unlocks planned.
Jesse: I would have been ecstatic if we would have just done as well as we did for Orphans, but when we started shooting past it, I was definitely on cloud nine!
I think we were prepared for the stretch goals this time. We didn't want to just start throwing too many random things at the end of the campaign because we were hitting goals. We had the game the way we believed it should be, so once we hit all of the Stretch goals...it was time to just have some fun with the campaign.
When it came to the artwork for Who Goes There? what were your initial ideas and aims in terms of its look and feel?
Anthony: I don't think there was a master vision when we were trying to find the style. There were a few things we did like that we would try to gravitate towards. For example, we both love the style used in Disney's Atlantis. There was constant talk of trying to inject even a small amount of that into the characters. At the end of the day, our goal was to choose a direction and style that we both enjoy, and we both enjoy stylized characters vs. realistic renderings or photos. The final look for the game is definitely different but it is heavily based on the initial concepts.
Jesse: As Anthony said, we are both fans of the look Mike Mignola's contributed to Atlantis: The Lost Empire. I am not a huge fan of typical comic style art (your basic realistic looking characters) so I thought that Mignola captured the perfect combination of realism and fun with his characters...I wanted that! I think Anthony did a fantastic job of taking what we loved about that and still making it our own.
You've mentioned this long cycle to bring us to the upcoming game 'Ash and Bone', so could you paint a picture of this world for us? What is it and what will it look like?
Jesse: "Ash to Bone" is a long time coming. A lot of ideas come and go depending on their ability to hold a level of excitement. If I'm excited about a game for the first week and come week two I'm no longer excited about it...it's hard to keep pushing through with the project. But the ideas that continue to hold that little spark are the ones that get the most love and attention. Ash to Bone is one of those projects.
It is still in the works, and as with all projects, nothing is really locked down until it is off to the manufacturers. So it's hard to really say too much about the world or game itself because that could all change, but where it started (and where it is currently) is a two player co-op game where players defend the town of Ash from being overrun by an army of undead bone soldiers. Each of the two heroines has their own special abilities and fighting style, but when they work together, their attacks become more devastating against the enemy.
Could you talk us through the process of creating a piece of art for your games?
Anthony: Hmmm...this one is tough to answer. It varies for each different piece. Sometimes a random sketch will inspire an entire story and sometimes certain pieces are created to fill parts that were already figured out. Normally, we are sketching all the time, because it's just something we enjoy doing. If we happen to find a character we like, then we will develop that character a little more each time we sit down to sketch. Some pieces reach the finish line quicker than others. I think it just comes down to how clear the vision is in your head. Sometimes you may have to search a little more for it.There are usually specific stages to our pieces depending on what medium we are using (traditional vs. digital). Typically they all start with a thumbnail or rough sketch. Once the piece is sketched out then it will be cleaned up/inked. Lastly, it will go through the coloring stage. This process will vary slightly on each piece. It just depends on the mood we are in that day. haha. Designing a character can take anywhere from a couple hours or as long as a week. There are numerous factors that can impact the time it takes. Usually, you try to go into it with a game plan, but it's a flexible process.
Jesse: Well it seems Anthony pretty much nailed it. The process is a simple one. If we need a picture of a knife for a card, we sketch out a design for the knife. We clean up the sketch, color it and then place it on the card. It's pretty hard to pinpoint a time for character creation. It depends on the character for how much time it will take to complete it. Larger and more detailed characters will obviously take more time than the simpler ones. It's all about baby steps! haha
What would you say is your favorite part of illustration and has this changed the longer you've been an artist?
Anthony: I definitely enjoy each part of the process for different reasons, but if I had to choose, I guess I would say my favorite part is inking. It's usually the more relaxing part of the process for me. Almost all the tougher design decisions regarding the composition and drawing have already been made in the rough stages. Now I just turn on some music and start refining the drawing while I ink. Like most things, it can change from drawing to drawing.
Usually, there isn't any one element that drives the creative process. There are a lot of things that can spark an idea: a really cool drawing from an artist you follow, something in a movie, or a scene from a book. It's difficult to try and put it into words. Sometimes it just comes out of nowhere and you get that creative itch.
Jesse: Well, I guess it depends on the illustration compared to what else is on the to-do list. Some illustrations are more enjoyable than others, while some parts of working on a game are more enjoyable than others. When I'm working on character design and world creation I really enjoy the illustration aspect because I am most comfortable with that part but sometimes working on the actual mechanics of the game is enjoyable as well. The problem-solving part can be very satisfying.
What advice would you give to anyone wanting to work as an artist?
Anthony: It's like any other job. You have to practice and study to keep growing. Practice the fundamentals and study other artists that inspire you. Put your artwork out there through social media or a personal website. Build a portfolio or a body of work that employers can see and then go apply for jobs you want. There isn't really a magic solution. If you put in the time and effort to ensure you learn and grow as an artist, then it will pay off at some point. But you can't just draw one night a week. If you really want it, then you need to dedicate yourself to it. Most importantly, just be patient. This stuff doesn't happen overnight.
Jesse: If you can’t be better than the other guy...be more motivated. Draw every single day. Do the things that aren't necessarily fun but will make you better. Take the time to learn your trade, don't just go through the motions. And did I mention to draw every day?
What are you currently reading, listening to or looking at to fuel your work?
Anthony: I like to find a lot of inspiration from other artists on Instagram. Looking at artists I admire is always a great way to get the creative juices flowing. Some of my favorite artist to follow are Derek Laufman, Skottie Young, Sean Galloway, Eric Canete, and Jon Sommariva. Those are just a few. The list goes on and on. I like to watch movies for inspiration. A good movie (no matter how many times I've seen it) will always help inspire ideas or just put me in the mood to draw.
Jesse: My number one go-to has to be the artistic watering hole I like to call Instagram. I have a great bookmarked selection of eye candy by other illustrators that will immediately get my pencil to the paper. The list is the same as Coffey's as far as artists go, so let's talk about tunes! My music list changes weekly depending on my mood and what I am working on. My playlist includes the classics, lots of composers, and when I am feeling up and on the move with my characters, I turn to some French tunes... Sexion D'Assaut, ZAZ and Ariane Moffatt.
Do you have any current projects underway, or coming up that you’d like (or are able) to tell us about?
Jesse: We're always working on something. We take breaks from working on what we need to and work on what we want to. A lot of times, they are one in the same. A couple of flowing ideas we have on paper include: Ash to Bone, D6, Distasternauts, Booty Snatchers and Cops and Robbers.
Finally, if we’d like to see more of you and your work, where can we find you?
Anthony: Instagram and Facebook are the best places to follow us.
Jesse: As for my art, Instagram is pretty much the go-to. For what we're up to Certifiable Studio on Facebook.
(All images supplied by Anthony and Jesse, 2018)
Nick Nazzaro: Art in Board Games #33
The first thing I showed the rest of the team were different color palettes that were very limited, for directions we could go in. Having a limited amount of colors was very important in establishing the style as unique and recognizable. The hope was it would be eye-catching and different enough to warrant a further look...
EDITORS NOTE: Nick and Lay Waste Games will have a stand at PAX East (booth TT51) from 5th-8th April where you'll be able to buy some cool stuff including stickers and pinny arcade pins Nick designed.
Hi Nick, thanks for joining me! For our readers who aren't aware of your work could you tell us a bit about yourself and what you do?
Thanks for having me, Ross! I'm an illustrator based in Los Angeles working in TV animation. Right now I'm at Starburns Industries working on a show for HBO called Animals. I've also done lots of work for magazines, motion graphic firms, and various types of merchandise. Basically I just draw all day long.
Could you tell us a bit more about your development as an artist? Where did you start out and how do you think this broad experience has helped shape how you work?
I came from a family of artists so I started drawing very early on. I think every birthday involved me getting crayons or sharpies up until I moved out as an adult. I went to an arts high school in Boston, and eventually an art college. It was just always the plan to do it professionally, full time.
One of my earliest gigs was illustrating a weekly column in a local Boston newspaper, called DigBoston. I drew some dicks, butts, and a lot of other vulgar stuff you'd find in an indie paper. It was great and I learned a ton by having to report in to an art director a few times a week. After that I started illustrating more for magazines, doing some gallery shows, and trying to make a name for myself by entering competitions. I finished school in the fall of 2013 and started working on Dragoon art in the spring of 2014. Been busy ever since!
Now I'm working at an animation studio in LA while still doing freelance whenever I get a chance. You do learn a lot from all these various industries and I'm fortunate that I've gotten to be involved in so many cool projects. Working in animation has forced me to be a lot more efficient in how I use photoshop, for sure. Working in motion graphics for Buck Design reinforced a lot of my editorial illustrator roots. Working in games was incredibly rewarding and I've learned a lot about mass production and printing of art assets. I could honestly probably write a book about all the skills I've picked up while working after being done with school.
You are a co-founder of Lay Waste Games, so how did that come about and what were your goals when you set up the publisher?
My personal origin story is a little different than the rest of the founders behind Lay Waste Games. The rest of the team is two brothers and their childhood best friend, and they were setting out to make a single game happen, pretty much. They found me to do the art for the game, eventually, and after it being way more work than anyone expected, I wound up as co-founder when we made the LLC. The original goal was to make Dragoon a reality but that was such an instant success for us, our goals have evolved. Now we want to make a lot of games for the foreseeable future.
What can you remember about Dragoon and how did you need to change your style to suit the format of board games?
That's a good question. You always have to change what you're doing a little to make it fit into the constraints of actually printing something. That's really a big part of the fun and challenge of making anything on this scale, though. The 3D pieces might have looked different if we weren't worried about sharp angles ripping the mold apart. The map could maybe be even more colorful if we weren't limited to using 6 colors for cost reasons. When things are printed small, you can only manage so much detail. All those constraints helped me figure our creative solutions that in the end looked really sharp, I think.
Remembering when you first got the spec for the artwork, how has this final version shifted from that original brief? How did you take those initial ideas and turn them into what we see today?
It changed a pretty fair amount. It even changed during the Kickstarter campaign itself. We were making more money than we anticipated and that led to us splurging a little on fancier components. Some pretty generic and boring pieces ended up becoming custom sculpted pieces instead. When I first started doing the art, the rules weren't quite 100%, so some of those changes required new art to be made. It was a very fluid project but we had a strong idea of where we wanted to take the game visually, very early on. The theme was always set in stone. Some card names changed, lots of rule changes, but the style didn't waver.
What mood and tone were you trying to trigger in the player if any? Why those colours and why that visual style?
We started with a game about dragons, some pretty high fantasy concepts, and decided visually the game shouldn't look like other fantasy games. We wanted it to stand out and gain attention. The first thing I showed the rest of the team were different color palettes that were very limited, for directions we could go in. Having a limited amount of colors was very important in establishing the style as unique and recognizable. The hope was it would be eye-catching and different enough to warrant a further look. If enough people thought it looked interesting, they'd want to learn more, eventually play it, and then tell their friends about. So far it's been working out.
Did you research other art or games in helping guide that clearly fantasy, yet unique art style?
Not intentionally. I didn't go out and look up a lot of games, movies, and fantasy related things because everyone knows exactly what those look like already. I just knew we had to look different than the first three things you think of when someone says dragons or fantasy game. A lot of the art you'd think of is older, very rendered, muted colors, with a lot of careful attention to detail. Moving in the opposite direction, we went with a bold and limited color palette and simplified, stylized shapes. Kept it very geometric and angular with very little use of rounded or natural lines. Right away this gave us a pretty distinct look that I was hoping would set us apart from other fantasy games.
Your latest game is Human Era, how do you think your work on Dragoon shaped your choices for this project and how were you looking to stand out with this game?
I think the first thing we wanted was to go with a different look than Dragoon and to avoid reusing that distinct style. We didn't have such a strong direction to turn with Human Era as we only wanted to avoid looking like Dragoon. Time travel or social deduction games don't have a specific look the same way fantasy games do so there was an abundance of options. We explored many more styles with Human Era and ultimately settled on a style that is much more similar to what my personal work looks like.
You've said that as a team it's now your goal to make games for the foreseeable future, so what's next for Lay Waste Games?
The immediate future includes fulfillment of Human Era, which I'm very excited about. We are publishing someone else's design for the first time, a sweet little game by Matt Fantastic and Alex Cutler. We're hard at work on our next game, codenamed Pyramid Project, which is always the most fun time to be a game developer. So far we really enjoy shifting genres and styles on a game by game basis, and Pyramid Project is no different. It will be unlike Dragoon in some really fresh ways. Dragoon had some mass appeal in how easy it was to pick up, and how forgiving it was if you were playing for the first time. Pyramid Project will be geared more towards real tabletop enthusiasts with a lot of gaming experience. The soonest anyone will be able to play it is at PAX East.
What else can you tell us about Pyramid Project? Do you have a clear indication of its visual style yet and what should we expect?
I can tell you it'll look good for sure. Components wise, it's looking like it has a lot of similarities to Dragoon. Map style board potentially, with a bunch of unique 3D pieces, potentially. Everything is really TBD still, because of how early in development it is, but it's always exciting to be at this stage of a project and figuring out the visual path it'll take.
What are you currently reading, listening to or looking at to fuel your work?
I feed off the other artists I'm immediately surrounded by every day. They're really inspiring and skilled individuals that I'm very fortunate to be working with. I spend quite a bit of time checking out work online on Instagram mostly. A little Twitter. I haven't read a book in a decade though. One day I hope that changes but I really only have time for so many things outside of being productive and books just don't fit, unfortunately.
Do you have any current projects underway, or coming up that you’d like (or are able) to tell us about?
Please watch season 3 of Animals on HBO! Seasons 1 and 2 are only 10 episodes each and they're very funny. Season 3 will be the best yet, for sure though. I've been working on season 3 as a colorist and background painter for about 5 months now. Very much looking forward to showing off all the cool things I painted for the show once it airs later this year. Working in tv animation has been a dream though. Couldn't be much more fun. Every other project outside of Lay Waste Games is still currently a secret, unfortunately.
Finally, if we’d like to see more of you and your work, where can we find you?
You can visit my website at www.NickNazzaro.com or follow me on Instagram or Twitter @TheNazzaro. If you want to find me in person, I'll be in Los Angeles for the foreseeable future, as well as PAX East, GenCon, PAX Unplugged, and probably some other upcoming cons as well.
(All images provided by Nick Nazzaro, 2018).
Katie O'Neill: Art in Board Games #32
I think there's so much to learn from traditional methods arts and crafts, and other things such as making and growing food. They can take a lot longer, but the products are so beautiful and there's so much more intention and engagement with the process.
Editors note: The Tea Dragon Society card game is still in production with Renegade Game Studios (due Q2 2018), as such there is no finalized art from it in this interview. There are some process images later in the article, however, the vast majority of art on show is from the graphic novel this game is based on or Katie's portfolio.
Hi Katie, thanks for joining me! For our readers who aren't aware of your work could you tell us a bit about yourself and what you do?
I'm an illustrator (mainly making graphic novels for kids), living in a small city in New Zealand. It's a pretty inspiring country to be an artist in! As an artist, I'm self-taught and posted my work online as webcomics for several years while I worked part-time as a copywriter. One day my editor emailed me and asked if I'd like to work with Oni Press, and it basically kept snowballing until I reached the point I'm at now, drawing for a living! I'm also an avid gardener, hiker and general nature enthusiast. And of course, I love tea.
You describe yourself as a self-taught, so when you were starting out how did you develop yourself as an artist and what illustrators or works inspired you?
Thankfully I grew up just as art communities on the internet were starting to flourish, so as a teenager I had access to a lot of digital artists to look up to as examples, and a number of them made tutorials that helped me grow and understand the software I was using better. Nowadays I probably use very few of the actual techniques that I learned then, but gaining that initial confidence to work digitally and intuit drawing software was extremely valuable.
Your beautiful graphic novel 'The Tea Dragon Society' is being turned into a card game, so could you tell us more about the graphic novel itself? How did you first come up with the idea and what is it all about?
The Tea Dragon Society came from a very simple idea I had, cute pet dragons that grow tea leaves on their horns, which ended up growing and growing as people showed a ton of interest in the idea. Eventually, I had enough to craft a little story about the characters who look after them, in this case, a blacksmith named Greta, a shy mystical girl named Minette, and the bonded owners of a tea shop, Hesekiel, and Erik. The tea dragons are extremely fussy (as players will discover when playing the card game!) so there is a danger of losing the art of caring for them, and of brewing the tea. The book is about appreciating traditional crafts and finding new meaning and value in them.
You say the story is really about appreciating traditional crafts, so what draws you to this message and are there any ways you think we should be doing this in general?
I think there's so much to learn from traditional methods arts and crafts, and other things such as making and growing food. They can take a lot longer, but the products are so beautiful and there's so much more intention and engagement with the process. I think it's important to keep knowledge of old crafts alive for their own sake, but they're also beneficial for the practitioner, encouraging patience and mindfulness. There are so many ways, and I think one of the best ones is to join a local group where you can learn from those with more experience.
So as I mentioned previously your graphic novel is being turned into a card game. How did that happen?
I'm super lucky in that Oni Press has really amazing connections with merch and board game developers, so all I've had to do is supply the artwork! Oni Press came to me about the idea and I was definitely aboard, and also completely into leaving it all to the professionals. The developers (Renegade Game Studios) captured the atmosphere of the book so perfectly, the first time I playtested it, even with simple mock-up cards, I knew it was just right. After the gameplay essentials were worked out, I was given a list of art assets to create and we took some from the book as well, to help it tie into the story.
When choosing the art from the book what were the main things you were trying to convey?
Mostly it was just done based on the relevance to each card so that players could get an idea of how that card might function in the Tea Dragons world. So for example, we have cards to do with grooming and taking care of the Tea Dragons, so we were able to pull art from the book from scenes where Greta is learning how to take care of them.
Was the process of producing the new assets for the game different from the way you'd usually create art?
It was a little different in that I had to convey ideas in just one panel, rather than having many! But other than that it was the same. For example, things like a grumpy Tea Dragon would normally have context in a book, but instead it was an interesting challenge to draw a character that not only looked grumpy, but had enough visual info to make it more interesting and vivid.
What advice would you give to anyone wanting to work as an artist?
Figure out what kind of artist you want to be first- maybe you'd love to work fulltime in a studio, or maybe you're just interested in telling your own stories and don't mind working another job to support yourself. Determining what really makes you happy about art is really important. It's also okay to change your mind too! Just as long as you're being honest with yourself about whether you're happy or not.
What are you currently reading, listening to or looking at to fuel your work?
I'm really into gouache paintings at the moment, especially impressionist or abstract work. I've never been much of an abstract person before, but the older I get the more I appreciate it.
Do you have any current projects underway, or coming up that you’d like (or are able) to tell us about?
I'm mostly working on graphic novels, and I have a new one coming out later this year called Aquicorn Cove. I also have plenty more stories about the Tea Dragons world that I would love to share someday!
Finally, if we’d like to see more of you and your work, where can we find you?
The best place would be my twitter! I'm strangelykatie on there. Or if you're interested in a portfolio, my site is ktoneill.com.
The Tea Dragon Society Card Game is due Q2 2018, you can find out more and pre-order a copy on the Renegade Game Studios website.
(All images copyright of Katie O'Neill, 2018)
Kyle Ferrin: Art in Board Games #31
How a game works isn't always immediately clear, but you can say a lot about what the players will feel like by giving them at-a-glance information through visual communication
Quick editor’s note: I've recently changed the format of how I conduct my interviews. Previously I had always stuck to a predetermined list of questions but I've decided to move away from that fixed format into something more organic. Below are the first fruits of this so I hope you enjoy the results.
Hi Kyle, thanks for joining me! For readers who aren't aware of your work, could you tell us a bit about yourself and what you do?
Yeah! I'm a board game illustrator that works for Leder Games. I illustrated Vast: The Crystal Caverns and I'm currently working on Root and Vast: The Mysterious Manor. I've also done work for Norwester Games on their "Stitches" title, and a few other commission jobs that should be revealed soon! I live, (and work) just north of Salt Lake City, Utah with my wife and 4 kids.
What are the first few things you do when starting a new project?
If I have my choice I like to be heavily involved in the theme of a game. I get a rough idea in my head of what I'd like the game to look like and then it's a matter of making a lot of sketches and collecting references to run by the game designers/publishers. I'm constantly in my sketchbook and in some cases, like with Root, it was a case of building a concept around sketches that I'd already made. I was going through a small animal with swords phase and I had multiple people ask me on Twitter if the characters I was posting were from anything. I guess they are now!
Where do you think your small animals with swords love comes from?
My 5th Grade teacher read Redwall by Brian Jacques to our little class and I think I read a sizable chunk of the series into junior high school. I don't remember a lot of details but I remember the feeling it gave me and that overall vibe has been something I've enjoyed revisiting. Other influences include David Petersen's wonderful Mouse Guard comics and my obsession with Disney's Robin Hood. I can still quote pretty much ALL of Robin Hood, including background music and sound effects. Obviously what we ended doing for Root is still a pretty far departure from those art styles, but those worlds were pivot points when I was doodling little warrior creatures for my kids or for myself.
Your first board game project was VAST. How did you get involved and what do you remember about the project?
Vast was my first big foray into board game illustration. It was originally called "Trove" and the original designer, David Somerville, was looking for goblin art to accompany his work. He found a goblin illustration I did for the RPG Dungeon World, and when David sold the game to Patrick Leder, my name came along as an option. Patrick and I work on the same wavelength and I've been on the Leder Games team ever since. I started out as a contractor, but when Vast saw the success that it did I was hired on full time to work for Patrick.
The thing about board game illustration is that if you are working closely with the game designers then some things that you've worked really hard on get axed. Play-testing reveals that a certain card doesn't work, or the production constraints restrict the number or tokens that can be printed affordably. It's better to have an overarching vision of what you want the game to look like than to be married to any particular aspect.
I was also very fortunate to have people relate to my Vast art. There are SO MANY new board games, and a huge spectrum of art styles. To help us stand out I tried to embrace a line-art heavy style a la Advanced Dungeon & Dragons monster manuals, but with a vibrant color palette. We wanted to keep Vast looking accessible and family-friendly, which meant keeping the goblins looking more mischievous than violent, and making sure the heroine protagonist was fully clothed. I get a lot of comments from the board game community about how appreciative they are about the sensible armor for the Knight.
Vast was when I first started going to game conventions too. That was a whole new world for me. I think if you would have asked me 10 years ago how many people there were in the US that were REALLY into board games I would have estimated less than a thousand, haha. I just had no idea! I've always loved board games but most of my experience was with Risk and Monopoly and whatever was in my grandma's closet. I'll never forget my first Gen Con on that Thursday morning when an older gentleman struggled a little to lift up the Vast box and asked "How much is this?" and I sheepishly answered $60, not wanting to break his heart. He said, "I'll take one" and his son rounded the corner with 2 enormous bags full to bursting with what must have been thousands of dollars of board games. On Thursday Morning. The first few minutes of the convention! I've fully embraced the board game lifestyle since then, and I have a modest little collection of games, mostly for playing with my wife, my siblings and my adult friends since my kids are all pretty little.
How has witnessing playtesting influenced the art you create? Is there anything you're more mindful of now?
It's fun to see people play test a board game while you're still working on the art for it because you get almost immediate feedback on what people are interested in. Especially with Vast, when the rules for each player are so different, players are choosing roles based on theme and aesthetic. Unless you have a pretty good understanding of how Vast: The Crystal Caverns Goblins work going in, you probably aren't going to say "Oh, I'll be the green guys because I like push your luck mechanics." You're a lot more likely to hear something like "Oh! I want to be this Dragon" because of the theme and the art. That's where I think it's important that you're doing the game designer's work justice. How a game works isn't always immediately clear, but you can say a lot about what the players will feel like by giving them at-a-glance information through visual communication.
What I've learned about the game-making process and how I work is that it's pretty crucial that I understand how the game plays on some level before I can illustrate it. I can save myself a lot of time with revisions if I understand the intent of the game designers. The tone is important. Accessibility is important. Card dimensions are important. It's all important.
Were you surprised by the communities reaction to the artwork on Vast?
Yes! I was also really pleased with what I had made with Patrick and David and the gang. It wasn't a case of "Oh wow this thing I did in my spare time is a hit" so much as "Thank goodness people like this so much, I put a bananas amount of effort into this as someone that has a day job and 3 kids" haha. When we sold out of everything we brought to that first Gen Con I was stunned. We had a few really positive reviews that were timed perfectly before the convention and it was pretty surreal to see our pile of games with my drawings on them disappear.
Did your experience creating Vast change your approach when it came to Root?
The biggest difference was time. When I was working on Vast it was at night after my kids went to bed, email back and forth, and then during the day I had to switch gears in a major way because I was working as a graphic designer for a fun run management company. After Leder Games hired me on full time I haven't had to switch gears as much and that's been an enormous boon for my workflow.
I had undiagnosed ADHD up until about the time I graduated high school when my parents and I got a diagnosis. Because of that time spent in school with a problem I didn't know I had, I have a lot of little weird coping mechanisms for trying to stay on-task, and it's gotten a lot better as I've gotten older, but if I can just "zone in," (or maybe it's better described as "zoning out,") I can get a lot more work done. Working full time on illustration has been an incredible blessing and it's what I would wish for anyone who can make it work. My wife, Meredith, works full-time nights, and we get health insurance through the hospital where she works. It's not always a perfect arrangement but it's a big improvement from the creative atmosphere I was in 2 or 3 years ago. It's a team effort and I'd be remiss not to factor in how much what my wife does makes what I do possible. Money is horrible and it would be nice if we could all make fun things and help people we are able to right now. We are very privileged, and we try to pay it forward where we're able.
Okay, ROOT! haha, sorry. Working with Cole Wehrle has been great, and part of the reason is because he cares about theme so much. With Root we wanted to make a war game that wasn't tied to any specific historical context, so because of that we had to make our own world rules. Leder Games has more titles in the works with anthropomorphic animals, and Patrick agreed that setting would be a good fit, so it was just a matter of establishing factions and roles that lend themselves well to the archetypes we wanted to include. I was STOKED to be a part of this process. I got to help establish the woodland creatures that we would include, and the cats being the ruling usurpers, and the raccoon vagabond, etc. It was a new approach to creating the theme for me because I got to be pretty heavily involved in the early shaping. Instead of trying to match a vision I had the opportunity to pitch ideas and sketches and I think that holistic way of making the game's style benefits the overall quality of the end product.
I adore the colors you use in your illustrations. Are your choices purely an aesthetic thing or are you trying to convey a theme or feeling also?
Thank you! I feel like I'm still trying to find my stride with color, it doesn't always come naturally to me. I took color theory courses in college and watercolor painting classes when I was a teenager, and I think those things inform a lot of my decisions when it comes to the values I work with even I'm coloring digitally. I like to see paper texture and I like to use heavy line art and hatching when I use ink, so that means that my values tend to be lighter so I don't lose that detail. I don't want to stick to those methods forever but that's been a go-to for me on a technical level.
As far as conveying a theme I think color is a wonderful way to do that, and that was my intent with the Root art. Most of the color pallet for the board art in Root is sampled from autumn foliage photography. I get inspired by fantasy settings and playing tabletop games in the fall as the weather changes. Those are powerful emotions for me and Root gave me a chance to create an autumn forest for people to relate to. I hope that comes across for other people the way it speaks to me.
I'm the kind of person who gets interested in a game for aesthetics first, so contrast and temperature and color composition are important from a first-glance perspective. Especially at conventions I try to think about table presence. I think it's just as important as being able to read the game state. Would you want to see what the game was? Would you move in closer to check out the details? I think color is the first thing that communicates that. It breaks my heart to see games that look interesting and otherwise well-made that have uninspired color schemes, so I'm trying to avoid that.
I will also say that I'm happy to see more people in the industry making an effort to have their board games be accessible to color-blind players and that balancing of what I want it to look like vs. what makes the best sense for a wider audience isn't always easy but always feels worthwhile.
What are you currently reading, listening to or looking at to fuel your work?
I am *currently* listening to Tame Impala's album "Currents" I can't imagine working at a desk without some kind of music subscription service. I come from two schools of thought about listening to music while drawing. I had some professors who swore by having the radio on constantly for productivity purposes and some professors who didn't want us wearing headphones because they believed it affecting what we were working on too much. I think I kind of believe both? haha. If I'm coloring or just doodling for fun I'll listen to all kinds of music. If I'm inking conceptual art for the first time or trying to nail down a composition I'll get more choosy. The Conan the Barbarian soundtrack is pretty consistent fuel source when I'm focusing on fantasy.
As far as the media I'm into right now, I watch a lot of HGTV and Food Network with Meredith when we have time just hang out together, I don't know if that's informing my drawing hand at all, haha. I can't wait for the weather to get a little warmer so I can spend more time outside with my family. That's my biggest source of inspiration.
Board game-wise I've been pretty into Rising Sun. I think I've played it 6 times already with a few different groups. It's a beautiful game with a surprising amount of depth.
Do you have any current projects underway, or coming up that you’d like (or are able) to tell us about?
Leder Games is just finishing preparations for Root to go production, and my focus is shifting to Vast: The Mysterious Manor. Vast: TMM will be a standalone sequel to The Crystal Caverns that adds even more to the variety if you have both games. You can play as a Paladin, a horde of Skeletons, a giant shape-shifting Spider, a sneaky Enchanter, or even as the haunted Manor itself. Watch for that to come to Kickstarter soon. Leder Games has a bunch of other great stuff in the pipeline that I probably shouldn't talk about yet. ;)
I also illustrated a little solo game for Golden Bell called "Die Trying" that's designed by David Somerville. It's a solo survival mountaineering about trying to climb a lethal mountainside. It sounds dire but it's actually very tongue-in-cheek and I think people will find it very cute. That's coming soon but I'm not sure about the timeline there.
Finally, if we’d like to see more of you and your work, where can we find you?
I'm always on twitter, it's a problem! My handle on Twitter and Instagram is @d20plusmodifier. If you follow me there you'll see works in progress, process stuff, and the occasional political rant. I also post what conventions I'll be attending if anyone wants to say hey in real life or hear me have a political rant in real life. I also have a little shop at kyleferrin.threadless.com if you'd like to check out shirts and whatnot. :)
(All images supplied by Kyle Ferrin, 2018)
Semi Co-op: Art Outside Boardgaming #1
At first I just started designing the characters that were going to be based on Heinze and me. I read ‘Understanding Comics’ and ‘Making Comics’ by Scott McCloud and just started drawing some. Three out of four were jokes about board games, so together with Heinze I decided to throw away the idea of a webcomic about geeky subjects in general and decided it would be better to focus on board games.
Time for a little something different. This week I’m joined today by Rachel Kremer and Heinze Havinga, creators of Semi Co-op, a weekly webcomic (mostly) about board games that’s also just passed it’s 150th comic.
Firstly, congratulations hitting that landmark number, that’s a serious achievement! How does it feel?
Rachel: Slightly unreal! Looking at some older comics it feels like I’ve made them only a few weeks ago, but it turns out it was over 6 months ago. Overall I’m really proud that Semi Co-op has made it so far and even more proud that we never skipped one week.
Heinze: I’ve just drawn one comic when Rachel was kidnapped for her bachelor party, but that took me almost two days. So I’m incredibly impressed Rachel is able to keep it up every week.
So for those not currently in the know, elevator pitch time, what is Semi Co-op?
Rachel: In short, Semi Co-op is a webcomic about board games! It’s about our own experiences with playing board games… only a tiny bit more exaggerated here and there.
Heinze: Also there are some couple jokes, but games are the most important thing.
Can you tell us a bit about yourselves outside of Semi Co-op?
Heinze: I teach subjects like big data and web technology at a university of applied science in the Netherlands, where I am also a researcher on the topic of smart cities. Next to that I’m writing my master thesis right now and will hopefully be done in June. When I’m not working I like redesigning chocolate bars, creating laser cut storage solutions for games and fooling around with synthesizers.
Rachel: I’m a freelance illustrator and animator. I enjoy working in a variety of styles and have a broad skill set. I’ve added some of my work to show in this article to give you an idea of what I do besides Semi Co-op. I’ve drawn storyboards, graphics for digital games, animation, birth and wedding cards and made animations for several companies. Ironically, I’ve never done any art for board games (besides a version Love Letter I designed for our wedding). It’s something that I would love to explore though.
You’ve said that you had no experience in creating comics before this, so where did the idea start and how long was it before you made that first panel?
Rachel: I wanted to improve on drawing cartoon characters, something I had little experience with. I decided I needed a project to really motivate myself and I had been playing with the idea of a webcomic. At first I just started designing the characters that were going to be based on Heinze and me. I read ‘Understanding Comics’ and ‘Making Comics’ by Scott McCloud and just started drawing some. Three out of four were jokes about board games, so together with Heinze I decided to throw away the idea of a webcomic about geeky subjects in general and decided it would be better to focus on board games. We wrote down about two pages of ideas for comics and I drew six of them and showed to them to friends to see if they liked them and asked for feedback. I think I started working on the first comics in January and launched Semi Co-op on April 11th 2015.
How do you usually come up with your ideas? Where does the inspiration come from?
Rachel: Playing games!
Heinze: Also board gaming content on the internet. We are always checking Twitter, Instagram and the board gaming Reddit. We also watch videos and podcasts, although we don’t have enough time to check all the amazing things people are producing on that front today.
What are your favorite panels of the comic so far? Why is that?
Rachel: I love the comics that really go into a game. Like the second panel in ‘Show & Tell’ and the third in ‘Can’t touch this’ (above) or comics that take on the art style of a game like ‘Small World Favorites’. I love that such comics are little more challenging to make and require me to study the art of games. But they are more time consuming to make so it’s not something I can do too often.
Heinze: Dialog-wise: I really like the last panel of our comic about iconography in games (below), art-wise I really like the sneaking Hobbit in front of the dragon.
Is there a board game you’d love to create a comic about but haven’t been able to yet?
Heinze: Biblios, it’s such a good game, but we haven’t found the right joke for it, you can send suggestions to: ihaveabibliosjoke@semicoop.com.
Rachel: I agree with Biblios! And I just noticed we’ve never made a comic about Love Letter, that also seems like something we should definitely consider.
Do you have any goals in mind with the future of Semi Co-op?
Rachel: Certainly! We’re momentarily working on a new website that will be launched this March. We’ve been looking into ways of (partly) monetizing Semi Co-op that we would like to present to the world this year. We’ve got some solid ideas that I’m really excited about but I can’t mention them just yet.
Heinze: I would love to make more animations. The way we do the videos now can be done without Rachel having to draw anything, just doing the voice-over for her parts. But I would need to free up some time to be able to deliver on schedule, plus Rachel would need to expand on our current animation rigs which is a big one-time investment.
Do you have a favorite board game at the moment?
Rachel: Ohh, this is a terribly difficult question and I don’t know if I have only one favorite. I always look forward to playing Pandemic Legacy Season 2, Near and Far, Mysterium and Arkham Horror the Card Game.
Heinze: I really enjoy those games as well, right now we’re really into the story heavy campaign games.
What are you currently watching, reading or listening to at the moment that you’d like to share?
Rachel: I recently started watching Critical Role, I really enjoy listening to it while drawing. We’re currently also watching Star Trek Discovery, Elementary and The Good Place together. I also have a weakness for series like Downton Abbey, Mr. Selfridge and Gilmore Girls (I just really enjoy the dialog!).
Heinze: I listen/watch a ton of what John and Hank Green content like Vlogbrothers and Dear Hank and John, I like their shameless passion for things whether they are silly, like a small English football club, or important, like the decreasing the amount of world suck. They show that being playful and intelligent cannot only work but be entertaining as well. I’m also really impressed with the work of Nicky Case, who is trying to educate people about topic ranging from society to his own feelings using games, infographics, playable blogpost and all manner of super interesting hybrid media forms. I always wanted to see storytellers that choose/create the medium that fits their story best and I think he is doing remarkable things. Also his Newgrounds inspired flash art style is almost nostalgic to me.
Finally, what’s coming up for Semi Co-op this year that you are willing to share with us?
Heinze: We are going to UKGE, which is going to be great, because we’ll meet a ton of people we’ve been talking to online for years.
Rachel: Also look out for our three-year anniversary on April 11th, where we will have some exciting things that will help us reach more people and have more fun with the community!
To see more then go can check out the webcomic on the Semi Co-op website!
Steven Preston: Art in Board Games #30
When I first started on Skyward I made an inspiration folder on my hard drive and kept filling it up with artwork I found [..] As I'd never really drawn any isometric art before, I didn’t know how long it would take or what style to do it in [..] I started looking at more pieces still in an isometric style but with a lot more detail, like something out of an RPG.
This week I'm joined by Steven Preston an artist and art director who recently worked on Skyward: The Airborne City (which was voted into the Top 10 Best Board Game Art of 2017) with Rule and Make.
Hello Steven, thanks for taking the time to speak to us. Firstly, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Sure! Well, I currently live in Brisbane Australia and I love comic books, watching Japanese animation like One Piece and I also tend to waste a lot of time playing video games when I should be working on other things. I’ve studied a lot and have a diploma in graphic design and a bachelor’s degree in interactive and visual design.
Now we know a little more about you, I have to ask, as a child what did you want to be when you grew up?
When I was young I was always drawing a lot. Art was one of my favourite subjects in school, but as I got older I wondered if there was a career to be found in being an artist. So I tried some different things; like labourer, kitchen hand and other jobs which I was never really happy with. It wasn’t until I discovered comics that I realised there was a job you could have as an artist, which brought me back to wanting to be one again. I started working on becoming a comic artist, which eventually led to me studying graphic design and being an illustrator.
So how did you first get involved in making board games?
The very first board game I worked on was Robots & Rockets from Rule & Make. I got involved in that by chance really. I’m friends with the game's designer Sye Robertson and I remember they were posting a lot of work in progress (designs of the game) on their Facebook page. Sye was doing all the art and design for the game at the time, so I wasn’t involved at this stage and I remember there wasn’t even a budget at the time for the art, which is why he was doing everything himself. He approached me about creating some art for the game and originally just wanted a single robot done, but as he was happy with what I did it lead to me creating all the artwork.
An interesting part of the design was the need for a variety of head shapes in the robots so they were easily recognisable. Each one shown is busy at a different task, so they’re not all doing the same action. You can also see how the back robot changed from my initial sketch to the final drawing. I made the perspective a lot more prominent in the final just by changing the head angle. One thing Sye wanted with the cards was for the robots not be gendered. So for the card above originally, I was going to do a hat similar to a female air hostess, but that was later removed in the final illustration. The development of that game between myself and Sye was really great and it changed the way the game was originally going to be published. I think it was a real case of being in the right place at the right time.
When you are working on the art of a board game can you give us a quick overview of your creative or thought process and has this changed at all since you first started?
When I first started on Robots & Rockets there was no set template for the design of the cards. I had to design something that was really flexible and what I came up with was the idea of torso type shots and characters with no backgrounds. Another trick was to have a circle in the background and use the circle as a guide for keeping the art centralized.
Now I try and have the template design for the cards done fairly early in the art process, if possible, so I have an idea how much of the art will be covered up by the design. Of course, this template design can evolve as more art is produced and you can see if the design works on multiple cards with different art. As far as my thought process goes with the art itself, I tend to get my ideas fairly quickly just from the name of the cards and what the cards do. I then whip up a bunch of sketches and see if I’m on the right track with what I have in my mind.
You were involved in the creation of Skyward, so could you tell us a little bit about what that involved and what were the biggest challenges you faced?
My original role on the project was to create all the illustration work for the game, but as the game progressed it became evident that if we were going to make the deadline of having all the artwork completed before Kickstarter launch I would need help. This deadline was a big challenge for me since the art style we'd originally planned for Skyward was fairly time intensive. It would have been a struggle to do all the artwork myself as originally planned so the decision was made to bring in more artists to lighten my load and to change the art direction of the project which would also speed up the process.
The Skyward cover art was developed from concept to finished piece as a collaborative process. The original sketch and base lines – Steven Preston. Characters – Ellie Jang. Colours – Neil Martin. Final touches – Steven Preston.
My role in the project also changed to Art Director, so I was overseeing the art as well as paint overs and making changes. Even though I felt kind of bad at no longer being the sole artist on the project, I really enjoyed working with other artists, making suggestions which improved the art and hopefully helped them grow as artists as well. I know for myself that Skyward would look very different today if I was the only artist on it.
What was the inspiration or core idea that drove your work on Skyward?
When I first started on Skyward I made an inspiration folder on my hard drive and kept filling it up with artwork I found which I thought was cool to use. Originally it was mostly isometric art from video games, since that was the style it was going to be. As I'd never really drawn any isometric art before, I didn’t know how long it would take or what style to do it in. I did some test pieces in different styles to see what worked.
These didn’t really work, so I started looking at more pieces still in an isometric style but with a lot more detail, like something out of an RPG. It wasn’t until I saw a piece by Alex Shatohin that I found the inspiration for the art style of Skyward. I could imagine this small fortress separated from the ground, floating in the sky and people being part of this world which gave it that RPG element that I liked.
I would have loved to have done all of the Skyward cards like this, but we found that it was just taking too long and had to find a different style that was faster to complete. I was then inspired by a piece of art by Sergi Brosa which was closer in perspective while still having that feeling of being in the clouds. The use of depth of field in the piece was also something that we used in a lot of Skyward art as well.
Clock Tower art from Skyward was my first piece for Skyward which ended up in the final version, so this became the template for the style of art used for the rest of the game. You can see the use of depth of field with the buildings in the background.
Once we settled on the art style for the game the next challenge was coming up with the graphic design elements of the card. Originally the plan was to have a ribbon type graphic on them which had some texture to it which I had created. But an issue we found was it was hard to work some of the game elements into that design, for example, the launch costs of the cards. It was also taking up a lot of room which took away a lot of the art. It wasn’t really until most of the card art was finished that Allen Chang came up with the design we have for the cards now, which is more modern with some interesting elements like a vertical strip that changes colours depending on the card faction.
What are you currently reading, listening to or looking at to fuel your work?
I can’t work without music so I’m listening to a lot of EDM when I’m working. Like I said in my intro, I play a lot of video games, so I’m always looking at game art for inspiration especially people like Blizzard. I don’t read much in terms of novels, but I do love reading a lot of webcomics. I especially love reading Stand Still, Stay Silent and Awaken.
What advice would you give to anyone wanting to work in the board game industry?
This is a hard question for me to answer because I kind of fell into working in the game industry from my networking really. But I will say that when Allen Chang from Rule & Make was looking for artists to help me out on Skyward he had a few contacts from people he’s met at conventions. So I say networking at conventions is important. Also using places like Artstation or Deviantart is good since I was also using those sites to look for local artists to help out.
Skyward character designs by Steven Preson. These characters were later redrawn for the game by artist Dmitriy Logunkov.
Do you have any current projects underway, or coming up that you’d like (or are able) to tell us about?
At the moment I’m not involved in any projects, but I’ve been talking with Rule & Make about something which I can’t say at the moment.
Finally, if we’d like to see more of you and your work, where can we find you?
Sure, if you want to see more of my work my main portfolio site is http://designinfusion.com/ but I also have a DeviantArt page which tends to have a lot more work on there, such as sketches.
(All images supplied by Steven Preston, 2018)
Donning the Purple: The Art in Kickstarter #1
I wanted an old and detailed styled map. So I contacted Daniel Hasenbos who is a cartographer [..] and by intense research [..] added historically correct buildings and monuments throughout the Roman empire.
Joeri Lefevre provides the all the card art and the amazing box art. I wanted his art pieces to be classical and to depict different situations in the daily life of Roman people [..]
Welcome to a new feature focusing on Kickstarter games. As I often talk to game designers and artists involved in Kickstarter projects it seemed only right that I give this some more attention on my site.
For this first article I'm happy to be joined by Petter Schanke Olsen, of Tompet Games.
Hello Petter, and thanks for taking the time to speak to us. Firstly, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
I live in Norway and I’m a movie producer by day and a board game designer by night. I launched my first game on Kickstarter in 2016 and that was a light war game called ‘Kill the King’. Now, I'm Kickstarting my second game which is called ‘Donning the Purple’.
I also run a blog where I interview other board game creators about the different tactics they use on Kickstarter.
I have played board games all my life but kind of rediscovered them again when I played games like Dominion and Agricola 3 or so years ago. Now I tend to play medium to heavy strategy games. The longer the better!
So, can you describe your Kickstarter game to us and what makes it interesting?
Donning the Purple is an asymmetrical king of the hill game with a bit of worker placement. Each player leads a powerful family in ancient Rome, trying to get the most victory points during 4 rounds. If your family member becomes the emperor and manages to hold the position he can earn lots of points. However, he will also become the target of the other players, as they will try to dethrone him and become the new emperor themselves.
How long have you been working on this game? What made you launch the campaign now?
I have worked on the game for 1.5 years. It is now finally complete and we have come to a place where we want to be in regards to the marketing so this seems to be a good time to launch. February is also a good month to launch in general.
Why Kickstarter?
We have paid for the art and prototypes ourselves but we need your help to get the funds to print the game. We chose Kickstarter as our crowdfunding platform because that is where the board gamers are.
What was the inspiration or core idea that drove your work on the art?
I have two different art styles in the game:
For the game board, I wanted an old and detailed styled map. So I contacted Daniel Hasenbos who is a cartographer and we worked out a style for the map and it has now become the main attraction of Donning the Purple. Daniel carefully illustrated every palm tree, monument, and coastline. He has a great eye for detail and by intense research has added historically correct buildings and monuments throughout the Roman empire.
Joeri Lefevre provides the other art style in the game. He has made all the card art and the amazing box art. I wanted his art pieces to be classical and to depict different situations in the daily life of Roman people and I think he has done an awesome job. I gave Joeri this sketch when I was telling him how I wanted the box art to look and this is what he turned it into.
Could you tell us about the biggest challenges you’ve faced in creating the art for this game and how you’ve overcome them?
I'm going to let my artists answer this:
Daniel Hasenbos:
"My job was to design the map for Donning the Purple. The map needed to show the Roman Empire at its height, covering most of Europe and the lands around the Mediterranean.
With this came the first challenge. The map needed to give an impression of the geography of the land, but at the same time, it shouldn't distract the players from the game itself. I decided to go for a muted color palette, as not to take attention away from all the other elements of the map, and of course the game.
The map also needed to capture the feel of the Roman Era, while keeping all elements of the map clear, and visible. Throughout the map, I made sure to hide famous features and structures of that time. In addition to that, each capital city is drawn in a style that identifies that area's architecture. This was a great way to show different architectural influences around the Roman Empire.
The result is an elegant map of the Roman Empire, with many hidden details for players to explore. These details, together with the overall feel of the map help people immerse themselves in Donning the Purple!"
Joeri Lefevre:
"One of the interesting aspects of the project is that it’s based in history. How did the people dress at that time? What did the environment look like? I tried to find the answer to these questions in archaeological finds, other artists interpretations of that time, and photos of real-life re-enactors. That’s the formal stuff, but the real challenge is balancing this historical background, with the requirements of the board game and my own artistic interest.
A goal of the image is the story it needs to tell when playing the game. How do I show the player who they are and who the enemy is? Poses, expressions and the colors of garments help to tell the story. To create this, I looked at good reference photos or when needed, shot my own.
Artistically, I aimed to give the box art a hint of a neoclassical painting. With this aesthetic, I hope to introduce the viewer to the historical setting of the game. In the cards, I take a more direct perspective if the concept allows it. To do everything in a manageable timeframe I chose an impressionistic loose way of painting. In the end, it’s an interesting mix of challenges that come together in the images I make."
Do you have any stretch goals involving the artwork? If so how will you manage them?
Yes if we are so lucky and reach some of our stretch goals there will be more art! But I can't say more than that at the moment
What advice would you give to anyone looking to launch a Kickstarter game?
Make sure you bring a crowd with you to Kickstarter. Do not rely on Kickstarter providing the backers you need and also read these blogs! Kickstarterlessons.com & Jamesmathe.com
Finally, if we’d like to see more of you and your work, where can we find you?
You can check out the Kickstarter for Donning the Purple over here and the links for Joeri (www.joerilefevre.com) and Daniel (www.danielsmaps.com)
(All images supplied by Tompet Games, 2018)
Jacqui Davis: Art in Board Games #29
When I started out I tried to do everything for fear of upsetting people, and I still catch myself falling into that mindset every now and then. But I think it’s better to be upfront with clients at the start about deadlines, or whatever the issue may be, rather than dropping nasty surprises on them later..
This week we have Jacqui Davis an artist who has worked with on games such as Ex Libris, Euphoria, Manhattan, Purrlock Holmes and Skyway Robbery and with companies such as Stonemaier Games, Dice Hate Me Games, IDW Games, and Game Salute
Hello Jacqui, thanks for taking the time to speak to us. Firstly, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Hi! I’m a board game artist and kid’s book illustrator currently living in Lytham St Annes, a little town in north-west England. I really love it because one of my favourite things to do besides drawing is to go on walks and when the weather allows, this is England after all, there’s plenty of places to go to unwind.
Now we know a little more about you, I have to ask, as a child what did you want to be when you grew up?
It might sound cliché but I always wanted to be an artist ever since I realised that could be a way to make a living. There was a brief period where I considered becoming a scientist so I could invent either a morphing cube (thanks Animoprhs) or a stargate, but that didn’t pan out.
So how did you first get involved in making board games?
Originally I had studied to be an animator but I discovered you need a certain sense of timing that I don’t possess. I also can’t dance, much to my ballet dancer mother’s disappointment!
I got involved in board games after I graduated university. During my studies I followed a few artists who worked in board games, and a good friend Katy Grierson already worked in the industry so I learned a lot from her. The first two clients I had that really got me into the industry where Jamey Stegmaier of Stonemaier Games and Dann May at Game Salute, I really owe them a lot of thanks.
When you are working on the art of a board game can you give us a quick overview of your creative or thought process and has this changed at all since you first started?
I work almost entirely digitally in Photoshop on my trusty Cintiq. Typically my process goes; sketch – colour rough – final, with changes done in-between as I get feedback from my clients. I find the sketching stage the hardest because often if a brief is really exciting I’ll have a finished image in my head and I just want to skip to that and ignore all the boring bits.
Sometimes we nail a design on the first round of sketching, but on others, things get changed along the way. If the brief asks for something specific I’ll always do research while I sketch and I often end up with files filed of references after a project.
You were involved in the creation of upcoming game Neverland Rescue, so could you tell us a little bit about what that involved and what were the biggest challenges you faced?
I think the biggest challenge I had with this game was that we didn’t want to reference Disney’s version of Neverland. You’d think this would be easy, but for me at least that’s where I go when I think of Peter (Pan) so to break that mental image was a bit tough. It was hard not to do a foppish Hook or an impish Peter.
Though the temptation was there I didn't watch or look at images of the Disney versions of the characters. Some things still snuck in, Peter's a redhead, though we tried black hair and decided it didn't work. I went back and looked at the original book illustrations and stills from several stage productions to get ideas since Peter Pan has been a stage tradition for years.
What was the inspiration or core idea that drove your work on Neverland Rescue?
In the case of Neverland Rescue, this one’s pretty easy; we wanted to stick close to J.M Barrie’s version of Peter. Dan Letiman was really great with providing descriptions and images from his copy of the book before I started sketching. He and the team also caught me out when I was leaning too close to Disney and away from Barrie. We got rid of Michael Darling's (Wendy's brother) top hat since that was a Disney invention.
There were a couple of things other things about Barrie's version I didn't know about prior to the game. First of all is the existence of Gentleman Starkey, a member of Hook's crew who has impeccable manners and is 'dainty in his way of killing' (and my new favourite character). The second was that apparently, Tink is 'embonpoint', something I had to look up, which means plump. Also, that mauve faires are boys, white are girls, and 'blue are sillies who don't know what they are'; Tink seemed to me to be a silly.
What are you currently reading, listening to or looking at to fuel your work?
What I listen to doesn’t always come through in my work. I enjoy having Netflix or an audiobook on in the background because it tends to keep me in my seat more than music. Currently, I’m working my way through Hell on Wheels, listening to the Silk Roads: A New History of the World and reading the King’s Curse. Anything about history has my interest and often this finds it’s way more inter my personal art than my professional work.
What advice would you give to anyone wanting to work in the board game industry?
I think my advice would be to make good contacts and be honest about what you can and can’t do. When I started out I tried to do everything for fear of upsetting people, and I still catch myself falling into that mindset every now and then. But I think it’s better to be upfront with clients at the start about deadlines, or whatever the issue may be, rather than dropping nasty surprises on them later in the day.
Do you have any current projects underway, or coming up that you’d like (or are able) to tell us about?
Well, I’m currently working on Neverland Rescue with Letiman Games that I’ve spoken about above that I’m pretty excited about. I’ve also recently done a game with FoxMind Games that will be previewing at Nuremberg Toy Fair that I think will be a lot of fun for kids and adults. It also involves pirates, the last month or so has been pretty fun with all the swashbuckling going on in the office.
Finally, if we’d like to see more of you and your work, where can we find you?
I tend to be most active on Twitter and Instagram, my handle is @logicfairy.
My portfolio is over at jacquidavis.com.
(All images provided by Jacqui Davis, 2018).