Ross Connell 13/11/2019 Ross Connell 13/11/2019

Sara Winters: Art in Board Games #56

In 2012 I made my first fantasy illustration portfolio and brought it to an artist convention in Kansas City called Spectrum. I showed it to as many artists and art directors as possible. Even though I knew that I wasn’t ready, I made this portfolio as…

Editors Note: If you’ve played Magic: The Gathering or The Lord of the Rings TCG you’ll likely have seen her work. Sara Winters came to my attention as I looked closer into the world of collectible card games and the artists who work within it. Her incredible ability to capture the energy and presence of the figures she illustrated drew me in and I’m so happy she took some time to talk through her work with me.

If you’ve got any favorite Magic: The Gathering artwork let me know in the comments below! Enjoy the interview.

Hi Sara, 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 am a freelance artist working in the gaming industry and specialize in character design and illustration. Although I was born and raised in New Jersey, I currently live in the Seattle, WA area. I am 30 years old. My husband Mark Winters is also an artist and former art director for Wizards of the Coast. We have five chihuahuas and our first child turned one recently!

I love being part of the artist community and used to run figure drawing nights and industry lectures in Seattle. I’m planning to do more of that in the future.

Sara Winters - Pisces - Llewellyn's 2019 Astrological Calendar

The freelance illustration industry is tough to break into, so how did you get started?

I attended the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City from 2006 to 2010 and received a bachelor’s degree in illustration. In college, I wasn’t really sure what type of illustration would be a good fit for me professionally, but I knew that I loved designing clothing and painting expressive characters. As a child I used to play a lot of video games with my father and brother. Some of my favorites were Tomb Raider, Diablo, Starcraft and Warcraft. I loved copying drawings from the World of Warcraft handbook and Tomb Raider comics. At some point, I started designing my own characters. I’m actually a bit bummed that I missed out on playing Dungeons and Dragons and Magic The Gathering as a kid. I know I would have loved it!

Sara Winters - Loyal Sentry - MTG: Masters 25 - © Wizards Of The Coast

After college, I started to get more serious about becoming a professional artist. Throughout high school and college, I worked in various retail, bartending, and waitressing jobs. In 2012 I made my first fantasy illustration portfolio and brought it to an artist convention in Kansas City called Spectrum. I showed it to as many artists and art directors as possible. Even though I knew that I wasn’t ready, I made this portfolio as a starting point. After the convention, I made a whole new portfolio with all of the precious feedback in mind. A few months later, I brought it to a convention in Pennsylvania called Illuxcon. I had reviews with art directors from Wizards of The Coast, Paizo Publishing and Fantasy Flight Games. That next year I would start working with all of these companies on various projects.

Sara Winters - Ravager - The Lord Of The Rings TCG - Fantasy Flight Games

The first art director that reached out was Zoe Robison from Fantasy Flight Games. She gave me my first shot and I can’t thank her enough! My first assignment was for a Lord of The Rings Card game. As a child, I probably read The Lord of The Rings Trilogy over ten times and used to copy all of the maps in the books. I was so excited to work for a brand that I understood and cared about.

The first year of working for games companies was off and on. I was also housecleaning and nannying on the side. Whatever it took to make enough money to be able to pursue becoming a professional artist! By 2014 I was completely full time with my art.

Sara Winters - Tolarian Scholar - ©Wizards Of The Coast

Getting that first shot is a huge step but a challenging one too. What do you think you learned from it?

I feel that I did well with that first assignment by executing the art description and making the deadline. I definitely had an unnecessary amount of stress involved though. I am an over-thinker by nature. Looking back now, I would have approached the work with a healthier mindset. This assignment was very useful in helping me analyze the deficiencies in my process. I learned a ton from the experience.

Sara Winters - Kari Zev and Ragavan - Magic The Gathering: Aether Revolt - © Wizards Of The Coast

From both a personal and professional perspective, how important is it for artists to seek out each other in the community?

Being part of a community is a crucial part of being an artist. For one, you can get meaningful critique of your work from your colleagues. They can help you see something in your work that you cannot. It’s also incredibly inspirational to see what people are working on. I was lucky that I grew up near New York City. There is an incredible community out there.

Sara Winters - Desert's Hold - Magic The gathering: Hour Of Devastation - © Wizards of The Coast

There are also a ton of online resources for aspiring artists that don’t live near a big city. I really enjoy Artstation, which is an artist community website. It’s an easy way to show off your portfolio. Artstation also has a ton of helpful resources such as job postings, articles, etc. There are also magazines such as Firestarter and ImagineFX that have a lot of info for artists both aspiring and professional. I also recommend going to conventions if possible. Ones that helped out my career are Spectrum, Illuxcon, and Gencon. There are also a ton internationally such as Trojan Horse Was a Unicorn, Industry workshops, etc.

Sara Winters - Daenerys - Game Of Thrones TCG - Fantasy Flight Games

Bringing the focus back to your art, what’s your process when working?

Nowadays, I have a pretty set process. It can change based on the assignment, but I generally compartmentalize. I start with research and thumbnailing. I will occasionally create concept art in this stage too if necessary. During this stage I want to identify the win conditions for the assignment: "What does the client need to make a successful product?" and “how do I make this assignment as enjoyable as possible for me?”. The latter question is much more simple for me. I typically won’t take an assignment that doesn’t fit me as an artist. It’s pretty rare for me to receive an assignment that doesn’t fit at all. I really enjoy the problem-solving aspect of an assignment.

Sara Winters - Cancer - Llewellyn's 2019 Astrological Calendar

The second part of the process is the sketch phase. I essentially detail the thumbnail that I picked and send that to a client. Once the sketch is approved then I will compile reference. I always do a photo shoot with models. I never find a pose online to go from. One, this is typically copyright infringement. Even if you purchase a stock photo legally, you are letting the photo dictate what you draw. I like to have complete control over lighting, pose and costuming. Reference should help to elevate the work, not be a crutch.

Once I am ready for final, I have little to nothing to figure out in the piece. All of the planning is done and I can focus on painting only.

Sara Winters - Thought Collapse - MTG: Ravnica Allegiance - ©Wizards Of The Coast

After 5 years as a freelance illustrator, do you have any advice for those looking to go down the same road?

I think it’s important to always consider yourself a student and always keep improving. You never want to plateau. It’s important to keep the energy going. I also believe that there are other things in life other than art. When I take time for family, friends and hobbies, I am refreshed and I feel like when I do paint, my work is better for it. Burnout isn’t just tough on you physically and mentally, but I believe the work suffers for it.

Sara Winters - Taurus - Llewellyn's 2019 Astrological Calendar

With creative fields, it can sometimes be forgotten that the paid work you do is still exactly that, work. What brings you enjoyment in the jobs you’ve had and how do you look to keep yourself motivated and inspired?

I really like to diversify the type of projects that I take. This prevents me from getting bored and burnt out. As an example, a perfect work week; I would maybe work on an illustration one day, concept art another, have a meeting with a client, then do some oil painting for myself. I’m very extroverted and don’t really enjoy being in my studio all day. I would also have plenty of time to relax and spend time with family and friends. I really feel like taking breaks fuels me to be a better artist and get excited about what I’m working on. I also think having other hobbies helps with idea-generating. For example, I love fashion. This really helps inspire my costume designs for my characters.

Sara Winters - Sanguine Glorifier - MTG: Rivals Of Ixalan - © Wizards Of The Coast

Let’s talk a minute about your use of models for artwork. Where do you start and how do you draw inspiration in terms of the poses and positioning?

It’s really important to take great references. Especially as a character artist. It will always improve your anatomy, posing, expressions, etc. I always try and take as exact reference as I can in order to make the most believable image possible. It’s easiest for me to hire models and put them in the exact costume. I always thumbnail/ sketch out the illustration first to figure out the pose, costume, lighting etc. I use this as a map for my painting and photograph the reference exactly how I want it. Hiring my own models gives me complete control over the painting. I hire models through friends, finding cosplayers at conventions, or use websites like Model Mayhem. Sometimes I model myself or have friends pose. It really depends on the needs of the project. Over the years I’ve developed a model list and have a great working relationship with some incredible local models.

Lighting can give characters a sense of presence and help bring them to life. Are there any key concepts you focus on when applying it to your imagery?

Lighting for me is all about mood for a piece. It can be a great tool for storytelling. Also, some illustrations call for a particular setting. I have a ton of lights I can use to create the exact setting I want in my photoshoot.

Sara Winters - Wizard - MTG: War of The Spark - © Wizards Of The Coast

This is probably a tough one to answer (personally I'm terrible at choosing favorites) but do you have any particular pieces of work that you're especially proud of?

I think my favorite piece that was released so far is my Wizard Token for MTG: War of The Spark. I had something in mind and felt that I achieved it. I also have my first oil painting in the newly announced MTG: Throne of Eldraine set.

What are some non-game related creations (books, music, movies, etc) that you’re currently enjoying?

It sure is hard reading or watching shows with a new baby, but lately, I finished the Chernobyl series on HBO. While it was at times heartbreaking to watch, the cinematography and performances were breathtaking.

Sara Winters - Honored Crop-Captain - Magic The gathering: Amonkhet - © Wizards of The Coast

Do you have any current projects underway, or coming up that you’d like (or are able) to tell us about?

I’m planning on doing some fine art for myself focusing on oil-painted portraits. I’m really looking forward to doing work without a purpose other than expressing what’s in my head.

Finally, if we’d like to see more of you and your work, where can we find you?

You can follow me and my work on my website, Twitter and my ArtStation.

All images provided by Sara Winters.

If you’re new to the site, why not stick around a while? There are interviews with some of the best artists in the industry and if you’d like to read more you can them by heading over to the Interview Archive!

Ross Connell 03/11/2019 Ross Connell 03/11/2019

Anne Heidsieck: Art in Board Games #55

I wanted to make a joke about the omnipresent sexism of the 50s era by reversing the roles on the cover. At first, I imagined a woman in a suit near a sold sign in front of a nice house, giving the key to her nice husband with the kids in his arms. I wanted it to be so we could imagine her saying to her husband "see what I bought for you and the kids darling"..

Editors note: Today I’m joined by the Anne Heidsieck, whose work caught my eye via 2018s release Welcome to. Roll and Write games (or flip and fill in this case) aren’t always well known for their gorgeous art, but what struck me about this game was how fully realised its theme was, from the player board itself to the accompanying art. I decided I needed to know more about that game, and the artist, so I got in touch. I hope you enjoy our conversation and if you have any questions, feel free to post them below.

Anne Heidsieck - When I Dream board game card art

Hi Anne, 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?

Hi Ross, and thank you very much for writing about the art in board games! I'm a 27 years old illustrator, working since 2012 after my studies in Nantes. Currently, I live in France and more precisely in Lorraine. When I'm not working, not often enough, according to my dog, I like hiking in the mountains and the snow (as much as possible!), reading, playing games of course, and devouring lots of series!

I have worked on several games from Blue Cocker (Welcome To, Argh and Meeple War), on Majesty and Carcassonne Safari of HIG, on some cards for When I Dream of Repos Production and on a game of Haba, Frido's Treasure Trove.

Anne Heidsieck - Frido’s Treasure Trove board game art

So how did you first get involved in making board games?

Soon after finishing my art studies I wanted to make the artwork for games. My sister and brother made a game themselves for our family when I was a kid and maybe that inspired me! So, with my partner, we created a game. We invented the rules, I carried out the illustrations and then we met several editors to present our project. It was quite a failure and the game is somewhere in a box in the cellar now, but it allowed me to meet people who were so nice and gave me the advice that really convinced me to keep trying, but only on the side of the illustrations this time.

Anne Heidsieck - Card Artwork - Frido’s Treasure Trove

I sent emails to many editors and, one day, Alain Balay from BlueCocker answered me. He was looking for an illustrator for his new game, Meeple war! That's how I found my first work on board game designs.

I haven't had the opportunity to work on a lot of things other than games but, from what I’ve seen, the work is really different in-game illustration and book illustration, for example. I think that game design requires even more organization. It can seem too strict because we have a lot of "rules" to respect, for the ergonomy of the game, but it's rather reassuring to me because we don't begin the work with a blank page.

Anne Heidsieck - Save the Meeples cover art

When beginning to work on any new project what are the first few things that you do?

I always begin by researching a looooot of pictures, on Pinterest mostly and also in my art books. I need to figure out the idea of the mood of the game, the color atmosphere, the style, etc. Even if I don't use them later during my work, they help me to find the first ideas. I make some first sketches after that, to be sure that we agree with the editor. When the work begins for real (and after I print a plan and fix it on my wall!), I start working precisely on each illustration. First with a sketch, a definitive drawing, a color rough and finally the definitive coloring, asking the editor for confirmation between each step.

Anne Heidsieck - Meeple War drawing construction

What do you remember about your first board game project Meeple War, and how did you prepare yourself for the job?

As I had already worked on a full project for a game (even if it was personal, it was really formative), I wasn't very surprised by the necessary rigor of work when I started to illustrate Meeple War. The first thing I did was to organize a very strict plan, that I totally exceeded of course. Today when I do planning, I schedule much more time than I estimated at first, to avoid being under too much pressure. I continue to exceed my time limit, but less ;)

What were the most challenging parts of the job?

The newest thing for me was the technique: it was my first project entirely digital, and I have to say that this new way of working wasn't really appreciated by my eyes and my back! The biggest challenge and stress I had were for the cover I think. We kept it for the end, when the art was well fixed on the game elements to be sure to have consistency. I looked into a lot of covers for games and put myself under more and more pressure. Finally, when we validated a rough design with the editor, the final realization was quicker than I thought.

Anne Heidsieck - Meeple War game tile illustration

Other challenges were the setting-up of the punchboard and the cover with the marges, bleeds, cut lines etc, as this was also new for me. I understood nothing at first and hated that. I had to make a lot of searches on forums to know what I had to do. Now I do all the setting-up for Blue Cocker and maybe even like it (sometimes), knowing the characteristics needed for the publisher later, which allows me to gain some time on the art. Moreover, it's rewarding to follow the project from the beginning to its very end. It allows too, amongst others, to check the colors of the first print (which are always very different than on the screen) and to adjust until the production all that must be modified.

I made a big mistake with ‘Meeple War’ when I drew the illustrations for the tiles. I had totally forgotten the bleeds! I had to add on to each file the margins for printing later and remake the forests. I don’t think I’ll ever forget bleeds after that!

You worked on 'When I Dream' a card game with wonderfully creative artwork. How freeing was it to work on a game with this kind of concept and what were some of the words you created the art around?

[Editor: When I Dream is a guessing game and without focusing too much on the rules I’ll just tell you about the cards that make it up. Each card features two words, one at the top and one at the bottom. Each card illustration represents these two words and can be rotated 180 degrees to focus on either one].

The art brief was wonderful because the artists were so free. We had a list of several words and had to combine them 2 by 2 however we wanted. After that, the only directive was to make a surreal illustration that showed both of these words. We could include other objects and ideas, but they had to be less important in the picture than the 2 chosen words.

The artists involved didn't have to work in a similar style, the common theme was the surrealism for the dreams. I wish I could seize this opportunity to reuse my paintings and brushes, which I miss very much! But traditional painting takes me more time than digital and sadly I couldn’t find the time to make it work.

I had some words on my list that I immediately wanted to illustrate. Words like "snow", "vulture", "tunnel", "bear" and I imagined different situations with the others words in order to make, if possible, poetic pictures, and sometimes nightmarish ones. When the project got down to only words that didn't inspire me, I asked for another list of words. I didn't understand at all that we had to deplete most words from our first list before asking for new words but the artistic director still gave me new words, so I was very lucky to have a lot of choices to make my pairs.

Some pictures refer to books, movies, or universes that I love, and I also often listen to audiobooks when I work, so maybe that influences and inspires me in some ways. The most perfect design brief I ever had was on the goodies card of this game, because I just had to do whatever I wanted with as many elements as I wanted! There are two blanks for writing the words, suggested by the card that the player wants to use.

2018 saw the release of the roll and write game 'Welcome To...' which has been a huge success. The game has a strong 50s vibe to the artwork, so how did that develop and was this look part of the original brief?

Alain Balaÿ already knew that he wanted the theme "urbanization during the 50s". The graphic style that he wanted was very much in the mindset of American ads from that era. Most of the work was spent on research: ads, maps, real estate documents, aerial views, logos, style, colors... I even listened to 50's rock and roll music and watched a few movies from this period to be completely in the mood! Even with a lot of research, I still think it could have been even more "50s" in my designs. But sadly it's always so different in my head than the end result I manage to create by my illustrations.

Anne Heidsieck - Welcome To - Art style research examples

I spent a lot of time researching the "perfect traditional house" during the 50s. I also viewed a lot of paintings from Hopper for inspiration. By spending time researching 50s advertising, I wanted to make a joke about the omnipresent sexism of the era by reversing the roles on the cover. At first, I imagined a woman in a suit near a sold sign in front of a nice house, giving the key to her nice husband with the kids in his arms. I wanted it to be so we could imagine her saying to her husband "see what I bought for you and the kids darling". This cover idea wasn’t chosen in the end, but that core idea of reversing gender norms pleased the editor and author.

Anne Heidsieck - Welcome To board game fake advertising

An extra detail I love in this game are the adverts on the back of the player reference sheets. How did this come about and where did your ideas come from?

Alain wanted to give me the chance to make more real illustrations. Beyond the cover, I mainly did icons and graphics, so to strengthen the atmosphere of the 50s he decided to add different advertisements on to the back of the player reference sheets.

The illustration of ‘Meeple War’ is a parody of a well-known ad, where a man and his son are playing battleships while the mother and the daughter are behind, doing the dishes. The illustration of Toulouse is inspired by the many tourism advertisements and the editor and the author are both from this town.

Anne Heidieck - Welcome To board game fake adverts

The one of the man in the kitchen is a reference to the countless pictures of housewives with their all-new household products, and the poster ‘le cocker aux trousses’ is a parody of the poster of the movie ‘North by Northwest’, ‘La peur aux trousses’ in french with all the authors and illustrators who worked with Blue Cocker until the release of Welcome to.

You mentioned that you made some early mistakes when it came to things like bleed lines on projects. So when it comes to creating and editing game art with punch boards and print work in mind what are some basic lessons that you could share?

I would recommend always being careful from the very beginning of the creation of a file about several things:
The size of the picture, personally I often work twice the print size
The definition with 300dp minimum for print
The color profile which depends on the manufacturer, but always at least in CMYK for print.
The density of black, as printers cannot print black deeper than a certain density.
To not forget to embed the fonts on a pdf export.
And in anticipation of the print, which always darkens and tarnishes the colors somewhat, to saturate and lighten up a little bit for each of the pictures.

Anne Heidsieck - Raccoon Illustration - Frido’s Treasure Trove

When it comes to resources, I think it's always a good idea to ask other illustrators how they work, as we have a lot to learn from each other! The boardgame manufacturer ‘Panda’ https://pandagm.com/tools makes very good guides for preparing the designs, it’s all in that link!

I also often search on adobe forums when I don't know how to do something in particular.

Anne Heidsieck - Carcassonne Safari board game cover

Last year you illustrated Carcassonne: Safari, so how did you end up working on this game and was it different working on an existing series?

After working on the game Majesty by Marc André with Hans im Glück, (thanks to Gaëtan Beaujannot from Forgenext, the agent of Marc André), Hans im Glück asked me if I was interested in creating the artworks of their next "around the world" expansion of Carcassonne. I couldn't say no! Besides, I love elephants so much! First, as a test, I made one tile with the different main elements (a piece of savannah, one of a forest, a baobab and a road), in order for them (and for me!) to see if I could make something in the spirit of Carcassonne that would fit with their vision. After that, I improved each kind of element separately as well as designing all the animals, plus some additional to give us choices.

Anne Heidsieck - Carcassonne Safari Animal artwork

For example, I made an antelope and a lioness, but the monkey and the lion were chosen instead. When we agreed on everything, they send me the final layout of each tile, with the frame of each element and the animals present on it, and I arranged them one by one, trying to diversify some set elements. It was kind of tedious work!

For the scoring board, I mainly used the frame of another expansion and used some of the same elements from the tiles I’d made as you see in the other Carcassonne games. As it is a collection with a very specific editorial line, the illustrators have to follow a general pattern, so it's not a very free "artistic" project, however, it is really well organized and we know exactly where we are going, which can be nice too!

Anne Heidsieck - Carcassonne Safari scoring track

You've also gone on to illustrate a variety of neighborhood expansion sheet packs for Welcome To. So are there any differences when illustrating an established game series (eg Carcassonne) and how do you look to make the art distinct within the design constraints?

It was my first work on an expansion, and indeed, it could have been a peaceful project by just modifying a little bit the first neighborhood, but we were under a bit of time pressure on these. Our American publisher (Deep Water Games) wanted to present the mini-expansions on their Kickstarter in Autumn, so we had to work fast. I was working on another project at the time, so they helped me by beginning some of the graphic work to have something to show to the backers at the Kickstarter launch, and I reworked it afterward for the final files.

It was nice and easy to create the art for something that I knew already worked for the players. I just had to change the aesthetic, the mood of the season or the event, and not on the games ergonomy. It was pretty relaxing! After searching for the main color for the ambiance, I made new trees and bushes and I felt that it immediately changed everything. Making new decorative files on the right, even if it isn’t important for the game, was fun too, and helps create a richer atmosphere I think.

What are some non-game related creations (books, music, movies, etc) that you’re currently enjoying?

I often read or listen to audiobooks, mostly fantasy, and a bit of horror and science fiction. I'm a huge fan of Harry Potter and read and re-read them very often! I made the illustrations for my school examination about the french book ‘La horde du Contrevent’ by Alain Damasio, a beautiful emotional adventure! I also read the ‘Game of Thrones’, and wait for the next volumes while the internet spoils me every day. One of my recent crushes was for the books " The Gentleman Bastards" by Scott Lynch.

I watch more series than movies, of all kinds. Some of my favorites are ‘Orange is the New Black’, ‘Black Mirror’, ‘Stranger things’, ‘Parks and Recreation’, ‘Kaamelott’, ‘The Marvelous Mrs Maisel’ and of course ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ :) Thinking about movies, I love in particular all the animations by Laika, especially ParaNorman!

Anne Heidsieck - When I Dream board game card artwork

Just as with my taste in books and series, the music I listen to is really diverse. When I work, I tried to adapt as much as possible the kind of music I’m listening to with the mood of the illustration I'm doing but I do listen to audiobooks and podcasts sometimes. Otherwise, I mainly love Nordic Folk music (groups like ‘Garmarna’, ‘Triakel’, ‘Omnia’) and some french artists like Camille, Claire Diterzi, Air, Polo & Pan. And when I'm working on layouts, I can only listen to very soft piano!

Finally, if we’d like to see more of you and your work, where can we find you?

Here is my website: www.anneheidsieck.com
On Facebook : Anne Heidsieck - Illustrations

All images provided by Anne Heidsieck.

Ross Connell 22/07/2019 Ross Connell 22/07/2019

Heather Vaughan: Art in Board Games #53

I went through a long time where in my head “Finished art” meant that the art was hyper realistic and perfect. [..] It was a hard time training my brain to be okay with finished art that was polished, but not sterile. [..] that’s where my color choices and strange themes come from [..] me leaning hard into the skid of trying to buck the idea that realism is the only way for art to be truly “finished”.

EDITORS NOTE: Back in May Restoration Games reached out to me as they had created a series of prints for Fireball Island and wanted to know if I was interested in interviewing an artist and debuting their poster online. As soon as I saw Heather’s name, I was on board as I’ve long admired her work but had yet to speak to her on the site.

Heather’s print and that of the other artists is available to pre-order on Board Game Geek. Thanks to Restoration Games for putting me in touch with Heather and I hope you enjoy the read!

Today I'm being joined by Heather Vaughan. 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?

Hi Ross, excited to be here! I am an Illustrator and game artist based out of Philadelphia PA. Most players would recognize my work with Kids on Bikes, the 80s themed RPG about small town kids going on strange adventures. In addition to Kids on Bikes I’ve also worked on other tabletop games such as Beneath Nexus from Silverclutch Games, and a few others that are still in development and under wraps. In addition to being a game artist, I also serve as an Associate Art Director for Silverclutch games.

When I’m not drawing I’m usually tinkering with my menagerie of exotic reptiles, a hobby I’ve had since I was a kid. If art didn’t work out I was going to be a Herpetologist, going out and catching frogs and snakes is tied with art as being one of my favorite pastimes. Aside from that I’m generally out enjoying my city. Philly is a great food, drink and walking city and I take full advantage of having all of that right at my doorstep.

When did you realize you wanted to be an artist?

I’m pretty sure that aside from the point in my life where I was hell bent on making a living out of catching frogs, I always wanted to be an artist, as cliché as that sounds. My dad was an artist, he did mostly wildlife paintings that you would see hanging in nice hunting cabins, lots of deer and fish, and woodland scenes. I remember he had this big, old refrigerator in our basement that he had repurposed into a supply cabinet for all of his art supplies and I would raid it with impunity. I probably single handedly destroyed his entire set of very expensive Rapidiograph pens and nice alcohol markers.

I was always drawing as a kid and my dad taught me a lot while also never really pulling any punches with me. I remember once I drew something and when I presented it to him he pointed out how my light sources were all over the place and wrong. After that critique I had to go back and fix it before I got the thumbs up and it went on the fridge.

I think my earliest art making memories were of drawing animals while watching Wild Discovery or Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom. Drawing animals and endlessly doodling was my jam. If I had a drawing utensil in my hand and something to make a mark on, I was almost certainly drawing a big cat or dragons or something. My grade school teachers hated it, every assignment I ever got was collected back to the teacher covered in doodles.

Illustration for killed project, The Devil's Syndicate.

Your work often has an otherworldly feel to it, either through the colour choices or the themes. Where do you find your inspiration?

There was a time in my life where I wanted to make super, hyper realistic art. I was likely inspired to work like that because of how my dad worked. I went through a long time where in my head “Finished art” meant that the art was hyper realistic and perfect. I got a lot of comments about how while my finished work was nice, it lacked the personality and looseness my doodles had.

It was a hard time training my brain to be okay with finished art that was polished, but not sterile. I think that’s where my color choices and strange themes come from, just me leaning hard into the skid of trying to buck the idea that realism is the only way for art to be truly “finished”.

My choice of palate is just what feels right to me at the time. I like slapping color around and experimenting to see what off the wall combinations I can achieve. There is no deeper meaning, just aesthetics and me messing around until I dig it.

So how did you first get involved in the tabletop industry?

I didn’t ever think that I’d end up in tabletop. It was never even something on my radar. I got into illustration thinking I’d do children’s books or editorial stuff. It wasn’t until I met my fiancé, Tom that I became aware that this whole industry even existed. I’m not a gamer at all, I spent my childhood losing at Sonic to my brother and the only board games I played were Scattergories or Pictionary. I was never into DnD or RPGs or any tabletop games like Tom was growing up. Through him I got my introduction to the entire genre, and while there are a few games I did find I enjoyed playing (I have a soft spot for Epic Spell Wars) I’m still not at all a gamer.

Beyond Nexus - Card Art Development - Baatar

I got my first official start in the tabletop world when Tom and a friend of his decided to try making a game of their own, that game eventually turned into Beneath Nexus. After they won a grant to begin development they ran into a hurdle over how they were going to be able to afford all the art needed for the game, so I offered to help them out by doing some art on deep discount so they could afford to also pay the other art interns they hired for the project. I had a lot of downtime and I saw it as a good way to keep busy making portfolio pieces.

I quickly found that game art was really no different than the other illustration jobs I had previously. I was glad to see my lack of any sort of background in the hobby wasn’t a strike against me, I still had to research and pull reference just like I would for any other project. I’d say the biggest lesson I learned was how tough it is to work to a style guide, it was the first project I’d ever worked on with multiple artists. All of us having pretty different working styles meant we had to all work to a type to make sure the game looked cohesive.

Looking back, the work I did for Nexus is *wildly* different from any work I’ve done before or since. Nexus eventually went on to fund successfully on Kickstarter and from then on I suddenly found myself getting work in the indy tabletop industry. It was a total surprise I never saw coming. From Nexus came my offer to work on Kids on Bikes and there has been no looking back since!

I remember when Kids of Bikes hit Kickstarter and although I don’t play RPGs (but would love to) I actually nearly bought the book just because of your art. What do you remember about the project?

Thanks! Doug and Jon originally contacted me after getting a recommendation from Chris Visco (1/2 of Silverclutch games) and a mutual friend from the Philly Game Makers Guild, Nicole Kline (1/2 of Cardboard Fortress) and the game itself was pitched as a game where players could recreate their favorite 80s themed movie or TV show where weird stuff happens (Super 8, the Goonies, Stranger Things). Which was later more solidified to being a game where the Kids were the heroes, sussing out strange happenings and exploring the stranger side of sleepy suburban life, armed with their trusty 10 speeds.

Doug and Jon were very easy to work with, they provided a lot of “mood direction” which made sure the art was hitting the notes it needed to, while also leaving things open ended enough for me to take some artistic license. Some of the prompts would be like “Typical 80s suburb, moderate income area with sinister shadows like there are things that could be creeping through the shadows after dark that you can’t see, but wouldn’t be hard to imagine being there”.

Or “Close up of a young woman glowing with strange energy, fighting off two or three wolf like monsters. Mid fight with the power the girl is using visibly causing her strain or harming her in some way”. Lots of the mood of the book was lifted from classic 80s movie tropes like Poltergeist, Stand By Me, The Goonies, The Breakfast Club, E.T., etc. Some of the stylistic reference I was looking at during the process were from comics like Paper Girls, Joe the Barbarian, and some old X-Files comics.

Additionally, since Doug, Jon, and I all had roughly grown up in the broader time period the game was set in, I was able to sneak in some autobiographical elements and even our own likenesses in spots throughout the book which was a lot of fun.

We’re talking in part because Restoration Games have made their own poster series for Fireball Island and you’re involved. What can you tell me about this series and the poster you’ve created for it?

Jason Taylor from Restoration Games first reached out to me back in August of last year. They had been looking for several artists to work on some limited edition promo posters for their game Fireball Island: The Curse of Vul-Kar. The idea was for these posters to be offered to Kickstarter backers and to be sold as merch once the game became available for general sale.

The pitch for the poster was very open ended. The folks from Restoration Games were lovely and provided me with loads of production stills and some of the existing art from which I could formulate my personal approach to the poster.

Poster design - from initial sketch to finish

One of their expansion packs, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Bees really tickled my fancy and after just coming off of Kids on Bikes I was really feeling drawing something that wasn’t a human or a bike! I got to go back to my childhood roots and draw some big cats and bugs which was like an art vacation for me. The only thing Restoration asked me to keep in mind with the piece was that Vul-Kar, the angry volcano god, was prominent.

Since the goal of these promo posters was to be more of an artist's interpretation of the theme, in their own voice. Looking at George Doutsiopoulos’s existing work on Fireball island was a great way for me to see where I could diverge. My work tends to be moody/gritty so I decided to lean into that contrast with George’s existing art. Where his art for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Bees is bright and full of action and some lightheartedness, I decided to go for a darker, more brooding piece. I was heavily channeling some of the more sinister feelings you get in the movie/book Jumanji where Alan Parish recounts having to wait decades in the jungle, which can be dark and full of peril.

Personal Work for Gallery Show - Danger Noodle

Most artists I speak to seem to be split between home, or a shared studio space. How about you, where do you create and what are your go to tools?

I generally work from home these days. I’m lucky enough that I have a spare room in my house that I share with Tom that serves as half art studio and half office. Back when I was working on Kids on Bikes I did have a studio I rented with a few other illustrators which had it’s pros and cons. The biggest con being that it was a big hike from my house at the time and I was not always the best at mustering the gumption to trek out to West Philly from South Philly to go put a few hours of work in.

Now, with a home office I really don’t have that distance excuse to fall back on. I’m also very fortunate to have Tom right next to me to bounce ideas off, and for his assistance in taking photo reference and getting extra eyes on work for fresh feedback when I’ve been staring at a piece for 16 hours and feeling nearly blind! Creating a work environment in your own home can be really challenging, since I work in a separate room in my house, the door to that room plays a large part in creating a dividing line between work time and non work time. It’s not always a perfect solution and I still get distracted, but as long as I’m putting out good work and hitting my deadlines I’ll call it a successful tactic!

My work environment right now is just a desk, an old Mac laptop and my old reliable Cintiq 13HD. I try to keep my area clean but often fail as I am a trash person by nature so my work environment generally ends up looking like a bomb went off by the time I reach the midpoint of the project I am working on at that time.

These days I am working purely digitally. I don’t sketch with pen and paper near as much as I should and it is a goal of mine to make a good effort to get back into that habit as soon as my life calms down a bit. I also want to make a good effort to get back into weekly life drawing sessions…It’s like going to the gym for artists, and I need to get back on that wagon!

I personally have difficulty switching off and putting work to one side as I do my freelance projects from home. Do you have any tricks or advice for people in a similar situation?

I am in the same boat, I think all of us that work from home are in some way. I find that I am very easily distracted and also that I’ll use any excuse to find a thing that I need to do and procrastinate if I’m not in the mood or headspace to work…Clearly that’s not a great place to be when you are trying to hit deadlines and put out good work. Scheduling helps me to be ok with enjoying my down time without guilt, while also giving me a structure to work within when it IS time to get work done.

Being in an inspired mood to create art is great, but if I waited for those moments, I’d never get anything done…So, when it can’t be all “Bob Ross and rainbows” it’s schedules and discipline that comes to save the day.

Based on your experience as a professional artist, what would you say to anyone looking to get started if they were here now?

I guess the biggest thing is discipline and an ability to work even if you feel uninspired. Some people think working in creative is just awesome and a joy all the time. But it’s just like any other job really…There are great days, there are OK days, and there are days when you find yourself dreading your pencils wondering why you ever decided to do this with your life. So I’d tell anyone looking to get into this line of work to accept that it's not this “perfect, dream job” right out of the gate.

You also need to know that no one will chase you to do that work. You have to be your own boss, you have to set your hours and you have to stick to them… On one hand, that much freedom is awesome, but on the other, you have to also hold yourself accountable. You can’t just rely on your artistic skills to carry you through, there are plenty of wonderful artists out there who never “make it”. Drawing well is only a small part of being a successful artist, to “make it” you need to be able to commit to doing the leg work which is a lot less fun most of the time.

In my photography work, witnessing the talent of other people has given me so much inspiration. Which artists have inspired you and whose work you admire?

Probably too many to list! Eyvind Earle is a huge favorite of mine, he was a background painter at Disney in the 50s… His backgrounds and concept work on Sleeping Beauty are just breathtaking. I’m very drawn to how ‘design-y’ and iconic his work is, it’s very striking.

Walter Peregoy is another Disney background artist (101 Dalmatians) that I am enamored by. Everything is loose washes and very organic until he adds a few lines of ink to bring everything together like a magic trick!

Interior Illustration for Kids on Bikes rule book

What are some creations (books, music, movies, etc) that you’re currently enjoying?

I’m a podcast person, right now I’m usually listening to Death In the Afternoon, which is a podcast from the same team behind youtube’s “ask a mortician”.

Three other’s are Hardcore History, Lore and Unexplained…I religiously listen to all four of these while I work and commute and I can’t recommend them enough to any one who’s into off beat science, spooky stuff, history, and urban legends.

Finally, if we’d like to see more of you and your work, where can we find you?

I’m currently trying to cut the Facebook cord, so I don’t have one of those for my art, but I am pretty active on Twitter and Instagram. My art posting can be sporadic as I tend to really only post stuff that is personal work or just me messing around. Client work generally stays under wraps until the project is finished so you will see big art dumps from time to time… Mostly my feeds are full of my pet reptiles and dogs. So if you enjoy snakes, lizards, and dogs with a side of art, I’m the lady to follow!!

You can also find more of Heather’s work on her website.

EDITOR: Thanks again to Restoration Games for putting me in touch with Heather and check out the full print series on Board Game Geek!

Finally, I will briefly make it clear that although this interview will link to a print series on sale, this isn’t a sponsored post of any kind. With all the interviews on my site I do them because I believe there’s a story worth sharing and I’m proud that More Games Please runs purely based on the support of my little band of Patreons. If you like the site, consider becoming a sponsor or giving my interviews a share, it all genuinely helps.

All images supplied by Heather Vaughan.

Ross Connell 09/07/2019 Ross Connell 09/07/2019

Bartłomiej Kordowski: Art in Board Games #51

[..] all these things make sense if there is an art director. Someone who watches over everything and has a vision of how a particular game should look, selecting the right people and paying attention to graphical coherency…

Editors note: This interview was conducted earlier in the year but has taken a while longer than usual to appear on the site. I’m very happy to finally get to share mine and Bartłomiej’s chat. I hope you enjoy and if you have any questions don’t forget to leave them in the comments below.

Hi Bartłomiej, 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?

Hello! I'm very glad to share my passions with you. Together with my family, wife Natalia and two little girls, we live in Toruń in Poland. The youngest daughter Eliza is now two years old and the older Lidia is four and a half years old. For over four years my passion is to be a cool dad. My second passion is painting which I've been doing from a young age and I'm currently working as a board games illustrator.

So how did you first get involved in making board games?

During my studies I painted a few illustrations for a collective card game "Veto". It was my first contact with a board game publisher. I had a lot of freedom in this creation so I could practice and develop my skills. At the time I bought my first tablet and I made my switch to digital art. Then after my studies ended, I started working for advertising and illustration agency. I have been working on many different projects from pizzeria leaflets, business cards to book covers and computer game arts.

After a few years I decided to look for my own jobs and I began working as a freelance illustrator. This, which I didn't mention earlier, helped me in my other passion which is board games. I love gaming and this is one of the nicest ways to spend time in good company. This is why I decided to send my portfolio to publishers and I got lucky. I managed to combine work with pleasure. At that time "Rebel" publishing house was looking for a new guy in the industry and it fell to me. I received a work order for my first big project - the Dream Home board game and from the beginning I was in constant contact with Rafał Szczepkowski a Game Development Coordinator at that time. He showed me in from the kitchen (back door) of this game industry and gave me a lot of good advice and tips.

Working on Dream Home took a long time. From the start to the end of the project it had been a year. I've never had to do over a hundred illustrations before, design layouts, box, tokens, the first player marker and so on. It was hard but with the aid of my wife (she is also an illustrator) we finished Dream Home. Many of the details which can be found in rooms were painted by Natalia. Working on this project was a big lesson for me and through this experience I realized how much time every phase of work consumes and also what rules support the visual side of board games.

Did the experience on Dream Home change how you approached your next projects?

In few aspects yes. First of all, I have become more aware of how to spread my time across the work and how fast I need to work too. Knowing how much time to spend on the box cover, how long on components I can therefore more precisely establish when my work will end end. My biggest challenge is the cover art and I'm always stressed because I know how important this is for developers. That's why I try to complete the cover concept first. Everything else is pure pleasure.

You've worked on a number of games released this year which have featured a collection of artists work. What do you think the major differences are when working as a solo artist compared to being part of a team of artists on a board game?

That is true, this year I have been working on a couple of team projects. There were projects where I had to simply adjust my work to the graphics prepared earlier and I had to work on their basis. This is harder but fortunately, that doesn't happen very often. In other projects where I was part of the team, each artist watched over a different aspect of the board game. So it was with the Spy Club board game. I illustrated cards, characters, the box cover and other artists were responsible for layouts, typography, compositions, game visualization, commercial, printing etc.

Of course, all these things make sense if there is an art director. Someone who watches over everything and has a vision of how a particular game should look, selecting the right people and paying attention to graphical coherency. This is very important and in the case of Spy Club, those people were Jason Kingsley and Randy Hoyt. I think that such an approach to the subject is the best way in big and time-consuming projects.

Working as a solo illustrator you have more control over the visual side of a board game. It's a bit more challenging because you need to take care of almost all graphic elements, but personally, I like this way better. I often choose what the board game will look like and this brings me greater satisfaction. In my case, these are typically small games such as Blossoms, Staropolski Wokabularz (Old Polishlexicon), O kocie w kłopocie (Cat in trouble).

One of those collaborative projects was Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig, the recent Stonemaier Games, and Bezier Games release. Can you tell us more about your role in this project?

It was a special situation and my role was limited to illustrating the box cover. When Jamey Stegmaier first time contacted me he offered me to join the team working on the art for the room tiles. Unfortunately at that time I was working on Spy Club and our timing didn't fit. However, we made a deal that I would end up working on the front cover and title. I had an insight into all illustrations showing the rooms of castles so I could look at them to get into the atmosphere. Based on the description from Jamey, combined with the room art I started working on the cover and the final illustration is inspired by the game tile themes. I was very happy about this project, it was one of the most interesting jobs I’ve recently had, all the more, I love to paint landscapes.

Having worked on a number of board game box covers are there any key elements you try to include and do you think the box needs to reflect the game inside?

I think that most of all the box cover art should put you into the game vibe. If we also add an interesting style and great colors... it's perfect! That kind of illustration stays in the mind and causes us to want to know more about the game. At least it does for me. Recently I was hypnotized by the box cover and graphic art for Feudum made by Justine Schultz, so much that I decided to buy a game on KS version for the first time. In the case of the illustrations I make, the publishers usually already have some idea of what should be placed on the cover. For example, if I get a brief that it should be a sweet, friendly kitty game but the arrangement of the whole scene belongs to me then I always try to sneak a piece of story in background and details to pull the viewer into the game world.

With Spy Club, you mention the game having strong art direction to hold it together. Could you talk us through the direction you were given and how this helped you to create more cohesive illustrations?

My work on Spy Club began with creating a deck of Clue cards that were shared into six categories: Crime, Motive, Suspect, Location, Object and Distractions. Certainly the subject of the illustrations was important and I was supposed to illustrate each subject but I had a wide margin of discretion with how I did this. The game mechanics and usability were the most important factors and required that the categories should be clearly different from each other.

That point was well tested by the publisher and the same solution was given by the game prototype. Graphics from each category have their own color code (for example the predominant color for locations is green). For the illustrations used on campaign cards there were no restrictions so in that case when layout was put all together it was connected with the main characters and their hobby. The game prototype also outlined the direction of iconography and textures. I think that such preparation of game elements and a good brief make it possible to better understand the game objectives and facilitate the work in graphic arrangements. In my view it is the key to a coherent and attractive product.

What advice would you give to anyone wanting to work as an artist?

Looking at my current work I see that I still have a long way to achieve the level I wish to. It's a little disheartening, but the good thing is that looking at my older works I can see how they are evolving and that there is a progress. So my advice is don't lose your confidence and keep drawing. Creating is the best work ever.

What are some non-game related creations (books, music, movies, etc) that you’re currently enjoying?

I'm a movie fan and I love movie soundtracks, so while working I often turn on a list of different soundtracks, also those from computer games. Most commonly on my list is Bladerunner, music from Gothic series or Machinarium. But recently youtube is successfully giving me a whole gallery of lo-fi hip hop/study/chill/homework music radio that put me in a good mood for the day. From time to time I also listen to the board game video reviews such as Dice Tower, Rhadho, and local things like PoGraMy, GambitTV to find out a little more about new games. After work, in my mind there are only my children.

Do you have any current projects underway, or coming up that you’d like (or are able) to tell us about?

There is one project which me and my wife just finished late last year called Wodny szlak (Waterway) by FoxGames publishing and it should be in store this year in Poland but I believe that in time this will be also released in other countries. It's a family game known as "My first tile drafting game" in which you build a river path, gather resources like wood or wheat and ship them to lumber mills and water mills. We love tile games and it was an obvious fun to illustrate those small landscapes with snaking river. On another recent project we have also had tiles to illustrate but this time it’s about building sandcastles. As part of our research we grabbed a bucket and shovels and moved to the beach.

Finally, if we’d like to see more of you and your work, where can we find you?

You can find my work here at ArtStation website.

Thanks for taking the time to chat to me Bartłomiej Kordowski.

All images supplied by and copyright of Bartłomiej Kordowski.

Ross Connell 14/06/2019 Ross Connell 14/06/2019

Kwanchai Moriya: Art in Board Games #50

I was turning 30 without a clear path, and absolutely buried in loans paid for private art school, and going through quite a bit in my personal life. I unsuccessfully applied for job after job on my college’s job board for anything art-related…

Editors note: As much as this website is my own personal curation of art in the industry I don’t tend to throw around terms like “favorites” very often. However, Kwanchai is in my humble opinion, one of the absolute best in the industry right now. He was one of the very first people I tried to contact when launching my site and I’m so very glad we’ve finally got this interview to share with you. Enjoy the read and do yourself a favor, go check out his website afterwards, it’s a feast for the eyes.

Today I'm being joined by Kwanchai Moriya. 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?

Hi, thanks for having me! I'm an illustrator and painter, working mainly in board games and children’s books. I was born in New York to a Japanese father and Thai mother, both emigrated from their home countries. But mostly I grew up in the ‘burbs of LA and Chicago, in the 80’s and 90’s. Did some schoolin’ and ended up with a degree in history before sayings ‘oops’ and going for my BFA in illustration in Pasadena, California. I popped out the other side: nine years, lots of debt, and many part-time jobs later. I’ve been freelance illustrating for the past 9 years, though I’d say the last 4 years have been markedly different in terms of the growth and opportunity I’ve had. I currently live in Los Angeles with my wife and like to spice life up with board gaming, backpacking, travel, woodworking, etc.

So how did you first get involved in making board games?

My first real gig illustrating board games was doing 11 half-inch counter illustrations for a little-known wargame called Heroes of the Gap. The publisher contacted me through Boardgamegeek, since I was quite active doing my own fan redesigns of games and posting the art there. In fact, my next two freelance gigs came through BGG’s Geekmail system: Catacombs 3rd edition and a game called Twin Tin Bots. The Catacombs gig I was offered specifically because I had done a fan redesign of the game with my own whimsical art and had posted it to BGG.

In 2010, I also started going to all the big conventions (Essen, Origins, Gen Con) with my portfolio and the widest grin I could muster. Back then, I’d bother every publisher booth on the floor and hopefully fly home with at least a project or two in tow. The first handful of games I illustrated were equal parts, nerve-wracking and thrilling. I feel like I’ve grown a lot as an artist since then, and it’s hard to look at early projects without feeling squirmy. With my scant experience, publishers were apt to pay very little and over direct a project to death. Definitely a lot of stress in those early years was because I was learning the business side of freelancing on the go, while butchering my work/life balance, and flexing relatively weak artistic muscles.

For example, Catacombs 3rd edition was the first time I’d ever done something in that cartoony whimsical style, as I was primarily doing figurative oil paintings at the time. But, one thing that hasn’t changed is how exciting board games are for me, both playing them and being invited into the process of making them. I love being an illustrator in this industry and having a hand in so many varied and interesting projects.

Having worked in the board game industry now for a number of years, how has your relationship with clients changed as your reputation has grown?

It's awesome! In general, I get a very warm reception from folks working in this industry. Sometimes, just wearing my name badge at a convention will get me a sit down with someone important I wasn't even planning on meeting. That's nuts! Compare that to a couple of years ago, when I had to plead with people for a few minutes to look at my pitifully scant portfolio. The warmth I get is definitely attributable to the kind-hearted folks in this business, but I'm sure it also has something to do with the growing list of games I've been a part of. With my clients now, there's more trust that I can get a project wrapped on time and it can look good. Earlier projects did tend to be over-directed, with a lot of hand-holding. But I don’t blame publishers, as choosing an artist is one of the many risks they take on in the process of making a game.

A brand new illustrator thinks they are hot stuff, with a unique style and vision. Or at least, I did! And it takes a few projects to smash that down, and learn how to collaborate well and flow with others. Nowadays, I do get more say on what a project should look like, but of course it varies wildly from project to project. Some clients know exactly what they want, and some take me to the park and just want me to run and run. I like the ones that take me to the park.

The negative side of an increased reputation is an increased expectation from people. Or perhaps I have an increased expectation that other people have an increased expectation? For sure I’m harder on myself now, and more scared to make mistakes. I feel like I have to constantly hit home runs, even though I just learned how to play. Moreover, I feel like I've made a lot of different plays on almost all of my projects, visually, conceptually. Dinosaur Island looks totally different from Flipships, which looks totally different from Catacombs or Capital Lux. So I'm stressed, Ross, I'm stressed all the time.

When you're presented with illustrative work that is outside of your comfort zone and very different from what you've previously created, where do you start?

I love a challenge, though often I end up over-challenging myself. I try to pick one big project a year that I'm going to totally just throw myself off a cliff with. Either something that challenges my command of a medium or trying a new style or type of art. For example, one year that project was the thick paints and stylization in Flipships, another year it was the crazy colors and line art in Dinosaur Island. Those styles I'd never really tried before. I'm also a sucker for weird themes and new concepts.

I have a running 10-item list of themes, or styles or kernels of ideas that I want to try at some point: a bucket list of 'style-cliffs,' if I may.

Tantamount with any project, in or out of my comfort zone, is doing good research. Looking at what's been done before for that particular theme, or making sure there are facts in the factual part of a project. I feel out of my depth all the time, and oftentimes I am. Really being a freelance artist means being in your own head all the time, and a polite nudge or two from the art director or graphic designer is sometimes just the ticket to a solid piece of art.

Alright Kwanchai, you got me, what's currently at the top of that your art creation bucket list and will we see this soon?

Okay, I'll give you a few off my list.

1. Classic Gnomes. I really want to do a project that features little mischievous gnomes in red hats. You know blue shirts and tiny beards, the whole thing. I would just get a kick out of illustrating tons of little gnomes just going about their day, tormenting the house cat, stealing food from the fridge. I don't know why, I love it.

2. Really Creepy Ghosts. Have you seen Nate Hayden's games (Cave Evil, Psycho Raiders)? It's unsettling and weird and I love it. I've been jonesing to do a theme that is about ghosts or some kind of creepy supernatural thing, but not done in a cutesy style at all. Just straight terrifying and dark, with lots of heavy paint and scratchy ink lines. I have a lot of bright colors and friendly themes in my usual work and it'd be fun to throw that out the window.

3. Illustrative Type. So this would be illustrating components using only hand-drawn type and fonts. Like if a card is supposed to have a Man-eating Squirrel on it, I would hand-draw the words 'MAN-EATING SQUIRREL' on the card and illustrate the letters in a way that is thematic and immersive? Hah, I have no idea what this would end up looking like, but I've been thinking about it a lot.

4. Women's Baseball League. "A League of Their Own' the board game, or something akin to that. Love the history there.

On another note, a goal of mine is to design and illustrate my own game. I have two or three game designs that have I've been puttering around with for years. I think it would be really fun to do all the design work, play testing, pitching to publishers, graphic design, and artwork. Of course, everyone and their mom has a game design, and I'm sure anything I design would be mediocre at best. But I think going through the whole process would be a very valuable experience for me, since I've only really experienced one particular side of this industry.

You've illustrated some of the most distinctive and original board game box art in the industry, so tell me, what's your process when you come to work on a game cover and how is it different from creating other art?

Box cover art is usually the priciest line item in a project, and for good reason. It's the thing that wraps around the outside of all this important stuff. That stuff being: the designer's hopes and dreams for their baby, the publisher's investment in components, wrangling printers and scheduling, etc. So yea the cover is a big deal because it needs to speak to all the important things inside in one solid punch.

I usually begin planning a cover by looking at all the covers from any games, comics, or movies that share the genre. Then I try to cut sideways from the norm and try to come up with a concept that feels fresh. Sometimes that means using colors or a composition that atypical to the genre, or maybe using subjects that bend the stereotypes that genre. Most importantly, in my thinking, a cover needs to exude energy and investment. For example, on Bosk, a recent project with the theme of forests and trees, the publisher really wanted the forest itself to be the subject of the box cover. So I thought okay let's make the trees huge, and have a few tiny hikers in the composition just to exaggerate the scale of the trees. Or in Gorus Maximus, a game about gladiators, I wanted to make the covers just bonkers-level of dumb gore: brains popping out of helmets, crocodile sliced up like someone was playing Fruit Ninja. A composition needs to feel full of liveliness and thought. And although I don't always succeed, I think it's a far worse crime to deliver something that looks boring or typical.

As someone who started out as a figurative painter in art school, one of my crutches has always been to just throw a well-painted person on an illustration to give it that 'wow.' Lately I've been trying to get away from that crutch, wanting to see I can still do an awesome cover without a person, front and center. So for example, my recent cover for 'In the Hall of the Mountain King', it's three trolls marching into caverns on it. And I've only ever really drawn really cartoony trolls, like in Catacombs, so trying to do realistic ones was a really scary and I think it really paid off. Or in my redesign of 'The Game' for Pandasaurus, it was all just paper cut-out of shapes and abstract objects, no humans at all. I finished up the cover for Gil Hova's 'High Rise,' which is a cityscape with towering skyscrapers looming in the background. No hoomans, but still much wow I hope!

I've found success when I try to paint towards a feeling. For the cover of Bosk, I tried to assemble reference material and choose colors and a composition that reflected that feeling I get when I pass the trailhead sign on my way into a national park. For the cover of Dinosaur Island and its expansion Totally Liquid, I tried to tap into all my love of dinosaurs and growing up in the 90's: neon-dinosaur toys, Trapper Keepers covers, Capri-Sun, Disneyland, and Saturday morning cartoons. For the cover of Dual Powers, I tried to tap into the sadness of that last scene in Doctor Zhivago, a man drowning against the onward march of history and conflict.

Sensibly, publishers and game designers often want a cover to arithmetically reflect the contents of the game. They want to show every faction type in the game, the landscape, etc. This can crowd out the potential of a well-composed, beautiful piece of art. No publisher is that blunt, but given all the risks that a publisher takes on to make a product, the last thing they need is a cover that doesn't make sense or causes Kickstarter backers to form a mob, etc. But building a box cover illustration by just adding up what’s in the box and the rulebook is a total bummer for me. We poke fun at Euro box covers that have a merchant in the foreground gesturing back at a medieval city, but man there's still a lot of that going around. Just not for me. At least as an internal starting block, I believe it's crucial for an artist to paint towards an emotion, a feeling, a nostalgic moment. What comes out the other end might still end up just looking like a typical genre box cover, but I think those lofty, flamboyant inner goals are what keep me chugging along happily. There's a lot of technical things you can get good at, the longer you work in the biz: like friendly but pointed email writing, nailing deadlines while keeping buffers for personal life, etc. But I feel like the box cover is a tabletop artist's flagship product. It's the ship of the line, the cream of the crop. So you better enjoy it and you better make it sing.

The greatest critic is said to be ourselves so considering how you're always pushing yourself as an artist, are there any projects you previously worked on where you look back now and think you really nailed it?

Let me just point out that I'm not necessarily always pushing myself as an artist, though I would very much like everyone to think I am. I always try to try hard. But any given painting is a mix of blood, sweat, and tears; as well as whatever I ate that afternoon, how full my inbox is that morning, or if I've been outside more than usual that week. Moreover, the final product that sits on shelves is a larger mix of: how tight the project deadlines were, what the graphic designer did with my raw art, and how supportive and/or collaborative the publisher was during the whole process. So I can't really take credit for an amazing looking product, there's often a lot of hands that are in there and they all matter.

Frankly, I always look back on the last three projects I did and am usually the happiest with those. Anything further back, and I tend to cringe at some of the inexperience I can see evident in the artwork. So currently the last three projects are Bosk, High Rise, and In the Hall of the Mountain King. I’m really proud of those, in fact. I think they represent a good jump in my confidence and abilities that wasn't there before. In some past projects, I would approach a piece of art and truly not know if there was light at the end of the tunnel. I don't know if that makes sense, but there were illustrations early in my career, with which I felt like I was drowning near the end and just couldn't get a face or a scene right no matter how hard I tried. I feel more confident in my recent work.

If I had to pick all-time favorite projects, I'd say any of my large-scale figurative paintings are probably the most objectively impressive things to look back on: Overlight RPG cover art, Galaxy Trucker poster, Capital Lux/Rebel Nox, Dual Powers etc. With my history as a figurative oil painter, I tend to lean heavily on those skill sets and the experience has some shine to it. I should mention that I happen to really like my earliest project, Catacombs. I still find the composition and colors of the box cover and components really appealing and fun.

Board game art can often play it a little safe, sticking to known themes or visual styles. So how important do you think diversity is in board game art and how would you like to see the industry change?

That's a big question! I think there’s a lot out there that looks same-y and homogenized, especially your 'European merchant trading something' game, or your 'lots of miniatures in oversized black box' sci-fi game. I am not the artist needed on a game like that, nor do I feel compelled to take on those projects when they show up in my inbox. But that's not to say that those publishers and designers don't know what they're doing. They are mainlining their target audiences with exactly what they want, and it's great that the board game world now has different mini-worlds that can argue and bicker and have opinions about who’s best. When I got into board games years ago, there were maybe a few dozen games you “had to buy” and that was it. So the glut is awesome.

As far as diversity, I think that's an even bigger question that I'm not sure I'm qualified to answer. From an art point of view, I think an easy way to add diversity to a project is to simply represent as many ethnicities, genders, or cultures in the world-building or characters. The more compelling way I've seen diversity approached are in games that delve wholly into specific niches of culture or history. For example, there was a game that came out a few years ago called Navajo Wars from GMT Games, and it was about the historical journey of the Dine (Navajo) peoples, from a specific era in history. I thought that was awesome, shining a light on a lesser-known part of history, rather than just another 101st Airborne game from a war game publisher. I think having a diverse cast of characters in a game is very cool but I think having a whole game be about something specific and unique, elevating something up and shining a light on lesser known corners of our world, is even more compelling. I'm not smart enough to come up with how that would work as a board game, but I'll definitely wax poetic on the subject!

In regards to that last question.. a final extra thought to tie into that. How much do you think Kickstarter has changed the landscape it comes to board game art?

Having worked with both Kickstarter projects and regular distribution publishing, I don't know that it makes much of a difference when it comes to doing the art. I think Kickstarter has given more opportunities for smaller publishers to get products to market, which in turn means that there's more opportunities for illustrators to get projects. So that's always good. A downside to Kickstarter, or any publishing presence on social media or BGG for that matter, is people's propensity to skewer art in a public forum. I mean, even some of the best covers I've seen get a few inane comments like: "eh, hate it" or "liked the old art better." Kickstarter is particularly bad in this regard, where some backers feel empowered to judge the art harshly. As an artist, it's crushing to see comments like that, after spending time and thought on a piece of art. Of course a piece of art should be judged on its discrete face value, especially one that is gracing a product meant to be sold. But, man, sometimes it's hard.

The people behind a lot of awesome games are often just a tiny ragtag team of: publisher, designer, artist, and graphic designer. It's easy to demand a lot from publishers and condemn failures. But I've found that overwhelmingly creators in this industry are thoughtful and emboldened to create fun things, often leaving other careers to do something they feel passionate about. I don't know what my point is there, or what I'm being defensive about. I guess, just please be nice to me all the time, is the moral to learn here.

What advice would you give to anyone wanting to work as an artist?

I went to a traditional art college. Let me be depressing for a moment. When I graduated from Art Center College of Design here in Pasadena, my program (like many other traditional illustration degree programs) was essentially grooming me to be an editorial illustrator. As in covers for books and magazines and the little illustrations in the Op-Ed section of a newspaper. Professors encouraged us to fly to New York and schedule meetings with print media agencies in order to drum up work, which I did twice. I didn’t find success by any metric. One book publisher did give me a pamphlet for their summer intern program. I was also taught to send out mailers using expensive databases of art director info. I sent out hundreds of mailers twice a year, punching out my cards with a corner rounder on the floor of my one-room studio, piles of letters all over my bed. Nothing shook loose for me, and it was very disheartening. I don’t think those methods are wrong, and I do think I had a very weak portfolio. But, those traditional methods now look very antiquated in the current world of illustration. It’s a wider world that includes everything from Pixar to Patreon.

At that point, I was turning 30 without a clear path, and absolutely buried in loans paid for private art school, and going through quite a bit in my personal life. I unsuccessfully applied for job after job on my college’s job board for anything art-related. The last one I tried for was an Archivist position at Yul Brynner's estate, scanning and digitizing photos. "I'm fascinated by the opportunity to work with photos from the Golden Age of Hollywood!" and "Can begin immediately!" I wrote. It was crushing after all the effort and hope I had drummed up in myself and my family and friends.

There were other graduates from my college that got work or hired by studios. They were better artists and made smarter choices during the program. But I gave up trying to be an illustrator and ended up working as a tutor at a Chinese after-school program nearby. They're a dime a dozen here. To go to work, I'd slap a laminated sign on the side of my car (Michael's Fine Art Classes!) and pick up kids from elementary school, and then help them with their homework. There was a ray of light during that time, I had managed to get into a handful of gallery shows in LA and Seattle. So I was still doing some art. They're awesome to be a part of, but I don’t think I was good enough, and it was unsustainable as a single source of income. In fact, I was still working at Michael’s Fine Art Classes two years later when the opportunity to illustrate Catacombs, my first big game, fell in my lap.

My point here is that I feel like I barely made it, and every step of this process has been jumping from one lily pad to the next. I don’t know what I’m doing. I think that’s important to say before I give any sage advice. So here goes, my five-step method to becoming a tabletop illustrator:

Step 1: Get loaded with debt at art college, and then work at a Chinese after-school program for two years.
Step 2: Go to lots of board game conventions and walk around bothering people with your portfolio.
Step 3: Hide your poor grasp of anatomy and perspective by adding tons of color and dialing up the composition to eleven. Empty space on the canvas? Here’s some geometric shapes for no reason! Magenta!
Step 4: Feel guilty about how hard your parents worked their blue-collar jobs and then transform that guilt into valuable energy. Harness energy in a myriad of ways like: trying to stop watching that Youtube video, or not napping at noon.
Step 5: Be old. Your poor choices and bad luck means you don’t have as much runway left as your youthful, smiling competitors.

But less sarcastically:

1. Explore a multitude of paths, and work whatever side jobs you need to. But when it’s go-time, make the jump and bring all your time and resources to bear.
2. Go to where the warm bodies are in this industry. Shake hands, meet people.
3. Bring energy and boldness to your art. Nuance and subtlety easily translate as boring in an industry where shelf appeal and table presence is important. Solid command of composition and values will win the day every time.
4. Treat your freelance job with integrity and respect, suit up and punch in every day.
5. Don’t waste time. A year can pass by and all you’ve done is illustrated two good pieces and checked how many likes they’ve gotten. Move and shake now, when it’s important to carve out a space for yourself.

What are some non-game related creations (books, music, movies, etc) that you’re currently enjoying?

I’ve been reading a lot of RPG books, stuff for Delta Green and OSR RPG stuff specifically. I run two RPG groups and of course a health amount of board gaming, so I’m often reading rulebooks, RPG stuff, and the like. Also, just finished Kazuo Ishiguro’s Buried Giant. Finished “The Caliphate” podcast series, very enlightening. I’ve been re-watching Parks & Rec for the zillionth time when I take breaks, since they’re quick fun bites. None of this necessarily fuels my work. As a freelancer, there’s just a ton of time spent totally alone in a room. So there’s always something I’m doing besides work, little projects, something on in the background.

Do you have any current projects underway, or coming up that you’d like (or are able) to tell us about?

I usually have between 3 to 6 projects running concurrently. And there’s always a handful of wrapped project that haven’t been announced by the publisher yet. Fun stuff! But I can definitely mention High Rise, In the Hall of the Mountain King, Complexcity, Kodama 3D, and Pret-a-Porter that will be coming out in the next year or so. I’m particularly jazzed for Pret-a-Porter, because it was a big leap for me in terms of theme and working with a new publisher, Portal Games.

Finally, if we’d like to see more of you and your work, where can we find you?

I’m on all the social media at @kwanchaimoriya, and my website has a full portfolio at www.kwanchaimoriya.com. I also frequent a lot of board game conventions and meetups, doing signings or panels or just walking around. I really like it when people say hi!

(All images copyright of Kwanchai Moriya)

Ross Connell 27/05/2019 Ross Connell 27/05/2019

Magda Markowska: Art in Board Games #48

To tell you the truth, when I started to work as an artist I decided to learn from the absolute basics. I spent almost the whole year, at least one hour each day, just learning anatomy from tutorials on the internet or books…

Editors Note: I’m always on the look out for game artists, usually online, but conventions are an excellent place to spot them too. At Essen Spiel 2018 I was walking the convention floor when I saw a small boxed game whose art made a big impression on me. The game was Black Skull Island. After I got home I found Magda’s details online and this interview is the result of the conversation that followed. I hope you enjoy.

Hi Magda, 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?

Hi, Ross! I'm really happy to have this opportunity to speak with you. I started working as an illustrator and then also as a concept artist somewhere around 2008, so that would be almost for 10 years now. I work on board games, animations, advertising, applications.

I always wanted to be an artist but at that time and place (Poland in the '90s), I thought that this kind of dream would be completely beyond my reach. Also, my parents were against it. So I abandoned that plan, and instead, I went to a school that was chosen by them. Drawing was more like a hobby. Mostly I illustrated novels written by my younger sister, made sketches of animals or created designs for characters in our roleplaying game campaigns.

And then, one day, when I was still in high school, I went to the cinema instead of taking classes. I was the only person in the cinema hall and the movie they showed was "Spirited Away". (I didn't hear about someone like Hayao Miyazaki at the time - whose films are now one of my greatest inspirations). That movie reminded me that I had always wanted and still wanted to illustrate such stories. That I wanted to work as an artist. Time passed, but I only got more determined. I learned everything on my own: anatomy, color theory, composition, etc. or software (like Photoshop or Flash). Thanks to this at some point something that was only a hobby was finally my job. Later, I started working in an animation studio in my hometown. And now I'm a freelancer.

Apart from art, I still love pen and paper RPGs, board games, samurai movies, and anime. I'm also very interested in anthropology, history and animal behaviorism.

You're part of a small collective called All Blue Studio, how do you think small studios help artists such as yourself and what are you hoping to achieve with the project?

As I mentioned before, even as children, we created stories along with my sister. She wrote scripts and I made illustrations. Our first serious project as All Blue Studio - which was 'The Thief of Wishes' an interactive book for kids - was something that we always wanted to create together. The fact that my fiancé, who is a developer, also joined in, allowed us to finish this as family and friends. We were very lucky that our skills are so compatible and perfect for this project. Of course, it was still a complex process and there were plenty of other difficulties.

At first, we had the ambition to create something much more advanced. But unfortunately, we did not have all the necessary resources to do it, only our own skills and will. It is not easy to sit down after a hard day of work (or simply on a day off) and continue working. But we have learned a lot during this project - also about our own limitations and how to cooperate with each other. It was extremely satisfying to see 'The Thief of Wishes' in AppStore and we are so incredibly happy that now we can work on another app.

So how did you first get involved in making board games?

I always wanted to illustrate board games, because this is also one of my hobbies. (We have an entire wardrobe filled with games). So when the opportunity came, I was very happy. The first project I made was a game for the Polish Customs Office. It was an educational game that's supposed to teach the players about the dangers of smuggling of animals and plants. After this, I started to work on a more commercial game with the title “3 Wishes”. Strawberry Studio contacted me and asked if I could create illustrations for the cards and the box cover. I received a list with phrases that described wishes and I was allowed to interpret them freely. I had a lot of fun with it. I decided that the more devious the wishes would be, the more interesting result we will get. Just like as the wishes were fulfilled by some malicious genie. After that, I cooperated with Strawberry Studio also on other games.

Much of your work has a very painterly style full of beautiful textures. As a self-taught artist, how did you develop your style and what kinds of resources did you use to help you?

Thank you, Ross. That was very kind of you. To tell you the truth, when I started to work as an artist I decided to learn from the absolute basics. I spent almost the whole year, at least one hour each day, just learning anatomy (drawing each muscle and bone) from tutorials on the internet or books (like Classic Human Anatomy by Valerie L. Winslow and Figure Drawing for All It's Worth by Andrew Loomis). I also bought and read every book recommended by other artists whom I admire. At some point, I decided to try workshops and lectures (like CGMasterAcademy, Schoolism) and lately, I’ve discovered Gumroad.

I think that my style has evolved thanks to all of those sources. Previously I just focused on gathering knowledge and at some point, then I noticed I started to use a very particular colour pallet, or techniques, or brushes. Another thing is, I often spend a lot of time on one project (a few months or more). After some time of using a specific technique or style, I’m getting tired of it, and I try to do something completely new during the new project. (Just to learn more, see what I can change or do differently.)

What is your creative process when working on a board game? Can you talk us through it?

After I learn about a general idea, I always try to understand gameplay (or even test it) and see if I can suggest some solutions that can benefit a game designer. For example, what symbols or illustrations we can add or how to put text on cards to make it more “player friendly”. It is something that we can call “user experience”, but only on the level of my competence as an artist.

Other than that, I gather as many references as possible. For example, if a game has a historical or anthropological theme (which are favorites of mine), I try to learn more about a topic to which game is referring. Once, when I worked on puzzles about old Slavic, I went to a historical fortification (which also happens to be a museum) and spoke with an archaeologist who worked there. I also always attempt to collect books, go to art galleries or other places which are inspirational to me or simply aid understanding the game.

After that, I try to create the game universe in my head. Conceptualize things such as: who are heroes, (if a game has them), what they are doing, what will make this universe more realistic. As far as that point, I also focus on things like lights and colours which should be used to get the desired effect – they help me to select the best style for the specific project. I often create the colour pallet at the same time as conceptual sketches.

Black Skull Island_Undead Skipper_steps.jpg

Your character illustrations are filled with personality, so what do you think are some key things an artist should try to include to create memorable characters?

In the art book of the Tangled, Glen Keane mentioned that Ollie Johnston (who mentored him) was always wanting the idea, "What [are they] thinking," to be considered. I always try to remember this. As I mentioned before, from my childhood I created stories with my sister. Her characters give an impression that they are real people and not just random heroes from books or RPG scenarios. So, I think that I’ve learned a lot about storytelling from her.

From a more technical perspective, the book which was the greatest help to me when it came to expressions was and continues to be The Artist's Complete Guide to Facial Expression by Gary Faigin. I have really learned a lot from it. It made clear to me how to correctly emphasize a wide range of emotions by just using three correctly drawn lines.

When it comes to drawing animals, I think simple observations taught me the most. As a child, we had various animals at home. I’m also a huge fan of documentaries about animals (and shorts about cats or dogs on YouTube). I observe them for a very long period of time (especially birds). Instead of sketching (because otherwise, I would focus mainly on a drawing), I try to just spend some time noting their behavior and personalities. In their eyes, there is always such an incredible curiosity about the world around them (or at least I interpret it that way as a human). So for example, when I create personified animals, I try to use observations combined with the knowledge I have about human expressions.

Are there any projects that you're working on at the moment you're able to tell us about?

As the end of 2018 and the first quarter of 2019 were overwhelming with work for me, I'm trying to take fewer client jobs now. The last Christmas I was involved in a very interesting project that was made for Samsung. My work was to design and prepare characters to an animated part of a commercial. You can see the results here.

Also, two games are coming out - this year, I think - that I illustrated for Strawberry Studio. Unfortunately, I can't share any of my other client works until they will be made public - probably in fall 2019. At this particular moment, the only thing I'm working on now is an application for kids. It's going to be a charming book about sheep in which the reader becomes the main character.

Along with my team, we are also developing another application, but it's still in a very early phase.

Do you have any advice for anyone trying to get into the industry or find work as a professional illustrator and concept artist?

I think I wouldn't enjoy working on board games that much if I didn't like them myself. Knowing this industry means knowing some gameplay nuances you need to take into account when designing illustrations. Because I play board games myself, I know which elements can draw the attention of the player more, and which ones don't have to be so detailed (as they will be covered with icons and other information).

So my main advice is to play boardgames yourself to better understand players' expectations, read some reviews on game orientated websites and meet their authors. It's also worth visiting some conventions (I love the mood of SPIEL in Essen!). This way you'll be able to learn about the market or meet the game designers in person and exchange contact info. In my opinion, without a dose of personal commitment, it's hard to start working in this industry.

What are some non-game related creations (books, music, movies, etc) that you’re currently enjoying?

I finally found some time to play the Unravel (such a beautiful game!), and now I'm listening to the soundtrack from it. Surprisingly it also slots perfectly as background music when you draw fields with sheep (my current project). And I just can't wait to start the second part of this game!

As for the reading lately, I've been enjoying the Book of Barely Imagined Beings: A 21st Century Bestiary by Caspar Henderson and it's absolutely fascinating.

Finally, if we’d like to see more of you and your work, where can we find you?

You can check my portfolio on Behance, and I’m also on Facebook and Instagram.

My project with All Blue Studio can be found here and the latest information about us is here.

All artwork copyright of Magda Markowska.

Ross Connell 18/05/2019 Ross Connell 18/05/2019

Sarah Keele: Art in Board Games #47

The Salem witch trials was a dark time in American history and there were a lot of innocent victims, self righteous individuals and perpetrators. Lots of death, fear, lies and betrayal. Mary Warren (the first one I did, and the one I actually initially envisioned as Ann Putnam) was a perpetrator. She’s the one who started the witch hunt. When drawing her I wanted her character to feel ominous. Drawing her also set the tone for the rest of the art in the game.

Editors Note: I first spotted Sarah’s art due to her work on the Dark Cities Series by Facade Games which I ended up backing on Kickstarter in Feb 2018. As I own the games I figured it would be nice to take some photos of them to support this article. I really loved the art and production of these games so I’m over the moon she agreed to speak to me. I hope you enjoy!

Hi Sarah, 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?

Hi Ross! Thanks for having me. First off I want to say, this is a really cool thing you are doing here. There are a lot of talented and amazing individuals you’ve brought together, and I’m really honored that you’ve invited me to answer your questions and be a part of this community.

Now, a little about me, I’m a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (that drives a lot of my life and how and why I do the things I do) and I live in the great state of Utah in a cute little 1950’s home (with a sporadic layout and lots of add-ons) with my husband, Josh and two little daughters, Juliet and Sivenna. I don’t have a day job, so I work exclusively on my freelance work which consists of games, custom portraits, book covers and magazine illustrations as of late. When I’m not doing freelance work or spending time with my family, I’m learning how to cook something new, gardening, contemplating our next renovation designs, collecting coins, or working on my graphic novel, GreenThumb.

So how did you first get involved in making board games?

My first board game, well card game, was Salem 1692 by Facade Games, but back then they weren’t Facade Games yet, they were just Travis and Holly Hancock, and they were fellow college students at Brigham Young University. I had never met them but they were looking for an artist for their first game so they posted a listing on the illustration job board. I saw the listing and I remember getting excited about it thinking it was fun, but then seriously debating on if it was a good idea to embark on such a project as a student.

At the time it sounded like a lot of work. And at the time for me it was. I was a student and things were already so busy, but again, it looked like it would be a lot of fun, so I did a sketch of Ann Putnam, sent it off, and they loved it. That sketch is now on the cover of the rule book but the character ended up being Mary Warren. I don’t think anyone could have predicted how much Salem would take off! Travis and Holly only imagined their friends and family playing it and supporting them. They had the funding goal of $6000 on Kickstarter, so when it reached $100k we were all absolutely blown away.

With hindsight, I think the tabletop game industry was in the beginnings of a boom with a subtle rebellion against screen time and with new crowdfunding platforms readily available to shift how new game designers could now get themselves published. Salem hit a nerve in the market. I see it being a big stroke of luck. From there Travis and Holly took advantage of the success and quickly got started on Tortuga 1667 and officially created Facade Games, which was another raging success from what our expectations were and now Deadwood 1876 yet again exceeded our expectations. They keep thinking it’s a fluke. And maybe it still is, but now they have loyal supporters and people who want everything they do. I think I’ll keep going with it.

In what way do you think your education prepared you for industry work and looking back how did you feel less prepared when starting?

It’s funny you ask this because going into the tabletop industry was not something I ever could have anticipated. My training was for doing visual development for video games and/or film. I don’t think any of my teachers even entertained the idea “oh you could do board games.” I don’t think they were against it or anything, it’s just more popular to dream of working for Pixar or Blizzard or even doing children's books and editorial work. Those industry’s seemed more “prestigious” maybe? Perhaps that’s not the best word. At the very least they are very structured and the path to success in a lot of those industries is clearly mapped out with lots of resources. There didn’t seem to be as easy access into finding out what industry standards were for the board game industry back when I first started or I just didn’t know where to find them. I think this site alone would have been a fantastic resource for someone like I was starting out.

I think maybe the Hancock’s struggled as far as what would be our standard as a business relationship between designer and illustrator. We learned a lot together, and now I think we have figured out a system that works for us. I feel like they trust me to do my best work and because of that every game I’ve done since Salem has felt like “mine” and I’ve got to push myself artistically a little bit more each time.

When it came to working on Salem 1692, how did the subject matter, the witch trials of this time, guide or affect the way you illustrated the characters themselves?

I did make a conscious effort to make all the characters moody. The Salem witch trials was a dark time in American history and there were a lot of innocent victims, self-righteous individuals and perpetrators. Lots of death, fear, lies and betrayal. Mary Warren (the first one I did, and the one I actually initially envisioned as Ann Putnam) was a perpetrator. She’s the one who started the witch hunt. When drawing her I wanted her character to feel ominous. Drawing her also set the tone for the rest of the art in the game.

Is the art and everything completely historically accurate? No, Not even close! While I did loosely reference images of individuals we were including in the game, those references were also another artists representation of what the actual individuals may have looked like. As there are no photos of that time period there was a lot of freedom for me to put my own twists into how these characters.. er.. people may have looked. I did have a few I kept close to their portraits, like character William Phipps for example.

I’m not sure whether the Hancock’s or I ever articulated this to each other, but for me the goal was not to be historically accurate. It was rather to simulate, to the best of our ability, the mood we wanted the players to feel while playing the game so that people could have fun and enjoy the game. The bios included in the rule book are the most accurate part.

I can imagine the first game presented plenty of challenges, both with time management and through the learning curve of the project. As you started on the follow-up Tortuga 1667, what did you look to do differently?

With Tortuga I was no longer a student, so I was ready to put my full and undivided attention into the game. Seeing the success Salem had, I knew I needed to step up my game. With Salem, I’ll be honest, I see a lot of flaws in my drawing skills in the art due to a combination of things like a lack of experience, feeling rushed, being a student and not being very good at managing my own time.

I was still familiarizing myself with digital painting programs like Photoshop, which is partly why the colors are so muted (aside from purposefully trying to keep things moody), things like that. It was no ones fault and it was the best I could do back then. With Tortuga though, I felt the urge to really push myself. and again I had quite a bit of freedom to just go for it in terms of taking charge of the direction for the style of the art. Plus, I had the time to do it. So I took my time and put a lot of love into those characters.

The latest game in the series, Deadwood 1876 features some of your most detailed work yet, with the characters giving off not only a sense of era but also a presence too. How did you look to bring more energy into these illustrations and what are some ways an artist can make their work seem more alive?

In Tortuga I put a lot of research into the 1667 pirate era and spent much of that time learning about what the characters should look like, but I kept the backgrounds fairly minimal. For Deadwood, I decided to put as much effort as I could into the backgrounds as I did the characters. So, for example you have the Saloon bar behind Kitty Leroy. In Tortuga I also kept characters in similar or simple poses only showing above the torso. For Deadwood, I made a point to make them look more natural and reveal enough of their body to get a feel for what their poses were, what they maybe were doing and where they were. The character, Al Swearengen for example was a pretty sleazy guy, so I have him doing the classic greasy hair swipe. He was one that did not have readily available old photos to refer to so with my artistic license I gave him big dark/villainous buggy eyes, inspired by actor Richard Harmon.

One of the more tricky ones for me to depict was Reverend Smith. If you notice in all the other deadwood characters, there’s not too much variety in the facial expressions (this might even be something I’ll try to better at on the next game I do for Facade Games). However, with Reverend Smith, I really wanted him to look like he really believed in what he was saying, and I wanted to feel like I could hear the tone of his voice as he was speaking, so I referenced preaching pastors from videos and paused them on frames where I liked the pose. I also gave him glasses to hint at the fact that maybe he studies the small words printed on pages of the bible often and wears out his eyes. His is mouth open and wide mid sentence and hands up passionately.

To really give a character life and light, it really helps to use references. Videos help me find new poses that I might not have thought of otherwise, plus it’s natural. For Poker Alice, I imagined her being fidgety during a bluff. She’s a definite gambler, but if she loses this round, (even though she looks like she’s winning now) she might be in really big trouble. She keeps her poker face up though, and is always fashionable. You just find ways to personalize them and give them subtle dimensions. Sometimes those things are big and obvious like a certain pose or expression, but sometimes they are little details like a pocket watch, or a pair of reading glasses. Those details make an impact.

Now as far as making a game look really good, it’s not just about the character, there’s a lot that can go into the supporting cards as well. I had loads of fun with those too and it gives me lots of practice drawing things that aren’t human.

When it comes to illustrating inanimate objects, what are some of the challenges in keeping these items interesting and engaging?

There are a few things you can do to make an inanimate object interesting or give it life. Depending on the style or feeling you are trying to evoke with your work whether it be humorous, moody, calm, etc, you can give your design a bounce to it by pushing the shapes and proportions and avoiding complete symmetry and equal repetition. Color is another powerful tool to evoke mood. One thing I had in mind as I drew the item/action cards for facade games was the pose of the objects or things.

I drew the bucket of water in Tortuga with the bucket tilted and pouring water out as if actively putting out a fire as it’s action was intended for the game rather than resting stagnant. In the Deadwood, the Cash card has a big messy pile of money as if someone threw or stuffed it in the safe in haste with some falling out because the door has just been opened and those bills no longer had a support. I could go on. All the art in the game should enhance the story behind it even if it’s not noticed at first. Players will feel it even if they can’t explain why when the art has been done well. Supporting cards are not usually in the spotlight like character cards are, but they are equally vital to creating a world players can get lost in.

How have you grown and developed your skills as an illustrator during the time you've worked on these games?

I’m always looking at other illustrators artwork, especially those whose skills proceed my own. I’m also looking specifically at the art of other table top games. Since, as I’ve said, there didn’t seem to be a whole lot of resources when I first started as to what makes a good game art design for board games, I’ve had a bit of trial and error. However, if you are a new illustrator looking to make your mark in the board game industry, it doesn’t hurt to always be honing in on your skills.

There are endless resources on how to improve drawing and painting skills. I went to college for my education but I know plenty who didn’t and are still doing great as artists/illustrators whether in the all encompassing entertainment industry or not. The first key to success as an illustrator in any platform is to make good art. Make good art and good things will come. The Second key though is just as vital. Make your work seen. If no one sees how great you are, then all your hard work is for naught. Sometimes this means getting out of your comfort zone and reaching out to people and doing more than just waiting for someone to find you.

Do you have any other projects underway, or coming up that you’d like (or are able) to tell us about?

I have a few that are still secret at this time, one of them is the next Dark City game from Facade Games! Ah! Then I have my ongoing Custom Character Cards on my Etsy shop where I do custom portraits of people (or pets/animals) in the style of one of the 3 Dark City games and print it on a character card so players can play themselves. (Examples attached include Façade Games creators Travis and Holly Hancock, repeat customer Jason Smith with his family and the fantastic Pirate Enthusiast and pirate game reviewer JW Cornelius of Pirate's Parley Gaming).

I did a book cover for upcoming author Cami Murdock Jensen, whose book is titled First Earth, the first in The Arch Mage Series about a girl who survived an explosion as a baby and grows up a burn victim before being catapulted into another world full of magic and demons where she gets treated a little differently than what she’s used to.

I recently did the cover for a children’s magazine called The Friend for the May 2019 issue. I grew up reading this magazine so it was very special that I’ve been able to do work for them.

I was also pleased to participate in a podcast with Artifice starring Emily Merrell who is launching our conversation sometime in June where we discuss creativity and how many different forms of creative careers overlap in experiences and challenges more info:

I’m always working on my comic GreenThumb when I have a minute, but I still have a long ways to go on it. I was taught however to always have a personal side project to work on for dry spells in freelancing.

Man, I'm seriously sooooo excited about all of these!

What are some non-game related creations (books, music, movies, etc) that you’re currently enjoying?

Resources: Will Terry’s Youtube channel. He talks about the basics and goes into depth about the business side of illustrating. He doesn’t go into the business side of board game art, but he does talk about negotiating and dealing with clients who are so savvy at speaking the lingo of artists. I have found his knowledge and experience to be helpful to me.

Color and Light by James Gurney is always a great book to have in your repertoire. Schoolism is a great resource for those with a little bit of money they are willing to invest in themselves with. Some of the schoolism teachers have youtube channels with great educational videos or interviews with leading industry artists.

There’s also always the good old fashion, find someone who you think you can learn something from and reach out to them and ask them if you can ask them some questions. Seriously, there are so many things!

Finally, if we’d like to see more of you and your work, where can we find you?

I have my main website that I’m still building on, and of course you can find me on Instagram, Facebook, Etsy, Pinterest, Artstation and even Deviant Art.
I also will be sending out email newsletters for those who might be interested in that.

All artwork copyright of artwork Sarah Keele. Photography property of More Games Please.

Ross Connell 08/04/2019 Ross Connell 08/04/2019

Feudum: Art in Board Games #46

When Mark and I discussed the art style, Mark had a very specific vision in mind, which can be a double-edged sword! A lot of people struggle with vision and don't know what they want (or don't want) until they see it. Mark knew exactly what he wanted…

Editors Note: Feudum first caught my eye back in 2017 when it appeared on Kickstarter, with an art style that I absolutely adored. You voted it into your Top 10 Best board game art of 2018 on this very site and it’s recently had another very successful run on KS for the latest expansion Rudders and Ramparts. Whenever I cover KS related games I try and release them during the campaign, this one has missed that window so for those interested in picking up the game and the expansion you can jump in and late back right here. I hope you enjoy the interview and as always feel free to comment below!

Today I'm being joined by Mark and Justin, designer and illustrator on Feudum who will be telling us more about that game and it's upcoming expansion Rudders and Ramparts. Thanks for joining me! For our readers who aren't aware of your work could you tell us a bit about yourselves and what you do?

Mark: Great to be here, Ross. I guess you could say I’m a toymaker, living in the suburbs in a small town named Columbia, Missouri. To me, tabletop games are toys—albeit advanced toys that stimulate your mind. I also have a side gig as a Professor teaching strategic communication at the Missouri School of Journalism.

Justin: Hello Ross! I'm an artist living in Jackson, Mississippi. I work at an advertising agency during the day as a Sr. Art Digital Art Director and illustrate/design posters (and now, board games!) in the evenings.

How did you two first start working together? Can you remember those first few conversations?

Mark: This is going to sound a bit far-fetched, but it’s 100% true. I walked into an Ice Cream shop called “Sparky’s” and saw a poster for a band on the wall (some examples of these are above). It featured a giant monster traversing the countryside, and I immediately thought… “that has to be my artist!” When I found Justin’s email on the internet, I wrote a long and rambling email asking him to consider working on game art. To my surprise, he wrote back.

Justin: Yeah! Like Mark said, he sent me an email with something like "a guy with a dream" as the email title. I was like "oh great, here we go!" haha - just assuming it was another request for some free work for "exposure." But it really ended up being this thoughtful, heartfelt email about Mark's dream of creating a tabletop game. To an artist/designer, it sounded like a real dream project! Mark seemed very intelligent, creative, passionate and honest - so I was intrigued to say the least!

Alright, elevator pitch time, what is Feudum and what makes it so special?

Mark: I had been playing Eurostyle (or German Board Games as they used to be called) for nearly 15 years. I immersed myself in the creations of Knizia, Teuber, Wallace and Seyfarth thinking that I’d find the holy grail of games! One with a working economy, with depth, with a wide open-world with multiple paths to victory. I couldn’t find what I was envisioning! So, I invented Feudum.

Justin: One thing that makes Feudum unique (design-wise) is the cohesion of the icons/graphics with the game itself. When researching tabletop games I was always baffled by the icons being completely detached from the rest of the design. Harsh outer glow effects and dark drop shadows on vector icons that were obviously designed without taking the original artwork into account. I suppose it was the result an illustrator not putting much thought into leaving "blank" areas for icons to live, and icon designers wanting to make sure their elements stood out - but to me, the end result looked like this mish-mash of design. Nothing felt like one complete, cohesive project - so one of my main goals artistically was to make sure Feudum felt like a timeless "artifact." Mark and I agreed that using iconography that was language independent was also important.

Let's talk for a moment about the world you've built with Feudum. Where did the initial idea for the theme come from and how did you decide on the visual style you ended up creating?

Mark: I discovered Eurostyle games in the late 90s and became a quick fan of legends like Reiner Knizia, Klaus Teuber, Martin Wallace and Andreas Seyfarth. However, I was not satisfied. I kept envisioning the holy grail of games. One that was an open-world sandbox. One where you could eke out your medieval existence. One that featured a working, cyclical economy. I couldn’t find it, so I invented it! Many games influenced Feudum including the multiple roles in Puerto Rico, the action programming of Maharaja, the area control of El Grande, the resource gathering of Settlers of Catan. But, I knew I needed a unique mechanic that I could call my own. That’s when Feudum’s economic ecosystem was born! Once the mechanics were in place, I knew I needed striking art! I’ve always loved Expressionism with its thick black lines, etchings and muted color schemes. (French Expressionist painter Bernard Buffet in particular). This is probably why I like Alexandre Roche (Artist for the game Troyes), and of course, why i like my artist/illustrator Justin Schultz!

The very first image Justin sent Mark - Feudum

The second image Justin sent Mark - Feudum

Justin: When Mark and I discussed the art style, Mark had a very specific vision in mind, which can be a double-edged sword! A lot of people struggle with vision and don't know what they want (or don't want) until they see it. Mark knew exactly what he wanted, which may seem a little constrictive creatively, but he was always very open to my input and ideas. Plus, I really loved the world he had created and his feedback always improved my illustrations (as much as I hate to admit it, haha). Mark is also a pretty great artist in his own right! He had the board all laid out and the characters mostly concepted, so really I just had to "re-skin" his designs. I like to joke I can only draw about 25% better than Mark, which is how I got the gig! He also inundated me with hundreds (and hundreds, no kidding) of reference images! At one point, I asked him to narrow the references to maybe five-ish images per topic - which he agreed to - but then would be like "well... here's 20 more images that I think really help show what I'm trying to convey". When we were at SXSW recently, we went through a lot of the old images/references and laughed about the whole process. It was such a beast of a job, but definitely one I could not be more proud of.

The board is a huge part of any tabletop game, both in the sense of its presence but also in connecting players to the world and Feudums does a great job of selling the theme. How long did it take to create this board and how did it change during the initial projects development?

Mark: I started thinking about the archetypal medieval roles (farmer, merchant, alchemist, knight, noble and monk) and the symbiotic relationships one might have with the other. I drew a large circle on piece of poster board to plot everything out. (I still have this, actually). The original map I drew evolved a little over time as did the vessel routes. I was inspired by the length of the Shogun (based on Wallenstein) board and how it gave everyone ample space for their personal playmats! Originally the Guilds, Military Service Track and Epic Voyage Track were detached from the board.

After a year of playtesting this in this detached manner, I figured out a visually efficient way to combine everything. Playtesting with my friends was critical to its evolution! My friend Dan inspired the Tax action while my friend Andy inspired the individual vessel routes. I like that there are two games happening at once. Players must think about playing their dutiful role in the guilds, while minding the empires they are building on the map. I’m most proud of the integration between these two elements.

Justin: This was all Mark! Like I was saying earlier, he had a very clear vision of what he wanted, I just tried not to mess it up! There were definitely a few iterations along the way, but the bulk of the board remained the same (by the time I was included in the process).

Rudders and Ramparts is now your third Feudum Kickstarter, so what do you think this process has taught you about game design and about crowdfunding in general?

Mark: I never planned on launching three Feudum-related Kickstarter campaigns! It all happened organically. Midway through the first campaign, people began insisting that I create a solo variant—so The Queen’s Army was born. Then, midway through that campaign, one of my fans emailed me to show me some 3D components he designed. I asked if we could bring my artist into the mix to improve upon his design, and suddenly, Rudders & Ramparts was born! I’ve learned to be flexible, listen to fans and seize opportunities when they present themselves. Feudum’s worldwide success took me by surprise! The epic theme and mechanics of the game captivated people from many cultures. The game is offered in German, French, English, Spanish, Italian, Chinese, Russian, Portuguese, Dutch, Polish and Korean! Needless to say, building relationships with localization partners around the world is very rewarding…and time consuming. There are lots of stakeholders I must satisfy including distributors, retailers and customers. I never want to let anyone down!

Justin: Like Mark said, I've learned to be open, be more flexible. He's such a good listener and really takes the fans requests seriously. I've tried to be more like him and just go more with the flow as of late. In the beginning, it was challenging, but by RaR, I've realized it's just part of the process!

Feudum with Rudders and Ramparts expansion - photography by Anthony Jinson

The new expansion Rudders and Ramparts just funded on Kickstarter, congratulations! How do you think it expands and improves the base game?

Mark: Artist and miniatures painter Bruce Monson partnered with 3D sculptor Scott Ryan to create custom, fan-made Feudum vessels and castles. I was so enamored with their work, that we began to discuss how my artist, Justin Schultz might be able to put add Feudum’s signature art style to the pieces. After the pieces were born, I was inspired to create a combat variant of the game to capture both form and function. Because the base game features enough complexity, all Feudum expansions, including Rudders and Ramparts, add light, yet elegant nuances to the game! In particular, this expansion rewards the pursuit of fuedums (Latin for fiefdoms).

Justin: I was just happy to be involved! When I saw Bruce & Scott's original vessels and castles, I was floored! I gave the tiniest amount of feedback so they'd match the game a little more is about all I can take credit for! I also have to say they are some of my favorite elements of the game.

Feudum has some of the most distinctive "bits" of any game I've seen so far. What inspired you to invest so much time and creative energy into their design?

Mark: One of the joys of playing tabletop games is their tactile nature. There’s just something mesmerizing about handling wooden cubes, resin figures and colorful punchboard. Because of this love for componentry, I was determined to work with Justin to create something that reflected the highest level of craftsmanship. Both Justin and I shared the vision of creating—not just a game—but a work of art. This meant lots of trial and error. Lots of revisions. And, lots of samples from Panda Manufacturing (who also deserves lots of credit for helping us realize our visions). As an example, the vessels underwent several revisions so that they reflected the artwork of the game, while still being functional. To capture the detail I wanted, each mini has an impressive number of hand-painted applications.

Justin: It was an extremely fun (and unique) opportunity. I mean, how often does a designer get to design bits for a game!?! It was definitely intentional that the bits be unique from other games (and like Mark said, major props to Panda for being patient with us also!) We wanted the pieces to have a weight to them. To feel authentic, and handmade, like perhaps they had been through the test of time already. I like the idea that someone in the far future may come across Feudum and not be quite sure of the time or location from whence it came.

Do you have any advice for those interested in launching their own Kickstarter game?

Mark: You want to make sure you’ve built sufficient community around your game. This means that you’ve been posting game progress on places like Facebook, Instagram, twitter, Reddit, BoardGameGeek and the BGG Designer’s Forum. Second, you want to make sure you have your art ready, manufacturing quotes in place and shipping all planned out beforehand so that you can focus on being responsive to backers during the launch. Building rapport with your following is a critical part of building a favorable brand!

Justin: Try to make your page as informative as possible. Be responsive (Mark is great at this!) Have everything ready in advance, including lots of stretch goal options. Share it in advance (before it launches to get feedback). Most importantly, just go for it!

Photography by BoardGameShot

What are some non game related creations (books, music, movies, etc) that you’re currently enjoying?

Mark: I’m watching the final season of Adventure Time. I’m reading Piers Anthony. I’m playing lots of worker placement games! Creativity doesn’t happen in a vacuum. A lot of it happens by osmosis after immersing myself in art and pop culture.

Justin: I just finished 1Q84 by Japanese writer Haruki Murakami and am working on Let's Go (So We Can Get Back) by Jeff Tweedy (frontman for the band Wilco). I've been listening to the band Khruangbin a lot lately. They are an amazing instrumental 3-piece out of Houston (TX). I also can't stop listening to this great metal band Witch that J Mascis (from Dinosaur Jr.) plays drums in.

Finally, if we’d like to see more of you and your work, where can we find you?

Mark: Follow me on Facebook or @Feudumgame on Instagram and Twitter. This year I’ll be at SXSW Gaming Expo and Geekway and Gen Con after that!

Justin: www.the-flying-chair.com

As mentioned at the start of the interview, if you’re interested in picking up the game and the expansion you can jump in and late back the Kickstarter right here.
All images artwork by Mark Swanson and Justin Schultz. Photography by Anthony Jinson and Mateusz Zajda (BoardGameShot) and supplied by Mark.