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VANTAGE
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I had an absolute pleasure and honor to be one of the artists working on Vantage. This was unlike any other project I've ever worked on before. So unique and different, and with it, it had its own set of challenges and technical artistic processes.
With that being said, after seven long years, I'm so thrilled I can finally share a snippet of my process here with you today.
Fret not, I will try my best to avoid drawing attention to any major spoilers (no pun intended!) -- as there are so many things for you to discover in this game, and the mystery is a huge part of the exploration of this beautiful world!
Here are some of the location cards I painted for the game! If you want to see more Vantage art, check out my VANTAGE art gallery!
With that being said, after seven long years, I'm so thrilled I can finally share a snippet of my process here with you today.
Fret not, I will try my best to avoid drawing attention to any major spoilers (no pun intended!) -- as there are so many things for you to discover in this game, and the mystery is a huge part of the exploration of this beautiful world!
Here are some of the location cards I painted for the game! If you want to see more Vantage art, check out my VANTAGE art gallery!
My journey began with an art test back in 2017 for Jamey Stegmaier (the brilliant designer of the game, and co-founder of Stonemaier Games), who not only wanted to see if his idea of travelling through a vast world via location cards was possible, but also wanted to see if he could establish an overall art-style for the world at the same time as well.
A formidable task, but I got to work nonetheless, and created an array of various locations, each with strange or unique attributes. The goal was to have every location be unique enough to explore on its own, yet still contained within the section of the world that the person could travel through.
Not every location made it to the final version, but to my surprise, some did!
A formidable task, but I got to work nonetheless, and created an array of various locations, each with strange or unique attributes. The goal was to have every location be unique enough to explore on its own, yet still contained within the section of the world that the person could travel through.
Not every location made it to the final version, but to my surprise, some did!
Imagine my absolute elation when I learned that passed the test! Before I knew it, I was already working on official locations for the world of Vantage.
So, one important thing to keep in mind about Vantage is that every single location card was created from a first-person perspective. Picture yourself standing in any given location, and what you see before you is what is depicted on a card, almost like an artistic photograph of the location.
And the most crucial thing I had to keep in mind when creating these locations was that each location had to lead into the next (not just forwards/backwards, but also sideways, too!) So, for instance: if I painted a mountain on one card, then if I were to walk northwards (forward into the next location) that mountain should either be closer to me, or I should be standing at the foot of it. Same applies to sideways movement -- east or west. That's pretty neat, no?
And so with that in mind, I began sketching...
So, one important thing to keep in mind about Vantage is that every single location card was created from a first-person perspective. Picture yourself standing in any given location, and what you see before you is what is depicted on a card, almost like an artistic photograph of the location.
And the most crucial thing I had to keep in mind when creating these locations was that each location had to lead into the next (not just forwards/backwards, but also sideways, too!) So, for instance: if I painted a mountain on one card, then if I were to walk northwards (forward into the next location) that mountain should either be closer to me, or I should be standing at the foot of it. Same applies to sideways movement -- east or west. That's pretty neat, no?
And so with that in mind, I began sketching...
Every single location had to be meticulously gridded; there was a lot of coordination involved between myself and the immensely talented landscape artist, Sören Meding). We both used Dropbox and Discord to communicate and share our grids with each other. Each location we painted had to match up with (and lead to) the four locations around it (North/South/East/West). So if he painted a cliff on his card and it led to my card, then I had to make sure to reference that same cliff on my location card; so on and so forth.
I absolutely loved this coordination and process, and it not only gave me millions of different ideas to work with for other landscapes, but it even inspired some unique aspects for my own personal projects.
I absolutely loved this coordination and process, and it not only gave me millions of different ideas to work with for other landscapes, but it even inspired some unique aspects for my own personal projects.
Then came the time to paint and refine!
With the final printed format for the location illustrations being 120mm x 80mm, every portion of the canvas was to be utilised. Each card was carefully and deliberately decorated with mysterious runes, unknown treasures, and strange puzzles! With the help of Jamey's skillful designing of the game's mechanics, and the ingenious artistic creations of Emilien Rotival, each addition to any location card was not only there for the beauty or aesthetics, but also for the exploration and the mystery. Every treasure chest, every curious stone, and magic rune has a purpose. Each of which would guide your journey through the world, with varying benefits or consequences!
PS: I was also given the opportunity to create the logotype for the game - and (without spoiling too much) the design of the capital letter A is intentional - the keen eye will see why!
With the final printed format for the location illustrations being 120mm x 80mm, every portion of the canvas was to be utilised. Each card was carefully and deliberately decorated with mysterious runes, unknown treasures, and strange puzzles! With the help of Jamey's skillful designing of the game's mechanics, and the ingenious artistic creations of Emilien Rotival, each addition to any location card was not only there for the beauty or aesthetics, but also for the exploration and the mystery. Every treasure chest, every curious stone, and magic rune has a purpose. Each of which would guide your journey through the world, with varying benefits or consequences!
PS: I was also given the opportunity to create the logotype for the game - and (without spoiling too much) the design of the capital letter A is intentional - the keen eye will see why!
Long story short, I am at loss of words to properly articulate my experience of working on this game. It was exhilarating, thrilling, and unbelievably exciting. It allowed me to push the boundaries of my own imagination, to expand my capabilities to collaborate and coordinate with other artists and designers, and to even push my technical artistic skills to new levels.
I am beyond thankful and grateful for this opportunity, and for Jamey Stegmaier for taking a chance on me.
It's absolutely surreal to know that people across the world are not only holding my art in their hands, but also enjoying seven-years' worth of hard work and dedication from the most talented and kindest group of people I've ever had the pleasure to work with. Once again, many thanks go out to Jamey Stegmaier, Sören Meding, and Emilien Rotival.
What about you? If you've played this game, what has your experience been thus far? Find me on my socials and let's talk about it!
I am beyond thankful and grateful for this opportunity, and for Jamey Stegmaier for taking a chance on me.
It's absolutely surreal to know that people across the world are not only holding my art in their hands, but also enjoying seven-years' worth of hard work and dedication from the most talented and kindest group of people I've ever had the pleasure to work with. Once again, many thanks go out to Jamey Stegmaier, Sören Meding, and Emilien Rotival.
What about you? If you've played this game, what has your experience been thus far? Find me on my socials and let's talk about it!
