Concept & Sketches
When I developed the original cards for HeroCraft, most started with a functional concept and could be skinned however I wanted. Some, however, were created with an aesthetic inexorably bound with their game mechanics. Since art production was a long ways off, I created a repository of reference images, notes, and written lore to accompany all of the cards. Fast forward three years later and I still reference this repository when I consign an art piece. Once the artist is chosen and briefed on the piece the journey begins.
Mike's workflow involves creating some initial sketches to pitch. These can be as loose or refined as he needs to get the idea across when we next discuss. For the Diamond Golem, he sketched out a few ideas and emphasized his favorite with additional rendering (far left).





Pose, Composition, and Background
With the design pretty much nailed down, we discuss pose and background. Mike calls the shots with the pose unless there's a specific criteria, and I give him some general (read: vague) ideas on the background scenery. He uses a template frame to sketch some poses and dial in the composition.


Rendering the Illustration
He then does what he does best by adding value, lighting, and details. Progress shots are sent to ensure that everything is moving in the right direction, but rarely is there further input from by me. The background is blocked in and rendered last, along with some tweaks to other areas.




Final Artwork and Card


I hope you enjoyed this little inside peek of the art of HeroCraft. One of the goals for the Kickstarter campaign is to include a digital ebook version of an "art book" as a reward tier, featuring all of the art from the game with progress shots, story snippets, and other fun things. Lastly, a big shout out to Mike for creating such great art!
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