I met Natalie Pudim at Big Bad Con in San Francisco in the summer of 2023. We were both running our own game systems at Games on Demand there, and I handed her a copy of mine, Heads & Tales.
A couple months later she reached out to me and shared that she planned to launch a kickstarter for a new game in the spring, and would love to have me on for Layout after seeing what I had done previously.
This was the first team I joined for graphic or layout design and I treasured every minute of it. I gave feedback on everything I saw - maybe more than necessary.
But it paid off, as I received a promotion to Art Director within the month.
I was brought onto the projects after some decisions and assets had already been made, such as the title/logo, cover art, and orange dragon and caretaker design (both pictured above and done by the incomparable AnonymousGob).
To prepare for my first Art Direction gig, I had a consultation with Nala J. Wu. They taught me the ways of AD through spreadsheets and style guides.
See below for artist reference sheet vs. sketch for the cozy hold room done by Shan Bennion (AKA AnonBeaDraws).
Alongside the style guide, I also gave artists a quick reference guide (pictured below).
Updates: I've changed the direction of the interior slightly to match my inspirations and the bright colours more. Above is the old, below is the new.
Until the book is released I won't be providing much more insight behind the scenes!
