How great is Instagram in board game marketing? It feels like a difficult channel to get a high level of engagement. I am visual stimulus kind of person so I love the medium, scrolling through a stream of board game pictures is very inspiring. GreenHookGames strictly follow dedicated board game profiles to leave my feed untainted, but occasionally I also follow artist that I like, especially board game artists. This is how I came across the english board game artist Roland MacDonald. You might already know his work – because it is top of class and outstanding. He now live permanently in Utrecht Netherlands. 

Can you tell us a little about your artistic background and how you got into making art for board games?

I have always enjoyed drawing and making things but my path to becoming an illustrator had more than a few detours. I studied fine art but it was conceptual/contemporary art and painting was heavily discouraged. I learned more about philosophy than art so that was a misstep after that I became a Chef which was an adventure but another diversion after doing an MA Game Design I got an art position at Sega/Creative Assembly doing 3D modelling for PS2 and PC games. I found modelling to be unsatisfying creatively as you are mostly making someone else’s concepts. So I started working hard to retrain myself to be a concept artist/illustrator.

I used every spare hour I had for two years and eventually got asked to do the concept art and illustrations for Shogun 2 Total War. That was an excellent opportunity.

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When Santorini was funded I asked Gavan Brown if he felt the success was due to the minis in the game. He did not think that but instead pointed towards the simple ruleset as the biggest draw. I think he might be right about that but following Kickstarter’s it seems like gamers just love miniatures.

Making a game with miniatures is not easy. There are soo many steps from your sketch to production. Sean Sutter, a concept & comic artist from California took the leap into making his dream project – a fantasy skirmish game full of miniatures called Relicblade.

Sean is a fantastic sculptor and also shares his experience with making minis on his youtube channel Metal King Studios. I am thrilled to present you an interview with Sean.

Tell us a little about your artistic background and how you got into making your own board game?

My artistic background is in the traditional two-dimensional art. I studied drawing vigorously throughout school and graduated with a BFA with an emphasis in painting. I have worked as a graphic designer, fine art painter, and comic book illustrator.

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In a little booth in the far end of the annual board game convention Essen Spiel – something caught my attention. Crossroads of Heroes pulled me in, not only because of the kung-fu theme but also by the beautiful banners filled with loving characters in a harmonious color scheme topped with fascinating Chinese Hanzi calligraphy.

In a little booth in the far end of the annual board game convention Essen Spiel – something caught my attention. Crossroads of Heroes pulled me in, not only because of the kung-fu theme but also by the beautiful banners filled with loving characters in a harmonious color scheme topped with fascinating Chinese Hanzi calligraphy. I enjoyed a few rounds of play of a game that seemed really hard and fun. The game is the sole project of one man and his wife both currently residing in Hong Kong. His name is Patrick Lee and work under the artist name Pat Piper.

How did you get into making art for board games?
I studied art and classical animation. Crossroad of Heroes is the only board game I have ever worked on and the single reason why I got into making art for board games.
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All games that passes Ian O’Toole’s hands has a superior level of art. Ian is both a talented board game illustrator and graphic designer which shines through in his work. The ability to create a variety of styles, equally beautiful, like Lisboa and Khan of Khans – takes a special talent. He already made the art for several great titles and I am sure that with his skills we will see a lot more. That is why, I am thrilled to present an interview with one of my favourites in the industry – Ian O’Toole from Perth, Australia.

Tell us a little about your artistic background and how you got into making art for board games?

I’ve worked as a graphic designer, illustrator and Art Director in all sorts of industries and environments for about 15 years. Advertising, marketing, animation etc. In 2013 I started to work for myself as a freelancer and decided to dip my toe into creating illustration and design for boardgames. More as a hobby project at the start, but it quickly gained momentum and now the majority of my work is board game related.
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