Games
Pentago box cover illustration by Fian Arroyo
Here's an illustration I recently created for the new Pentago game box cover. It's the Skateboard Madness version using the characters I developed for MindtwisterUSA for other games, geared for a younger audience. Even the title and logo are hand drawn to go with the feel of the art. It should be out later this year. Stay tuned!
Finally decompressed after an amazing 5 days in Indianapolis attending the Gen Con gaming convention with the game company Mindtwister. I sold a lot of prints, signed a ton of Mindtwister games my art is on, made some great contacts for possible future work and had an amazing time enjoying what Indy had to offer. Here are some highlights of my trip.
My booth with MindtwisterUSA.
Behind the scenes.
Workin' Gen Con selling prints.
Doodling behind the scenes between selling prints and signing Mindtwister games.
Yard decor?
The crowd waiting to get in. Over 50,000 people attended.
Small corner of the universe called Gen Con.
Dr. Who robots in my hotel lobby.
typical Gen con eye candy.
This motley crew posed on the spot for me.
These are the tools I used to create "The Grand Viziers Garden Party". They are Arches watercolor block of 30 sheets of 140 lb cold press paper, Winsor Newton watercolors, Pilot Namiki Falcon fountain pen, Pilot Metropolitan animal fountain pen, Noodlers fountain pen, Noodlers ink, Pedeo drawing gum, Winsor Newton Gum Arabic and various brushes.
Rough sketch with doodles from my sketchbook added. Getting our cast of characters into their places. Places everyone!!!
Transferring the sketch to the watercolor paper block. I print out the sketch then rub the back of it with a graphite pencil and trace the image onto the paper.
Starting the inking process. It is always a rush to get to this stage and to make it start to come to life.
The outline inking. The main line work right before the detail comes in. The grand vizier is getting ansy...he wants to see how he will look in color.
Details to the outline inking. The last stage before I apply color...then the real decision making comes into play.
Masking the characters with Pedeo Drawing gum (blueish color) so I can paint the sky with a watercolor wash. Its easier to get a fluid wash without having to worry about getting color into unwanted places.
The sky wash is added....now I'm ready to bring the characters to life.
Starting to add color to the characters. I started with the grand vizier himself and made him a reddish color to make him the center of attention like he always demands.
Bringing more of the characters to life. Bringing this party into full view.
Detail of the painting process. Gotta make sure the Vizier is done right...he's kinda fussy that way.
The finished art. A glimpse into what goes on at The Grand Vizier's place on weekends and what goes on in my head all the time. Enjoy!