We at Orange Nebula believe in the power of collaboration. Opening a project to the influence of a wide range of imaginations produces a visual richness and diversity that can speak to a wide range of tastes, something we strongly desired for this game. Also desired – truly amazing art. So, we reached out to multiple artists to help give this world an oversized dose of personality. Then we thought – why multiple when you can have oodles? Why stop at oodles, let’s go for boodles. Then – what if, every. single. artist? Then we calmed down, but just a little, and eventually landed on a still preposterously large group of more than twenty. Crazy? Maybe. Worth it? Absolutely.
Check out our reflections on the Vindication Kickstarter Part 1 and Part 2.
This raises the obvious question: How do you solicit art from 20-25 different artists but still have all the work fit seamlessly as part of a cohesive experience?
Easy – trust the artists.
That trust goes both ways. The illustrators rely on us as the project-owners to give them the information they need to do their thing, and (rightfully) expect us to have a solid enough foundation and understanding of the world we have created to provide them a broad orientation. Then we dive for cover and let their inspiration start flinging creative juices all over. This trust is the heart of collaboration, and when you see the art in this game you will agree that it was trust well-earned. Talk about stunning results.
Take a moment to appreciate some of this amazing work and consider dropping by the artists’ platforms and letting them know how much you appreciate their craft. Trust us – people love hearing that their passions are appreciated and are touching lives.
Bartek
Poland
Emiliano H. Córdoba
Spain
Phu Thieu
Vietnam
Brett Carville
United States
Incredible. We’re still in awe of what this group has created and this is just a handful of creators whose personality and inspiration is captured in this collection. It’s easy to see the art in games as just another part of the package and overlook that each is a singular creation full of intention and care by an individual somewhere in the world. They thought about what you would feel when you saw it and the experience it would bring you. Do we as gamers take the time to give each piece it’s due? To think about those creators as they thought about us? We should.
From here we turned to the powers of graphic design to pull all this material even closer together and make everything truly sing. That’s a whole different tale for another time which, trust me, we’ll definitely be telling.
Keep looking at amazing art. Check out these amazing female artists.
If you love what you’re seeing and want to see more of it – congratulations, every single card in the game has a unique illustration for you to fall into and experience. Going further still, all copies of Vindication include the Art and Lore of the Awakening booklet which features larger prints of many of the pieces, giving them some of the platform and attention they deserve and coupling each image with a small blurb of lore that reveals a bit of the history of the island, providing the illustrations just a little bit more depth and character.
There were many things we wanted from Vindication and one was for it to be beautiful. Looking at this art there’s no question – that goal was overwhelmingly exceeded. To each and every artist who contributed their incredible talents and personality to this project – we thank you.