When we started developing our prototype, we kept asking around amongst family and friends for an artist to partner with us. However, we could not find anyone who was able to commit the huge amount of time needed to create artwork for a board game.
The Search
In late 2016 (around November, I believe) me and Johannes sat together once again to further plan out the project. It was pretty clear to us that without proper artwork, Habeamus would not succeed, at all. So we made a grave decision: either we would find an artist within the next 3 months or we would bury the project until we have the budget to buy in on an artist or forever, whichever comes first.
I cannot say whether we changed our attitude towards searching an artist because of these drastic measures or whether we were plain lucky. However, a friend pointed us to a deviantArt page on which we found awesome drawings like this one or this. We were immediately convinced that this style would fit our game and setting very well. The style, by the way, is inspired by Alfons Mucha (Wikipedia).
The Meeting
So we contacted the artist and arranged a first Skype call to talk about the project. I will spare you the details of that call, but we quickly found out, that we have the same line of humor and similar ideas about the artwork. Thus, we scheduled meeting in person few days later. On this meeting we were already presented with a bunch of fonts and logo ideas to select from and refine.
The First Result
Of course, the very first thing we needed was a logo. You might already be familiar with it. When me and Johannes saw it for the first time, we fell in love with it, immediately. I especially love the many hidden details. And there are more to come in the card, board, and box design. But I’ll save that for another day.
Next up, Johannes will tell you what steps we took creating a print and play version of Habeamus to allow for even more playtesting.
Lucrum tecum sit.