Game artists play an important role in the game development process. They not only translate the team's ideas into beautiful works of art, but they also set the visual style and feel of the game.

Today we're sitting down with Ruben, our Lead Artist in Goblin Stone, to learn more about how an artist works in an indie game studio and his thoughts on the development of Goblin Stone.

Please take us through your journey as an artist. What inspired you to pursue a career as a game artist?

I was always fascinated with art in games since I was a kid, and working for a game studio came as a great opportunity after years in other industries. My passion for strategy games is what also led me to become a game artist and this helped me find inspiration for the creative process of Goblin Stone. Aside from that, my experiences in advertising, animation, 3d modeling, and storytelling all help out with what I’m able to contribute to the world of the game.

We are curious what a day to day routine of an artist looks like in the studio. Can you share what you do as the Lead Artist for Goblin Stone?

A lot of different art tasks are worked on throughout my day, and the variety is always interesting. I usually have to draw 2d illustrations for use in Unity, but I have to do a bit of level design and 3d as well. Sometimes, there can be fun events on Discord that might need holiday art, too! 

As the lead artist, I also give art direction to maintain the uniformity and quality of art that was set for the game. This includes communicating and collaborating with the creative director and the rest of the art team.

What is the difference between creating concept art and creating 2D game assets?

Concept art is usually about getting the essential core of the idea (a character, location, menu, item, etc)  across with the minimum amount of time. This allows quick feedback and turnaround for the development of the idea to fit the purpose in the game.

2d game assets are finished images for use in the game itself, whether they are sprites, background props, or stand-alone story illustrations. 2D game assets are created as high-quality graphics that are compatible with the game engine, as opposed to concept art, which is sometimes shown as sketches or detailed but unfinished illustrations that is used to convey the overall feeling of the game.

What tools and programs do you use to bring your ideas to life?

I alternate between Photoshop and Unity, with Blender as 3d support when needed. I also used to make simple clay models to help visualize characters and other shapes for my illustrations when I had the time, but nowadays it's much easier to use 3D models as reference.

How would you describe the graphic universe of Goblin Stone? What inspires Goblin Stone’s visual style and how did the team develop it?

The style is strongly influenced by storybook-style illustrations, the works of Studio Ghibli, and fantasy works from the 70s and 80s. From there, we added our personal flair to the character designs and world building to develop a distinctive art style. We hopefully want our game, especially our goblins, to appear recognizable while being a bit quirky.

Please tell us about your process on how you conceptualize and carry out your ideas when creating scenes or characters for Goblin Stone?

I usually start with a variety of designs based on the intention and requirements of the art, then we iterate from there. Everyone on the team also gives input and suggestions, until we arrive at something both readable and unique.

When it comes to conceptualizing and creating character uniqueness, having a visual library of many influences and designs in your head definitely helps, especially for fantasy characters that have been depicted in video games numerous times. I start off with a very recognizable concept, then add something obscure or personal to it. Then I play around with different designs to come up with something interesting that fits our concept!

You can also check out our previous devblog where we showed our step-by-step process on how we create our story panels.

Which artwork you created for Goblin Stone is your favorite or the one you are most proud of?

Our game’s story makes use of storybook-style illustrations, and I love making them! I’m able to show scenes with emotion and drama, so I try to put a lot into each character’s performance. As for which is my favorite scene in the story, that might be spoiler material!

What advice would you like to share to aspiring artists who wish to work in the indie game industry?

Keep practicing, keep a wide range of current interests, and be ready when opportunity strikes.