 Hi supporters, gamers and backers :) While our Kickstarter campaign is live (http://kck.st/1d2sRN6), I wanted to share the last of my posts about the illustrators that have been working with me. This time we're going to Germany, where Caner Inciucu is living with his wife and son. Caner has been on the project ever since the first pencil drawing was made for Burning Suns. So it's truly an great story to share with such a talented person. If you want to see the things Caner has done, make sure to check out his DeviantArt account > Redan23  Talent, precision and hard work I've seen a lot of talented people through my years in the world of design, games and education. So the nature of talent isn't surprising me anymore (there's a lot out there), but the way the talent is used... And here Caner stands out among the crowd! Caner doesn't just "rely" on his talent - he's a dedicated and hard working artist - that doesn't leave work half done! Caner want everything to be just perfect, and he'll be working on it until it's been achieved. A valuable trait in a freelancer. Many freelancers and up-and-coming artist could learn from him and the effort he puts into his work.  Fit for details and epic stories I must admit that I've been lucky with the illustrators I've chosen for my board game project. All of them have fitted into their role and task, and I've had the pleasure of being able to use their talent in so many ways. With Caner, the case was as clear as crystal! His sense for detail, depth and atmosphere in every drawing is a complete and perfect fit for a scope like Burning Suns. Atmosphere is everything - and Caner's illustrations brings those heroic and pivotal moments to life. Get inspired by Caner's drawing - by watching his videos on Youtube.  An easy going and transparent process Though I guess I'm also responsible for the nice tone and easy going vibe in our production of Burning Suns. It's undeniable that Caner is a very nice person to talk to - and very easy to be constructive with. Caner has a good understanding of what you want portrayed - and he's always making sure that you'll be able to follow the process as the illustration evolves from the first few strokes to a full size art piece. When handling these kind of long-distance projects where you can't just meet up. It's essential to be able to follow the process and catch up on errors right away. Caner makes this discipline a walk in the park from the very beginning.  Commitment and friendship
I believe that I've established a great relationship with all of my freelancers, and that we would be able to work together for a long time to come. I've been so lucky to meet Caner during last years "SPIEL" in Essen. It was a really great and fun experience - and I hope I'll be able to do that again. Commitment and friendship can be strong tools when working with a freelancer. I'll finish this post by giving Caner my highest recommendations! If you need epic illustrations for your board or computer game - Caner is the man to go to! Raden23 on DeviantArt Be sure to check out our Kickstarter campaign - and find more of Caner's and my other illustrator's great work: Burning Suns on Kickstarter Best regards Emil Larsen, SunTzuGames  Hi again all of you board game creators, Today I wanted to share yet another one of my great illustrators with you :) An illustrator I've been working with from the very beginning - and who keeps presenting wonderful artwork for all of us to enjoy in Burning Suns. Angelita Ramos is a freelance illustrator and author from the United States, who was hired on to the Burning Suns project over a year ago. Angelita has many years of experience with illustration, and has done a wide variety of work on both book covers, logos and fan art. - And now, she is also well rounded in the world of science fiction ;)  Communication is key As a project manager and officer you don't have to remind me that communication is key to success, no matter the industry or profession you're working with, but to see results unfold in correspondence to communication has never been clearer to me - than when I started to work with Angelita. Angelita is kind and friendly to talk to and she always makes you feel good about your product wishes and ideas. She knows the importance of keeping a productive dialog with room for ideas, and she's not afraid of telling you if she has run into trouble, which makes it so much easier to sort out, before anyone has wasted precious time. Make sure to check out her splendid work on DeviantArt!  Ping Pong Feedback While some illustrators like to run with the ball as soon as they gets it, Angelita likes to keep things in a very transparent progress continuously updating the status of her work - and asking for feedback. As the employer or project manager it's very reassuring to work with someone like Angelita, who never runs away from an idea or trashes your input. Angelita is also the architect behind SunTzuGames' logo - depicting the head and torso of a science fiction inspired samurai.  Commitment and exploration When you're working with illustrators over such a long time as I've done, you know that commitment is one of the most important factors for a successful outcome. I've had a great time exploring ideas with Angelita, and she is always ready to try out something different in order for us to achieve our goal. Angelita is always keeping it professional - with a friendly and positive attitude. I've never had the chance to read Angelita Ramos' book - Polar Bear Kisses, but if it's anything like her other work, people won't be disappointed! (don't worry, it doesn't have anything to do with our friendly fellow on the left ;)  Strength in character and emotions
I was lucky to find Angelita when I needed my characters and aliens illustrated, and by now (or after reviewing more of Angelita Ramos' great work) I'm sure you know that Angelita's strength lies in characters. It doesn't matter whether we talk aliens, human or animals, Angelita knows how to make them "likable", "full of hatred", "fearsome" or "curious" - she has the spectrum of emotions in her power. It goes without saying that I can recommend Angelita Ramos all the way! She is a trustworthy, professional and kind colleague to have on your projects, no matter the scope and time frame. Best regards Emil Larsen, SunTzuGames  Dear gamers and developers, I've put together yet another post where I talk about one of the illustrators I've been so fortunate to work with for the last many months. Tony Andreas Rudolph, also known as Zulusplitter when being creative with Photoshop, is a German artist currently working as a concept artist for Trixter in Munich. I was lucky to get him involved in Burning Suns when I had settled upon some of the more significant changes in the game. He turned out to be the perfect match for the many planets, alien worlds and asteroids I was in desperate need of at the time. Enjoy even more of Zulusplitter's work here: www.zulusplitter.de  Recommendations Tony was actually recommended by one of my other illustrators, which is always a good sign! I waited to contact him until I had enough work for him, so that he actually got something out of choosing me as a client. Remember, the deal and proposal goes both ways ;) Going to DeviantArt and searching for illustrators can be quite challenging, surely there are enough talented people there, but you need to consider the following things.
Make sure to have the answers for these questions before hand (Read my other post about freelancers here) It truly was a no-brainer when I got a recommendation from my illustrator which had been on the project from the very beginning. After a quick look at Tony's work - I knew I had to get him on the team :) You can see Tony's cool illustrations here: http://zulusplitter.deviantart.com/  Locating the forces of an illustrator It's easy to see where Tony's forces lies, when you look in his gallery - It's filled with nice landscapes, beautiful backgrounds and lots of scenery. But even so, I wasn't going to assign him anything before he had been let loose with a completely blank canvas. As with every illustrator that has ever working on my projects, I need to experience what drives them to the decisions in their work, in order for me to be able to give them the exact tasks for them. This is both to determine flow of work, amount of details in work descriptions, the drive in the person, imagination, and communication skills. Tony is certainly not in lack of any imagination or drive and as it turned out - he also knows how to create great sci-fi stuff like digital gadgets and ships! :)  Working with Tony
Tony is an easy going guy who has been a great asset to the team. When Tony was added to the team as the last illustrator, the circle felt complete and Burning Suns has never looked this great. Tony has earned a permanent place in the team - and I hope to be able to work with Tony in many months to come. Like my other illustrators I can only give Tony my best recommendations - you won't be disappointed with his sense for scenery, environment and atmosphere! Emil Larsen, SunTzuGames  Finally - after so many hours developing, testing and producing - my first board game is out and ready to be ordered! You can order the game here My first board game "Startups" is a good school book example of game development.  Startups wasn't the first game I developed or the first I had a final design on, nor was it the first I beta tested or tried to find investors for. But it was the first game that matched my economical limits and production capabilities with satisfying beta tests and my goals for a board game with a significant strategic perspective.  The production of Startups has given me many new lessons learned that I'll be sharing with you in near future. Now it's all about getting the message out - Startups is a great game and a lot of fun! You can order it here on my website and feel free to help me spread the word of a new indie board game production... Happy gaming :)  Hi everyone, On this blog - I'll share my experiences concerning playing and developing board games... The subjects will range from questions about board sizes and turn sequences to hands on experience with investor relations and entrepreneurship - everything related to board game development and production. I'll keep the blog updated on a regular basis, comment on as many posts as possible and reflect on both old and future blogs. Everything that may help you develop your own board game and get introduced to new board games as well. Feel free to comment on the blog and tell me about your experiences with board games or if you have any feedback - let me know. No matter the reason - you're always welcome to follow the blog and hopefully you'll get some free lessons learned and new inspiration :) Best regards Emil Larsen |
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