Maskwitches has been nominated for an ENnie award for Best Art, and voting is now open here.
I don’t mind playing the ENnies game – it’s one we voluntarily sign up to play. I also don’t take it too seriously. It’s nice to win awards, of course. And I have real respect for the work that goes into them.
But it is definitely a game when it’s a public vote: the entrants pre-existing audiences, their ability to spend time canvassing and so on? They’re all massive factors. Some of which we at Handiwork gain from, some are more challenging.
And while again I don’t mind any of this: this is the game we set out to play when we entered, I have some lingering reservation about art as competition and the very idea of “Best Art”.
So let’s take a look at all the entrants in The Best Art category. This year in particular features some amazing art, and I’m gonna leverage my 25 years of professional art making and art directing in games to take a look at all the entrants and sing their praises, while enjoying their relative merits.
It’s a cliche, but getting a nomination from the judging panel is a win. After that it comes down to the voting public, which is anyone’s guess. So you know. Let’s stick to thinking of this as a game.
Alphabetically, Maskwitches comes first, so let’s stick to that ordering. There’s a whole blog about the making of it over this way.
I was going to add pictures, but I think you should follow the links and have a nosey around for yourself. See what you can find out, especially if these aren’t games you’ve heard of before. What a gift to receive – new games!
Maskwitches of Forgotten Doggerland, Handiwork Games
Artist: Jon Hodgson (that’s me!), Paul Bourne
Maskwitches uses photos of sets, models and props to create the world of Forgotten Doggerland. There’s digital montage and painting too, but it’s less obvious. It seems to us at least to be quite a uniquely ambitious endeavour, and one I was frankly amazed to reach the end of. I’m delighted to be nominated, and that’ll be enough for me.
Paul Bourne did layout on Maskwitches, and it has a really strong graphic presence in my estimation, so he gets to share credit on this one.
Mythic Bastionland, Bastionland Press
Artist: Alec Sorensen
The first thing I’m struck with when looking at Mythic Bastionland is the use of shape and colour. This is someone who knows what they’re doing, or has a very deep innate sense of colour and shape, and I love to see RPGS graduating to this kind of thing. I think the art is really beautiful. The way line, form and colour are working together in a very elegant and restrained way is really something to behold. I’m also seeing a lot of ideas in the art, which I really like. Each piece is saying a lot, visually. I’m not really a fan of saying one thing is like some other thing – it is its own thing – but if I was pressed I’m feeling Elden Ring by way of James Jean and that’s meant as a huge complement.
The Fablemaker’s Deck of Many Things Holo-Foil Box Set, Hit Point Press
Artist: Yoshi Yoshitani
The Fablemaker’s Deck is just a riot of colour and pattern, and I love it. Yoshi Yoshitani really knows what they’re doing with this style, and there’s a real grace to the combination of pattern and more illustrative sections. I think it’s an extremely contemporary take. I think it’s interesting to contrast the kind of idea-rich art in Mythic Bastionland with this more directly lush work that just goes straight for your eyeball tastebuds. It asks you to think less, but enjoy a lot more I think. Something that I find super-exciting about art is this freedom to do things in so many different ways that are all good. This work is just impeccable, and there’s absolutely nothing wasted, it’s all on page (or card?), all working hard.
The Painted Wastelands, Agamemnon Press LLC
Artist: Tim Molloy
I’m reminded of the beautiful Sable video game, and the work of Möbius is clearly an influence, which I really enjoy. The visuals here marry both lush depth of information and delicate colour, which works really well. I think it’s been really heartening to see something of a return to the psychedelic roots of RPG art in recent years. It’s felt somewhat fallow in previous eras, and it has just so much to offer – and The Painted Wastelands really delivers I think. The genre-busting that goes on in this kind of game is well represented by the art, and it is very coherently delivered. This style of art is impossible to make if you’re not feeling it, and I really enjoy the invitation to imagine more. The art is taking us with it to somewhere weird, and letting us off the leash, rather than trying to explain a more staid, stolid and typical fantasy world. Tim Molloy is an artist, you get me?
Zephyr – An Anarchist Game of Fleeting Identities, Araukana Media LTD
Artist: Federico Sohns
I think this is a really interesting book with a wonderful story. Frederico learned to make digital art for this book, and it’s all about that journey. That strikes me as really resonant, and beyond what can be produced by hiring in a load of top tier talent. It’s very authentic. The setting and the art are really interwoven in all of the nominees, but with the artist/author combo it’s hard to get a more in-tune set of visuals. The world of Zephyr is very unique, and I think this is a very tight presentation. I’m really struck by the story of this book, and the journey within the game, and the journey in its production. That’s powerful stuff.
I don’t think there’s a way you can vote wrongly this year. The judges have done a really spectacular job of avoiding the ordinary, and for me personally I think the line up is a real celebration of what art in RPGs can be. I’m truly humbled to have a place amongst the art of these thoughtful, creative games. Good luck to all the nominees – the art this year is just amazing.
A word for those not nominated.
RPGs are a very special field. There’s very few people working in RPG art who don’t truly care about what they do, and pour so much of themselves into their work. Getting nominated, and winning awards is nice. I don’t want to pretend it isn’t. But it is good to remember that it is not transformative. Your work is the same going into an award selection process as it is coming out of it. The transformation of yourself as an artist does not happen at that award winner’s podium. If anything it’s a distraction. So if you’re hurting right now because the judges had to pick a limited number of nominees from a massive range of entries, take heart. I think while they’ve done a good job this year, there’s always subjectivity involved, there’s always near misses.
I know what I’m about making art for games. I know why I do it, and I feel quite grounded in what it all means. It’s lovely to be given a nod like this, but it has to be kept in perspective. We don’t make art to get medals do we? We make art to connect to that thing. I can’t explain it to you if you don’t already know what I’m talking about. That essentially human connection which makes something exist that didn’t exist before. The act that’s about something other than subsistence, and everything to do with what’s beyond the mundane. And medals don’t change that. Anyway, if you do know what I’m talking about, you should probably be drawing.