Animus: Vanishing Point update Fri Dec 18 2020
Update 10 - Last Day Tomorrow & Artist Interviews
We're getting down to the last day! I've been giving you all my thanks for supporting this project but I didn't create it alone. Although I'm the game and character designer, I've enlisted a team of artists to breathe life into the characters I've pulled from my imagination. Their work is the first thing people see about Animus and it is what sticks in their minds. I'd like to introduce some of them to you and let you get to know them with a few mini-interviews.
Creating the Multiverse
One of the core ideas of Animus was that I wanted to have multiple artists with varying styles to illustrate it. The intent being that the different styles would support the idea that the characters are from different multiverses. Many publishers would say you shouldn't mix styles like that, but I wanted to do away with that "rule" and bring in as much unique talent that I could find and not constrict their creativity but to free them to work with their strengths. The original plan was to have each artist illustrate their own set, but for Vanishing Point, we used multiple artists in one set to get across the idea of the multiverse.
Neil Que
Neil has done several characters in the Vanishing Point set as well as some concept art and logos. He will have an entire Animus set illustrated by him in the future called Animus: Fallen Order. Neil originally was commissioned just for Fallen Order as I felt his art style matched the new theme I was going for. But his versatility and graphic design skills were invaluable for the creation of several logos that will be used across different Animus sets. He also stepped up to create art pieces for Vanishing Point to help complete it.
Animus: Vanishing Point - The Nothing by Neil Que
Q: Please tell us about yourself: Where are you from? Where did you end up? What do you hope viewers take away from your art?
A: Hi all. I'm originally a traditional artist working on media like oil painting, pencils, watercolor, etc. I then developed that over to digital art and graphic design. My best work comes from creating concept art. I was born in the city of Manila, Philippines. I migrated to Los Angeles at a very young age and been living here ever since.
Q: What can you tell us about your experience illustrating for Animus?
A: My experience illustrating for Animus has been an amazing experience. Working with Ed to develop his characters, bringing them to visual life, was fun and worthwhile. It was a real pleasure creating many characters for the game.
Q: What is your personal favorite illustration you created for Animus and why?
A: I like all the art I created for the game but one did stand out for and it was The Horseman Harbinger of War. Her expression and overall feel/look for the art truly represents her.
Animus: Fallen Order - Harbinger of War by Neil Que
Q: Give us a snapshot- What is your favorite:
Book: The Queen's Gambit (after watching the show)
Music: Currently, Hospital music electric mix. I'm usually into old school R&B/rap.
Movie: Casino Royale
Video or Tabletop Game: Video Game - COD Cold War & Resident Evil 7, Tabletop - Animus & Cards Against Humanity
Q: Where can we find more of your work?
A: Neil Que
My social media links are:
instagram: @njque
Website: Neil Que
Facebook: Redirecting...
Nivea Toliver
Nivea was originally my first choice of artist for Vanishing Point but due to professional commitments, she was unable to take on the whole project. However, she did illustrate a few characters for Vanishing Point that I felt required her personal touch and style. A year after completing Vanishing Point, my dream of teaming up with her to create a set all her own was realized. We worked together on an upcoming set called Animus: Shattered Fantasy in which all the illustrations are created by her. I had ideas for mature reinvented versions of well-known fantasy and fairy tale characters and I felt that Nivea could give my dark visions a light touch in what I was calling a "dark disney" style.
Animus: Vanishing Point - Phlorylia Iris by Nivea Toliver
Q: Please tell us about yourself: Where are you from? Where did you end up? What do you hope viewers take away from your art?
A: Hi, I’m Nivea, but I also go by the pen name “Dari”. I live in Philadelphia and studied illustration for a few years before deciding to work as a freelancer. I’m still quite new to it but I enjoy it a ton. I love creating art for trading card games, especially fantasy/sci-fi themed ones. I hope people will get a sense of motion and expression from my illustrations. I work hard to display each character's personality in a fun and colorful way. Though it is based on dark fantasy I still wanted things to have a whimsical feel to it.
Q: What can you tell us about your experience illustrating for Animus?
A: It was really fun! I enjoyed having to immerse myself into each character's world. Eddie had so many cool ideas and he let me run wild with my part in creating them. The work environment I had was very chill, but creating was sometimes a challenge, which I liked. I never want to turn down a difficult challenge, it feels even more fun when I get it done. It brought out a lot of my creativity and pushed me to experiment more with my craft. I would love to work for Animus again in the future!
Q: What is your personal favorite illustration you created for Animus and why?
A: My personal favorite is Snow White. I just loved the concept when I was told about it. Snow White carrying around poison glass jars shaped like apples wearing a plague doctor's mask? Uh, yes! Plague doctor outfits look so cool, I guess that’s why Scarecrow is my second favorite. But for Snow White’s I just love the dark lighting of the forest with the colorful/playfulness of the apples. They really stick out along with her doe-eyed expression.
Animus: Shattered Fantasy - Snow White by Nivea Toliver
Animus: Shattered Fantasy - Scarecrow by Nivea Toliver
Q: Give us a snapshot- What is your favorite:
Book: Does comic books/manga count? Then I will say Vinland Saga
Music: I love the bands Dir en Grey and The Gazette
Movie: Wolf Children Ame and Yuki
Video or Tabletop Game: Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time and for tabletop I’m currently getting into Dungeons & Dragons.
Q: Where can we find more of your work?
A: You can find more of my work usually under the name Nivea Toliver, Dari, or Dari-Dari.
My social media links are
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dariarts/
Website: Home | dari-illustrations
Facebook: Redirecting...
Nicholas Avallone
Nick and I worked together on a number of games, namely Destination: Neptune and Quartermaster General by Griggling Games. I have always wanted to have Nick work on Animus but at the time he had very large professional commitments to an enormous amount of work with the various games in the Quartermaster General series. Fortunately, I was able to get at least one image from an incredible artist whose work I not only love and respect, but someone that I can genuinely call a friend.
Q: Please tell us about yourself: Where are you from? Where did you end up? What do you hope viewers take away from your art?
A: I was born and raised on Long Island in New York. I moved to Upstate NY in 2007, and after a few years there, started to focus on art and games. I try to bring something unusual or entertaining to most of the work I do, and offer viewers a new perspective on a subject, and encourage them to see things in a different way.
Q: Although you only have one illustration in the game (Project 14), what can you tell us about your experience illustrating for Animus?
A: Eddie and I worked together at a game company several years ago, so when he contacted me to see if I could do a picture for him, it was an instant “Yes!” He knows me and my work, so apart from providing me with an overview of the character, he pretty much gave me free rein. From that point, it was a matter of figuring out a cool look for the character, working out a confident pose, and researching some guns and gizmos. Once all that prep work is done, making a picture becomes much easier!
Animus: Vanishing Point - Project 14 by Nicholas Avallone
Q: Give us a snapshot- What is your favorite:
Book: The Heroes by Joe Abercrombie
Music: Ages of Winter by The Sword
Movie: LOTR trilogy
Video or Tabletop Game: 5E D&D (which Eddie turned me on to!)
Q: Where can we find more of your work?
A: I keep a gallery of my work at ArtStation (https://www.artstation.com/smolin). I also have a blog where I sometimes post process and concepts for games I’ve worked on at Angry Fungus – Nicholas Avallone Art & Illustration
My social media links are
instagram: https://www.instagram.com/nicholasavallone/
website: Angry Fungus – Nicholas Avallone Art & Illustration
Unfortunately, Aleksandra Romanczyk, the main artist for Vanishing Point is overseas and unavailable for an interview. However, I must say that without her, none of this would have been possible. She was the first artist I hired and created many of the characters that I believe will always continue to be iconic to the fans of Animus. I will be forever grateful to her and her work and pray that she and her family are safe during these trying times.
Animus: Vanishing Point - Fallen Angel by Aleksandra Romanczyk
Well, we are coming down to the last day of the campaign. I hope that these updates have been fun and informative for you. My goal with the updates is the same as the game; to bring some entertainment and spark the imaginations of people. The support for the game has been immense and it is all thanks to you. Let's try to get some more backers in on the last day and then I can move on to the next amazing stuff I have to share with you. Please stay safe and healthy. - Ed Rodriguez; Animus Card Game Creator
