#RPGaDAY2018 - DAY 18: Art that inspires your game.

Day eighteen of #RPGaDAY2018 is the start of a weekend all about art and music, and how they can inspire and enhance your game. Both of the questions this weekend were provided by Richard Brewster, who hosts a great blog called Batjutsu which you should definitely check out!

The first part of this art and music weekend asks for "Art that inspires your game".

Again, there are a couple of answers to this one. If it's the game we've just finished playing, that's easy as it's just a case of checking out the amazing visuals of Simon Stålenhag's fantastic paintings, as we're just finishing up our Tales from the Loop game.

Art (c) Simon Stålenhag - I mean look at it, it's freakin' beautiful and inspiring!

I can see why Fria Ligan decided to use Stålenhag's artwork for a roleplaying game. Every image seems to tell a story and ask questions, with an amazing juxtaposition between 80's tech (see the guy carrying the old computer monitor and the Volvo parked in the drive) and cool, crazy sci-fi.

Awesome.

The other way to answer this question is to look at the art that's inspiring me when I'm working on WILD. I've got one of those wacky Pinterest boards dedicated to things that I see and flag as inspiration for WILD. One of the first inspirations artwork-wise for WILD was looking at the cool art of David Despau.

Art by David Despau

I just always liked the way his artwork is blend of fine line work, with energetic splats and half finished lines. It's simply beautiful.

I really want to keep the splat look in WILD. I don't know if it's because there are the echoes of the Rorschach ink blot tests, or just the energy and dynamism that makes you feel like there's action and excitement in the game.

Promotional image for comic Feel Better Now - art and writing by Jonathan Hickman

That splatty feel, with cool graphics on white, meant that Jonathan Hickman's graphic novels (Nightly News, Pax Romana) appealed, but this image from a graphic novel that has been stewing as long as WILD has, used to be my desktop wallpaper for months while working on WILD. That is just amazing and perfect. I'd love to see the final product one day.

Just as I hope to have WILD finished one day...