Interview with the Artist!
over 3 years ago
– Fri, Oct 23, 2020 at 08:30:31 PM
We recently asked a few questions to the graphic designer and illustrator for Dungeon Decorators, T.L. Simons. Here's what he had to say!
1. How did you get into illustration and graphic design?
I have been drawing since my earliest days and when I was young, I wanted to be a fine artist. During high school, right around the turn of the millennium, I taught myself basic layout and editorial design in order to self publish zines and underground newspapers. I fell in love with design for print and in 2005 I began working at and helping to manage a worker co-op offset printing press called Inkworks Press in Berkeley, CA. That's where I really fine tuned my graphic design skills as well as my understanding of the printing process. I went on to co-found a design studio where I worked for over eight years before starting my current freelance practice. Drawing and illustration were always present in my graphic design work but they have slowly become more and more central over the years due in large part to my relationship with tabletop games.
2. How did you get into games?
I played a lot of D&D in middle school and I always appreciated board games. But it wasn't until much later that I connected with contemporary tabletop gaming through the standard gateways such as Catan. I became fascinated by the medium and I ended up designing and self publishing the game Bloc by Bloc in 2016. It was a ton of work but it cemented my interest in both the mechanical design and visual design of games. For someone who loves print in the age of screens, analog tabletop games are just about the best projects to work on. The wide range of print production and the creativity of designers and publishers continues to push the boundaries of the medium and I love being a part of that. I have also been able to explore cool things like illustrating monsters that clients of my previous graphic design studio would not have been interested in.
3. How did you come up with the overall style for Dungeon Decorators?
That's an easy question! I just riffed off all the brainstorming and thematic development that the SlugFest team had pulled together for DD. I can't emphasize enough how much I appreciate the weird and creative ideas the team developed. When I first looked over the rough list of the characters for the game, such as death holding a giant t-square or a robot named The Calculord who is obsessed with geometry, I laughed out loud and immediately knew that I wanted the chance to bring these to life. In general, I wanted the game to feel lighthearted and funny but also with a dark and sinister twist. I think that has been successful.
4. What was the biggest challenge when doing the art for DD?
Definitely the biggest challenge has been just working during this crazy year of 2020 that has felt more like a condensed decade. It has been such a difficult and disruptive time and it has been challenging, at moments, for me to stay focused. But in terms of the actual tasks on this project, one of the most exciting challenges was designing mechanically functional and intuitive dungeon tiles that also felt thematic and visually appealing. And developing the various color patterns to ensure the tiles could still be differentiated by colorblind players was an awesome challenge.
5. What would be your "dream project" (game or otherwise)?
Great question and one that I have never really considered. I think it would definitely be some kind of tabletop game. I love illustrating and designing maps so that would probably be central to the game. And I love games where the protagonists are the underdogs. Thematically, I tend to feel the most inspired when the art reflects rich world-building that is not just leaning on common tropes or rehashed narratives. I like interesting thematic mashups and stories that are not usually told in games. That's not a very specific answer but it's something I will keep thinking about.
6. Anything else to add?
I rarely have time to reflect on my work and I appreciate you giving me this space to do just that! It's been a great project and I can't wait to get my hands on the printed game.
View more of T.L.'s work at tlsimons.com or on instagram @t.l.simons and twitter @tlsgraphicarts
