Andrew Bosley has been a professional concept artist in the video game industry since 2006 and in 2013 became a freelance concept artist and illustrator. He has worked on games including Everdell, Tapestry, Mission: Red Planet and Citadels. He is also a game designer and writer.
- Website: https://www.
bosleyart. com/ - Email: [email protected]
Audio Transcript
“My name is Andrew Bosley. I have been a board game artist since 2015, I think. I became a board game artist because the opportunity came. I’ve always been a gamer but it wasn’t until 2015 that the opportunity came along to be a part of it.
“The art style I am best known for is my style that’s more whimsical but realistic. The first board game I was an artist for was Mission: Red Planet by Bruno Faidutti. The work I am most proud of was for the board game Everdell, I think, because it was the chance to develop a world pretty fully through the art. I like creating artwork that is immersive, that allows you to to feel like you’re part of the world. I get my inspiration from lots of different things, from great photography, other great illustrators, the nature, strange things like railway posters and hand-painted signs and wacky stuff like that.
“I think the most important part of making artwork for board games is supporting the gameplay because that’s certainly what’s most important, but another important part is creating something that’s engaging. of course. It allows people to experience the world of the boardgame, maybe forget they’re just sitting at the table for a few hours.
“I think the most challenging part of making artwork for board games is that immersive element. I think there’s specific things that make that illusion possible and I think that’s what all my training and experience over the years has helped me to accomplish. but it’s not it’s an easy thing.
“The longest I worked on art for a board game was probably Everdell. Tapestry was pretty close. I think they both took around three or four months to do.
“In my view more board game art should try to engage players a little bit more. I’m a fan of all different types of board game art so I don’t necessarily, I don’t often expect other artists to do things differently, but I like artwork that is more supportive of the theme and style.
“The artist whose style I admire the most is probably Vincent Dutrait, if we’re talking board game artists, but there’s a lot in the board game industry that I admire.
“My favourite colour is green. What very few people know about me is I’m a wannabe ukulele player. I have a ukulele on my wall but I don’t play it, but I think in my head that I probably would be a ukulele genius, but I don’t know how to play it yet. Yeah.
“If you want to become a board game artist yourself I would tell you to practice your art. Being a board game artist is no different than being an artist in any other field. You want to be the best that you can. So it just takes practice and hard work and I don’t believe in necessarily raw talent. I don’t think anybody is born knowing how to draw or paint, but they might be born with a passion to work hard and not give up and maybe they can… some… I think many artists are born with the… an eye to be able to see things better but most importantly I think it’s practice and hard work.
“If you want to get in touch you can reach me at… through my website. Join… sign up for my newsletter or reach me directly through email [email protected].”
Transcript by Make My Game Travel (https://makemygametravel.