Week 2 of Yamageddon.

I am 12 artworks in and the more I draw, the more my mind is creating lore out of the backgrounds. It started with the characters. As it stands, there are 2 main factions I've decided on: Hoods & Pigs. Both of which are inspired by their fairy tales: Red Riding Hood and the Three Little Pigs. That's as far as storytelling goes, but I've decided on a dystopian twist in a fantasy world.

Because of that, my mind's been conjuring a tale as I'm creating the artwork, especially when I see repeating elements like the forgotten forests, mythical creatures and gloomy atmosphere. It itches a part of my brain that yearns to know more about what happened.

But a part of me says no

As much as I love storytelling, the pragmatic creative in me draws boundaries. I think it's important to do this because creativity has a way of moving off-course. I'm reminded that storytelling isn't the main priority, and that creating a cohesive card system is.

This meant reducing my focus on the setting and more attention to the overall design. I've decided to adopt a brush technique which allowed me to cover more ground more quickly without compromising on detail.

My belief is that the first version is (usually) never going to cut it, because creativity can only be refined through iterations. I have a hard time believing any creatives out there who one-shot a brief because that would mean they're either a telepathic genius who knows exactly what their clients want, or they just don't care enough about the work. Some would say that's too black and white but that's all to say this: the first version should have 2 functions. To exist as a working concept, and to be a compass for further improvement.

Btw, I recently learned that the compass was invented before the (mechanical) clock and that's telling because where you're heading is more important than when you'll arrive. I believe in this for my personal projects as much as my client work and it's because of my design philosophy which has changed my thinking about fitness too. Here it is:

Function over aesthetics

It doesn't matter how good a cup looks if you can't drink water from it. It's easier to change the shape and colour of the cup once the purpose and depth is decided, but very difficult to do the opposite. I believe this logic applies to social media posts, websites, and of course, card game concepts.

A mistake I've made so far is underestimating how much work and creativity card games can offer as a design system: game mechanics, lively artwork and informative visuals all play a synergetic role and I failed to realise this until my friends and family asked me questions I couldn't answer.

It was embarrassing, but it helped reveal my ignorance on the subject. In hindsight, I would've done more prep work on the type of card game over moodboarding an atmosphere. That approach worked very well for me the last two years because I was operating from an artistic perspective — this year's scope is more unique and I'm realising that in the process but progress is progress. As of today, I've completed 3 subsets and here's what they look like together:

Week 3

The upcoming week will have to be establishing some simple ground rules while completing artworks. I'll post another YouTube video about my process soon! Here's the previous one if you haven't checked it out.