USA, USA!

I have just finished a bunch of images for the new CGI Block Game. I drew 15 new blocks for the games pieces that will be reproduced at 3/4" square. I drew them at 4", inked them by hand and then colored them very quickly and simply in photoshop.
I am no expert on the WWII machinery, so I had to stay pretty faithful to old images or museum replicas I found. I tried to create simple images that could be easily read on the small blocks.

Copyright © 2012, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

Copyright © 2012, Columbia Games, Inc. and Richard Luschek

Price: $50.00

Release Date: 2012-05-15

K.I.S.S. Preorder (signed edition)

DESIGNERS: Leonard Coufal and Tom Dalgliesh.

K.I.S.S is a fast-paced World War II squad level game, employing our wooden blocks. The game system features innovative and interactive rules for Fire Combat, Close Combat, Morale, and Leaders. The game is sophisticated, yet very playable.
You command a German or American infantry company, composed of three infantry platoons and a heavy weapons platoon. Expansion sets will include British, Soviet, Italian, and Japanese companies.
Unit types include:

• Leaders
• Rifle Squads
• MachineGuns
• Mortars
• Anti-Tank
• Tank

Here is how the images will look on the final block layout. Both of the following images have been reworked for the final game.

SPOILER ALERT:
The United States wins the war in the end.

Heading East

Thought I would post some new work I just completed for the new Columbia Games block game Ancient Kings that will be shipped at the end of the month (March 25th).
As most of my illustration work is black and white ink drawings, this is a bit different for me, but I really enjoyed the process. As a great admirer of Japanese prints with their wonderful design and subtle color relationships, I thought it would be nice to incorporate some of what I like from those prints into these images. The final images are to be printed as 3/4" square sticker which will be placed on wood block game pieces. That is pretty small. So they have to be strong silhouettes which are easy to read in game play. I drew them out at 2"x2".  I decided to ink them by hand, scan them into the computer and color them in in Photoshop. I used a few texture overlays and gradient fills to get that Japanese woodcut feel.

Please ignore that I misspelled Cavalry as Calvary. There is not going to be a crucifixion game piece.
I had draw the Monk with a hat I liked better, but I was asked to draw it a bit more historically accurate as shown above. Here is a look at my first attempt.

In hindsight I wish the group of images were more consistent in style. While I feel they work pretty well, I wish a few were a bit more stylized. I also probably got a bit carried away with the detail, but I had great fun doing these- I could not help myself.
The most difficult one to do was the ship. It was hard to find good references for a Samurai ship. I wanted big sails so I could design the image with a light in front of the dark sky, and the darker ship over lighter water. I found a lot of non-military Junk type ships and a lot of warships without sails. It is a combination of a few references. In the end it is one of my favorites of the group.
Let me know what you think of the group of Samurai. If you do not comment, I will be forced to commit ritual Seppuku.