by Charles Amir Perret

Super Meeple is posting this diary on behalf of the illustrator of Mythologies Arthur Boccard. If you haven't read the Designers' Diary for the game, you'll find it HERE.

From Concept Artist to Illustrator


@boccardarthurWho am I? I originally come from the video game industry. I started working in the field in November 2022, and during that time I had the opportunity to contribute to two productions as an environment and character concept artist, at Artefacts Studio and Microids Lyon. Being a Concept Artist is first and foremost about listening, adapting to an artistic direction, thinking in terms of process, and staying creative under tight deadlines. From my perspective, it is closer to design than illustration.

Still, I wanted to try stepping into the world of board games. I believe it is vital to move between different creative environments. It helps me change my perspective.



Illustrating a Game

When I embarked on this adventure thanks to Igor Polouchine (Origames), I had very little idea of how much work would be involved or what processes would be used. I was in for quite a surprise. For this game, I had an average of just one day per card, including feedback and revisions.

So I knew I had to focus on efficiency, because I simply wouldn’t have much time to spend on each illustration. I started by putting together a reference board, exploring different colour palettes and technical approaches.

My main reference was the work of Yohann Schepacz, both in terms of colour and his painterly approach using Photoshop’s Round Brush.

I wanted to see what I could achieve using this technique. I started with the Egyptians, and they set the direction for everything that followed. I began with one card, then repeated the process to see whether I could make it consistent and stable. There weren’t many iterations — it was more or less a case of going full speed ahead. As soon as I had an idea, I ran with it.


I took a risk and came back to Igor after ten days with the first seven Egyptian cards, giving him a much clearer idea of what I wanted to explore. For me, the best way to work was by blocks or families of cards, so we could consolidate the feedback. I was given a great deal of freedom, and I’m still grateful to Igor for that trust. First block delivered. I was still working with the idea of a flatter art direction, closer to Eliot Baum’s style.



First test: Ra.

The main challenges that emerged when illustrating the game were the framing dictated by the UI, distinguishing gods from creatures — which I struggled with at first — and giving each family its own identity.


Reference image provided by the art director, giving me a quick indication of the UI placement

Giving Each Mythology a Strong Identity

As mentioned earlier, my main reference was the work of Yohann Schepacz.

I wanted this game to be an opportunity to immerse myself in the way he approaches his work. It is highly graphic, uses very little colour, features strong lighting, and is created entirely with Photoshop’s Round Brush.

Here, the brush itself becomes central to the visual identity. There is nowhere to hide behind gradients or soft blends. Every transition has to be painted.
What I find interesting is that you can see the struggle in every one of these cards. Little pieces of me emerge through them. I think that makes them feel very alive.


Quick photobashing using my references. This allowed me to see whether the approach could work from a colour perspective → Result for the associated families
I established a few simple rules to guide me through the first productions:
• A background with a dominant flat colour and a secondary pattern
• Gold, white and black shared by all cards
• One dominant colour and one secondary colour for the characters of each family



I also tried to give each mythology its own theme to help guide the design process. I didn’t always have time to think things through properly. Sometimes, I simply had to start without having found a solution yet—things had to move forward, and I couldn’t really afford to get stuck. The Chinese mythology is a perfect example. Working with porcelain helped me enormously when developing the shapes of the characters.


Environments

I have rules, but I don’t always follow them either. When it came time to tackle the landscapes, I hesitated — and it shows.


Normally, I make extensive use of textured brushes. They allow me to fake detail and add complexity while keeping the amount of time spent under control.
Here, it’s a mixture of both approaches.


textured brushes used
For the creation of the boards, I wanted something calm. If there was architecture, I didn’t want it to dominate the image. I wanted the sky or a body of water to take centre stage and echo the family’s dominant colour.


The whole thing had to contrast with the density of the cards. It all comes down to where you cut the horizon.


Landscape composition diagram
Checking and Making Changes

Replayability and Endless Possibilities
The changes were made in blocks: minor adjustments here, a few cards redone there. Overall, the process was fairly efficient. The revisions often came down to problems identifying a creature or a god. For example, the Draugr originally had horns. I liked the graphic solution, but it didn’t fit the idea of an undead creature. Freya had a helmet and a shield. I had been misled by the references I was given. Mamacocha also went through a lot of changes. I struggled to find a clear visual reference to the sea. The Hindu family had its fair share of changes as well. I admit I struggled quite a lot with this one. I couldn’t get far enough into its world or create figures that felt clear enough.


Reference provided → First version — too warrior-like → I wanted to bring her back towards the fishing deity. It wasn’t exactly very sexy. → Finally, I added a much clearer marine element, as if she were emerging from the sea foam. Final version.




We hope you’ll enjoy playing Mythologies as much as we enjoyed bringing its world to life. If you haven’t read it yet, don’t miss the Designers' Diary, and discover how this whole adventure began. And this is only the beginning: we look forward to expanding this rich universe with new mythologies in the future. After all, there are still plenty of gods to draw and quite a few more worlds to explore.