Photography: Photograph courtesy of Jo Chen, Box Art by Jo Chen and courtesy of Microsoft Game Studios
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One of the most up-and-coming Manga and comic-book artists in the U.S. is Jo Chen. More recently known for her Racer X comic-series work, Jo had the opportunity to work on the packaging art for the highly anticipated Xbox game Fable, due out this summer. From publisher Microsoft Game Studios and developer Big Blue Box, Fable is one of the most hyped and long-awaited video game releases of 2004. The promotion story for the game states: “Fable is a ground-breaking role-playing adventure game from Peter Molyneux, in which your every action determines your skills, appearance, and reputation. Create your life story from childhood to death. Grow from an inexperienced adolescent into the most powerful being in the world. Choose the path of righteousness or dedicate your life to evil….” JIVE Magazine had the chance to discuss the new game’s box-art development with Jo and share how it differs creatively from any other type of comic-art project. You can find out more about Jo Chen and browse her galleries at www.jo-chen.com.
When did you first learn about the game Fable and how did the package-art project come about?
Todd Elhart of Hubris Studios contacted me in the spring of 2003 and pitched the idea. We had a couple of initial telephone conversations in which he described the game and what he had in mind for me. At first, he only wanted me to illustrate the packaging. But as the scope of the project expanded and became clearer, they asked me to do an Xbox Fable magazine cover and some promotional stuff like point-of-purchase art and in-store stand-ups. They even asked me to work with the British developers on the menu guts for the game itself, but that was too much for me to accept given my other commitments to D.C. and Marvel for cover work.
How did you develop your first ideas for the artwork? Were you given a prototype of the game to play or something else like storyboards? Also, how free were you to express your own creativity in terms of how the characters on the box looked?
The developers already had some pretty concrete ideas about how the characters should look. They sent me some pre-production art and some screen captures of the game itself to work from. The main illustration on the front of the packaging was undecided. The original idea for the package, I think, was to show the clean-cut protagonist dressed for war, with his arms folded in front of him. I honestly can't recall if they were already toying with the idea of the boy staring into rippling water and seeing a reflection or not. In the end, it was agreed that the most dramatic piece would be the wide-eyed, innocent boy starring at the reflection of the evil, leering adult. I did some rough work that was apparently well received and I remember participating in a nerve-wracking phone conference with the guys at Hubris, some designers in London (from Big Blue Box, I think), and some Microsoft personnel. I was so nervous and often I couldn't discern who was speaking or if they were addressing me. As a result, I often spoke out of turn, confusing everybody. In hindsight it was comical, but at the time it wasn't. I'm no good in those types of situations. Most of the time, the developers and Microsoft would relay their likes and dislikes of my work through Todd at Hubris, who would then convey them to me, whereupon I would modify the paintings accordingly. For the most part, I had a free hand rendering the established characters in my style. Conversely, I was constrained by some design concepts that had already been approved before I came aboard, such as armor and weaponry. Mainly, it was my style of drawing people that they were after.
What are some of the things or styles of the characters you would have changed if you were free to do so?
If I had had complete freedom and creative control, I probably would have changed some things. The current packaging's focal point is the little boy, despite the antagonist's presence in the murky reflection of the water. I might have made the villain the locus of the piece. In fact, I did one sketch of the metamorphosis of the main character in which each incarnation is breaking through the shell of the previous incarnation, something like a moth breaking through the shell of its cocoon, only several iterations occurring in the same illustration, depicting spiritual and physical devolution. But this is all just personal preference. In fact, the final painting I did that appears on the box, we all agree, captures the spirit of Fable very well.
Do you enjoy creating characters or drawing existing characters more? Which is more difficult for you?
Of course I thoroughly enjoy putting my mark on existing characters like those in Fable and Batman and Robin, etc., but I love and live for creating my own characters and my own stories. And although it's much harder, it's extremely rewarding. I've been so busy painting for other publishers that I've let my own stuff languish, which I regret. But all that regret goes sailing out the window and is forgotten when somebody approaches me and tells me how much they like my work on Fable or The Runways or Street Fighter. It makes me so happy to hear that my art is appreciated and it keeps me out of the emotional troughs. I've come to the conclusion that I need to work on a mixture of existing characters and my own. Professionally, it's a nice, healthy balance.
What is your typical process of creating such an art piece and what type of technology do you use?
First, I usually create multiple rough—very rough—thumbnails from which I or my editor can choose. I hate drawing something infinitely detailed and then having to return to it over and over again to modify it as suggestions are made. It's a lot of unnecessary work and slows down the entire process tremendously. From the thumbnail, I create a larger rough pencil and ensure proper perspective and dynamics. Then I sketch a detailed pencil, with sharp lines, which gets scanned into Photoshop, where I apply base colors. All of the actual painting (i.e., brush strokes) occurs in Painter. In fact, I keep both programs open simultaneously and toggle between them to work on a piece. Many people ask me how I create these images, thinking this is a filter or some effect in Photoshop or Painter. But the images really are paintings. I paint them exactly as I would paint in oils or acrylics. The brush strokes are real and done with my graphic stylus rather than a brush. Only the special effects, like neon, lightening, or auras, are done with software gimmickry. The biggest advantage of this process is that I'm not covered in dabs of colored paint, smelling of turpentine and linseed oil. On the other hand, the disadvantage is that there is no original physical canvas since it is a digital image. I can never really have a gallery exhibition of my work that isn't composed of prints.
After completion of your first draft of the work, how many iterations occurred due to input from the developers or publishers of Fable before it was finalized?
Quite a few. However, the modifications were usually small things: making the eyes wider, making the thumbs bigger, making the dagger sharper and more sinister, etc. By far, the most difficult piece of art for me was the rippling effect in the water. I wanted to keep the package illustration as a one layer file in the software, but the requirements dictated that different characters had to appear in the reflection of the water, beneath the boy, for different promotional purposes. In the end, the artists at Hubris lent a hand in manipulating the ripples after my various illustrations were applied. There was no simple way around the problem, and it was a bit of a headache, but challenges are always good.
What is the hardest thing about doing artwork for a video game as opposed to other types of projects? And likewise, what is the easiest?
The hardest thing about games is that because of the size of the investment, a greater number of people are involved and have a say in the final version of the art. You have to please everyone: the developers, the marketers, the distributors. That said, the easiest thing about working on a game are these same people. They are artists, too, after their own fashion and everybody has a hand in creating the product. With Fable, everybody couldn't have been nicer—Todd Elhart at Hubris, especially. He really gave me a free hand, or at least the pleasant illusion of a free hand, and for that I am grateful. I would love to work with him again. The creative process on the whole, at least for me, is pretty much the same with any type of product. With comic books, I usually deal with a single editor, or an assistant editor, who rarely contacts me, except to give deadlines or a few instructions as to the type of illustration they're looking for. With games, there is much more conferencing to brainstorm, to ensure that instructions are clear and that required modifications are being attended to. Oh yeah, and the pressure. On Fable, it wasn't overt, but I felt its presence. I imagine that everybody involved was acutely aware that a lot was riding upon the work of each of the project's participants. And you don't want to be the one who blows it for everyone by missing a deadline or doing a bad job.
Do you play video games, and if so, which ones?
I played them before when I was younger and less busy, but rarely play now. I realized how much time a person can spend playing, leaving time for little else, and I had a career to start! I enjoy watching other people play, though. Let's see, in the past I've played Tekken, Tenchu, Resident Evil, and Grand Theft Auto. I always get killed so quickly in these games and usually end up with a sore hand from pressing buttons so hard. Not good for a painter.
What are your current projects and what future projects are you excited about?
I am just finishing up my series of covers for Marvel's The Runways series; I'm working on the last one now. I am continuing to create covers for Udon Comics' Street Fighter series. Mostly, I've been taking a break and working on my own stuff and trying to update my Web site. I've done a few doujin for publication in Asia and I continue to work the kinks out of the story arc for my epic tale of Chinese mythology, tentatively titled “The Specter King.” It's been five years since I published anything substantial in Asia and people who bother to write me indicate that they would like something new from me. So, I am working hard to get “The Specter King” off the ground. It is my intention to publish this in multiple languages, including English.
What is the most inspirational piece of advice you could give to a budding artist who sees you as a true success story, especially for working in gaming, Manga, or traditional comic-book industries?
Practice, practice, practice! I've been drawing and refining my style since I was five or six years old, and I'm still not perfectly happy with it. That drives me to improve myself through constant practice. This is my pragmatic advice to the budding artist. Also, study to be an artist and not just a comic-book or anime artist. The fundamental skills one learns in art classes will transfer into your work in the various popular industries like comics and video games. The work of the masters is far more valuable than any “How to Draw Manga” book ever will be. I refer constantly to the works of John Singer Sargent, Vermeer, and Georges De La Tour when I'm creating covers for comic-book and video game packaging. My second piece of advice is to get your work on the Internet. It seems pretty obvious but I don't know how many people I've met at cons who aspire to be working artists who don't have a site on the Web! I’m kind of stunned when I hear this. Honestly, it's the cheapest way to advertise in history. For $10 or less per year, you can secure a domain and build a full-color gallery site to showcase your work to millions of—scratch that—billions of people. And some of those people just might approach you with work; that's exactly how I got my first professional job in the U.S. Now, get pencilling and good luck!
This feature is available in the May 2004 print issue of JIVE Magazine, which also featured JIVE's opposite cover story interview with Dieselboy as well as an interview with John B, and is available at Tower Records, Media Play and Satellite Record stores, among other outlets. This issue was also distributed at E3 Expo 2004. You can order your own copy online and have it mailed to you direct. click here to go to the print issue request page
