How do I submit my portfolio to boardgame/card game companies?
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I am in the process of sending out postcards to publishers and I was wondering if I should save a few for boardgame companies. Or if that is even how that works with getting your work in front of them.
I've been interested in illustrating for board/card games for a while, but I really don't even know where to start with applying to do that kind of thing. Is there a collection of addresses somewhere that I could send postcards to? I imagine there is nothing like the SCBWI Book for the industry, but I just don't even know how to get the ball rolling on it.
Note: not necessarily looking to illustrate for personal project/kickstarter games as I've heard too many horror stories. At least not unless they've successfully run a crowd funding campaign before. Mostly just looking at companies (both large and small) that produce board and card games.
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I’m interested in this possible area, so I’ll be watching this post. I have a lovely collection of board, card games.
just got unstable unicorns. -
@Heather-Boyd I would love to work on something like that! Or Dixit, hands down my favorite board game--the expansion packs are literally just MORE gorgeous artwork.
When I first got that game I remember finally making a connection that "oh my gosh....this could be a job." :smiling_face_with_open_mouth_closed_eyes: -
@Kasey-Snow I would like to know also.A video on making this kind of art would be really nice
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If you're sending out postcards anyways, I'd imagine that sending them out to companies that design board games can't hurt and might help!
Unless there are specific submission guidelines on their website (and even if there are) may as well send those postcards. It's what they're for, right?
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I played that and my friends that I played with said it was a good choice to try at a boards game cafe. But I struggled with the game, but I liked the cards. Though I didn’t specifically like the board and some of the how to gain points were a bit confusing. Anyways, even if you or we started out with making a basic card deck, 1-A and the backs, might be of interest.
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The biggest consumer of art in the industry is Magic the Gathering by far... The article below suggests submitting by email, which is probably the only way to get in. They have many, many artists working on their stuff.
Here is the link: How to become a Magic the Gathering artist
The next biggest consumer is probably Fantasy Flight Games in Minnesota. I believe they are now the largest game publisher in the US and recently became part of Asmodee (from Europe). There is an email in the link for them as well.
If you live near Indianapolis I would suggest going to Gen-Con one year, it is the biggest Board and Role-Playing game convention in the country (60,000+ attendees) and they have a large artist ally and you can connect with many of the publishers.
I attended a seminar talking about how to connect up with game company art directors. Which is email or conventions and have a good business card (it should have a memorable piece on it and have good contact info.) The small publishers need to connect with artists too and most games involve many artists working together. One thing to note about small publishers though is it may be a while before they are publishing a game where your kind of art would fit.
Anyway, I have looked into game art and many of the artists are independent just like in children's book illustration.
I hope that helps a little bit.
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@theprairiefox Thanks so much for the info! Asmodee is the one that distributes Dixit, I'm fairly certain, so that's good to know!
I will write down Gen Con as a potential thing to attend in 2020, if I have the finances I'll definitely give it a shot! I need to attend more cons as opposed to tabling at them, I never seem to do quite the networking that I mean to when I'm stuck at a table all weekend.
