Daniel Solis

Here's a new time-lapse video of a recent logo design for Catty B's , a comedy series from Angela Webber and Lucia Fasano. They were very kind and generous to let me record and share this design process. Patrons $10+ also get a version of this video with commentary about how I designed this logo and some of the decision process. Hope you all find that useful! Thanks to Angela, Lucia, and all my patrons for making these videos possible!

Huzzah! Molly Ostertag just wrapped up a new batch of art for Curse You, Robin Hood! These are the legendary characters Robin Hood, the Sheriff, Maid Marian, Will Scarlet, Little John, Friar Tuck, and the Prince. Here are Molly's final pieces with some of the art direction. I wanted a more ethnically diverse retelling of the Robin Hood myth, set closer to the Iberian peninsula than Britannia. That flipped things around with casting a bit as the Sheriff would end up looking more like Errol Flynn. Maid Marian was the only prominent female character in the lineup originally, so I asked Molly to model Will Scarlet on a roguish Ruby Rose. Little John was modeled on the Rock. Friar Tuck was modeled on Kristian Narn's portrayal of Hodor on Game of Thrones. The Prince was modeled on Brad Dourif's portrayal of Grima Wormtongue from Lord of the Rings. My art direction initially called for the Prince and Sheriff to be flipped here, but Molly's renderings were so...

Woot! BoardGameGeek just posted Branching Out from Kigi to Kodama, my designer diary outlining the history of how Kigi 's international licenses eventually led to domestic development for Kodama: the Tree Spirits . Check it out!

When I get the wonderful opportunity to art direct for new characters, it's like opening a big awesome toy box. I have to remind myself of some things so I approach this job responsibly. This isn't necessarily a "tips" list, or in any order of priority, it's just what I try to keep in mind. Hopefully it's something you might find useful, too. An inclusive mindset is a crank, not a switch . It isn't a one-time flip from ignorance to enlightenment. It's an ongoing process of checking self, looking back on mistakes, and making assertive efforts to do better. I've never been and never will be 100% " woke ," but I must keep trying to "wake up." I will make (and have made) mistakes, but that isn't an excuse to stop putting in the effort to be more inclusive. This has real practical impact when I'm working on a project as an art director. As an art director, I have so much freedom to guide artists in certain directions ...