Hello Needy Cat fans!
Last week, you heard from our Graphic Designer Hanna. This week, Obaseun, the very talented artist behind all the Robot art talks to us about the process that went in to drawing each and every Robot keeping in line with the aesthetics of Robot Fight Club.
Hi Obaseun! Please introduce yourself to the Needy Cat Fans!
Hello! I (Obaseun ‘godofiron’ Ogunkeye) am a British-Nigerian illustrator, concept artist and 3D character animator with three years in the tabletop game industry under my belt. I am also the founder of Godofiron Studios.
So, Obaseun, what made you choose the tabletop games industry as the focus of your work?
I entered the Tabletop industry almost entirely by accident – I went looking on social media for people who needed digital art for their businesses, and I ended up doing art for various people who all seemed to be playing Dungeons and Dragons, which I became more and more curious about. Eventually, I got contacted by someone who wanted to actually make his own card game, and I enjoyed the experience so much, I decided to see what else the tabletop industry had to offer – the rest is history.
Robot Fight Club, as you obviously know, embodies a very 50’s-esque, futuristic theme. How did you portray that in the RFC artwork? Was there anything in particular that inspired you?
The 50’s aesthetic for me, has a lot to do with chrome and streamlined shapes, as far as I can tell – it seems to capture an air of positivity and optimism. That particular brand of retro-future is timeless, and one good marker of the culture is machinery – specifically, cars. I took reference from devices of that era, along with slightly more recent shows, like The Jetsons, and Johnny Quest, to try and capture some aspects of bygone eras, and merge them with more modern sensibilities.
Most artists have differing creative processes. What’s your creative process like?
I work almost entirely as a remote digital artist – I have my personal space where I’m most productive, with my Laptop and a graphics tablet at my desk. Occasionally if I’m travelling, I need a change of pace, or if I want to change environments, I’ll head outside to a garden with my iPad and Apple Pencil, or I’ll go visit a friend and bounce ideas off them as I draw and paint!
Lastly, since you mentioned you stumbled upon the tabletop games industry by chance, do you have any tips for new artists who are trying to break into the tabletop games industry?
I’m relatively new, so I’m still learning things about the industry – take my advice with a grain of salt! From my experience, consistently, persistently putting yourself out there is a major factor, along with being flexible with your goals. If you’re lucky enough to live near tabletop game conventions, please attend them, make genuine friends and above all, be open-minded!
Be open to learning things about the industry and make connections with people, not just because you think they might be useful to you, but also try to form true relationships.
Finally, where can people see more of your art and reach out to you?
You can find examples of my original works on my company website: www.godofironstudios.com
You can also find some of my more adventurous art pieces on artstation: https://www.artstation.com/godofiron
I am accessible on social media: @godofironart on twitter and Instagram
And you can even find me on BoardGameGeeks under my pseudonym, godofiron.
If there’s a social media platform, I’m probably on it, so if you aren’t sure, feel free to ask, or just email me directly at godofironart@hotmail.com !