Selecting the Artist

The creation of the artwork was one of the most difficult parts of creating the final game. The first challenge was finding an artist who could match our desired art style and quality while meeting our budget and timeline constraints. We contacted over twenty different artists, and after considering quotes and timelines, we asked three artists to produce sample pieces. We then selected our artist: Loic Billiau.

Sample Illustrations of “Drill”

Creating the Artwork

Once we began working with Loic, we had to convey our vision and define what the artist was to create. We spent a lot of time producing guidelines for the project and providing names, descriptions, and reference images for each piece. We gathered information ranging from uniform standards to pictures of cadet activities to ensure the art was an accurate representation of West Point. Once we sent Loic all of our background information, he created a collection of black and white sketches to define the composition of each piece. After receiving our comments and revisions, he began working on the first colored draft of the illustrations. After a series of revisions (mainly uniform corrections), the illustrations were complete and we had the final artwork for the game!

Implementing the Graphic Design

When the artwork was complete, we began the process of adding graphic elements to merge the game with the illustrations. Good graphic design is key to making a game playable and visually appealing. Our graphic designers, Julián Tunni and Ariel Zajac, were essential to making the game functional and aesthetic. They created everything from the icons to board and card layouts to component shapes. It was an iterative and feedback-heavy process to shape the game into its final visual form.