Lore of Aetherra: Dark Symmetry
Following a very successful Kickstarter campaign, I was put in charge of developing the art direction, graphic design, and print-ready materials for this flagship product and franchise from Alchemy RPG.
Over the course of the project I briefed artists, checked in with writers, and made sure everything came together in a beautifully designed 350 page book.
Layout
My biggest responsibility was laying out the book. I received text from writers, adhered to briefs regarding the desired aesthetic, and worked with illustrators to create art which would perfectly complement the content.
See the gallery below for some select spreads from the final book.
Art Direction
One of the most exciting challenges of this project was stepping into the role of art director. Having worked as an artist myself, I found I had a knack for describing, evaluating, and implementing exactly what was needed from an illustration or design.
The process outline below shows how one of my favorite pages came together.
1. Communicating the vision
I always made sure to give technical instructions, evocative descriptions, relevant context, and a lot of visual inspiration!
2. Working with feedback and revisions
Not only does a compliment go a long way, but I made sure to brainstorm with the artist and get them excited about what they were making
3. Implementing the final design!
I made sure to figure out the page layout ahead of time, so everything fit perfectly in the final book
Cards
Lastly, as part of the design process I also oversaw the design and development of 3 decks of relevant reference cards.
I even created a symbolic language from scratch to express the various effects of each card!
