MAX BERTOLINI TELLS US ABOUT HIMSELF AND WHAT IS WAS LIKE TO DRAW THE ADVENTURE CARD ART FOR TALISMAN
Max Bertolini been a fan of fantasy genre since he was very young, together with a true passion for fantasy and science-fiction art which he discovered through book covers, art books and magazines. He began working as a professional in 1997 when he started drawing "Nathan Never", a popular italian science-fiction comic book, and he is still workimg on it today. Besides his comics career he enjoys painting fiction covers, his work has appeared on Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazines, Heavy Metal Magazines, and for many other publishers all over the world such as Random House Germany, Playmates Toys and of course Games Workshop: including the covers for Black Library's Blood Bowl, Day of the Daemon and Slaine novels. In March 2005 Paper Tiger, a well known English publisher of fantasy and sci-fi art books from the best artists all over the world released: "Revelations, The Art of Max Bertolini", a 128 pages hardcover art book which gathers some of the best of his art. Meanwhile the German publisher MG Publishing has published another art book for the german speaking countries entitled just "The Art of Max Bertolini". You can find a wide collection of his art online here.
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| A blizzard blows through the land. |
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| Caves offer opportunities, but contain dangers. |
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| The devil is one of the most dangerous enemies in the game. |
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| Improve yourself at the fountain of wisdom. |
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| The Imp teleports you to one of 6 locations. |
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| Mephistopholes can corrupt your characters. |
I had a description of all the 70 adventure cards for Talisman, and some images of the style they needed for some cards, but most of all I was given free will to indulge my creativity. I started from the first in the list and went along, I'm very methodical with my work!
Did you offer any thoughts or feedback that changed the brief?
Just a few, I made some changes on the "Imp" card and some others on "Mephistopholes" and the "Devil".
What art materials did you use and why you like using them?
I began painting with oils but it took too much time and finally I turned to the computer. Today I draw with a wacom Tablet and Photoshop CS. I feel that digital art is a bit colder (someone may say "very much colder") than oils but I'm much faster this way and, as a commercial artist, speed is a priority. Anyway I'm trying to make my digital art as similar to traditional as possible. I think digital art is good in itself, but many publishers look for a more traditional "touch" when it comes to fantasy art, and so I follow the market desire.
Can you tell us a bit about the design process - how did you choose how to depict the characters?
Well, the adventure cards have many classical characters, gnomes, fairies, elves, giants, witches, wizards, dragons and so on. I had little problem imagining these. Some other cards were much more interesting, the "Evil Darkness", the "Fountain of Wisdom", The "Raiders" for example - they were more stimulating. Usually I don't have much trouble depicting an image in my mind, as soon as I read the brief a good solution is already there. What takes me more time is documentating about the piece, finding the right references and choosing the colours.
What parts of the process did you find particularly enjoyable or frustrating?
I enjoy when the artwork begins to take shape under my hand, sometimes in a rather completely different way than I thought, but lovely and unexpected. Frustrating? When Zoe says: please could you change the card completely? Fortunately it happened just one time with the Siren, as I depicted her underwater but she preferred to see it in a more classical way, on a rock beside the sea.
Visually speaking, how would you say the adventure card art has changed from earlier editions to what you produced for this edition of Talisman?
It shouldn't be me to say that, but I think the new art we and the other artists did produce is way much better than before. Neat, fascinating and third millennium style!
Was the feedback received during the process useful, what was the thinking behind last minute alterations?
There is no thinking in the last minute corrections! Seriously, I was lucky enough not to do too many alterations to the final pieces. In the end I can say that it was a real pleasure working with Zoe Wedderburn, she was always kind and patient, helped me any time I needed and had a great appreciation for the art I produced.
What is your favourite Talisman memory?
When I was first asked to create the art, undoubtedly! I loved the game in the past and was so glad to give my help making the new edition. My only regret is that having a bit more time I may have done even better work.
Which character is your favourite?
Probably the girl from the "Fountain of Wisdom".
What is your favourite thing about the new edition?
I'll tell you when I'll have the new game in my hands. It will be so fun playing with the cards I personally made!!
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