2 weeks Ago By Leah J. Williams
is a striking card game. While you can heap praise on its easy-to-learn mechanics and its twists on classic TCG gameplay, it’s fair to say its biggest appeal is its good looks. On each card in this game, you’ll find a dazzling illustration, filled with lush colours, sparkles, and eye-catching gleam.
In the era of generative AI, it should also be noted there are human artists behind all of these illustrations, wielding a little thing called “imagination” to create whole new spins on classic Disney adventures. One of the artists elevating the game is , a Melbourne-based illustrator who has contributed to a variety of cards since launch. Chapman’s career actually began at Disney’s Sydney studio several decades ago, and it’s here that he developed his hand-drawn animation skills.
Getting to work for Disney via Ravensburger on is a bit of a full circle moment for him. The lessons he learned so long ago, while going under-appreciated at the time, allowed him to foster illustrative techniques that help to create eye-catching artworks worthy of collecting. “Some of that old knowledge from 25 years ago has helped me a little bit on doing some character art, not just in , but all art,” Chapman told .
“Some of those art principles that you learn in a studio like Disney are so valuable to someone who’s learning about art. And you know, we’re always learning ..
. Every day I’m trying to improve some aspect of the art I make.” Chapman described working on as being a lot like working on fan art.
There is a “style guide” that all artists creating cards must adhere to – it encourages a “modern storybook feel” with hand-touched elements – but as Chapman describes, artists are able to put in “individual nuances” to create their own spin on Disney characters. “ is an opportunity to try things,” he said. The process of creating cards in is quite collaborative, according to Chapman.
Artists will get a brief – for example, a card featuring Ludwig von Drake of and , and “he’s at a party bailed up in a corner, and he’s talking your ear off.” Then, it will be up to the artist to interpret this text, and develop an array of options. “I’ll go away and I’ll draw a bunch of sketches, you know, trying different things,” Chapman said.
“It’s like a conversation. It goes back and forth, and it’s a collaboration.” “Sometimes you might send in a series of drawings, or some tighter pencils on a particular card, and it might take a week to hear back.
Then, once it goes to Disney, there’s a bit of an approval process as well ...
From start to finish, it might take a couple months for a card to reach from the very beginning stage to the end.” This back-and-forth has led to some wonderful cards for , all of which Chapman is incredibly proud of. He has a particularly soft spot for Ludwig von Drake, Self-Proclaimed Genius, which features the character covered in party decorations and about to spoon some punch, but he also told he loved working on Ulf from , as he’s a big fan of the film.
That said, even when characters assigned are lesser-known or lesser-loved, Chapman takes this as an opportunity to discover their stories, and elevate them. “When I get a character who’s maybe a lesser character, and doesn’t have a big part, you can add a bit more lore to them, and give them another life outside of that tiny scene.” That’s part of the joy Chapman feels in working on .
It’s a chance to celebrate his favourite characters and films, while also providing light and life to a smorgasbord of Disney creations, big and small. For Chapman, it’s also rewarding to see how the game has impacted players, and how his artwork has contributed to their joy. “I just love to see the effect it’s having on people,” Chapman said.
“People are really loving it, and that’s so lovely to work on something that people are enjoying. The most exciting thing for me to see, just generally, is people liking what you’re doing, and loving collecting it, and talking about it. It’s just really nice.
” You can view more of Matt Chapman’s work on , and look forward to seeing more cards from him in future. The next set, , will launch on , and we’ll have much more on this release closer to launch..
