Gen Con 2013: Charles Urbach

What first got you interested in the fantasy/sci fi genre?

As a child I was always interested in more fantastical subject matter. One
of my earliest memories is my mother had a set of the Lord of the Rings
books, probably from the sixties. They had a funky/very psychedelic cover,
and then a few years later the Rankin/Bass Hobbit cartoon came along. Even
before I knew what was going on or could read those books, that imagery
resonated with me. Professionally, I became passionate about it when TSR
released the infamous D&D red box in the early eighties, with Larry Elmore's
now iconic “Ancient Red,” artwork. That artwork and a couple pieces he did
for the Endless Quest series of books were specifically the images where I
understood, "I want to do that." So there are a lot of influences, from H.R.
Geiger to Battle of the Planets cartoons, but it was the cover of the D&D
red box that made me say "I want to do this, I want to make art."

So, do you play any board/ tabletop role playing games?

In the years since college I haven't been able to do as much gaming as I
used to. All through high school and elementary school, I was an avid gamer.
Anything I could get my hands on, mostly rpg's though, from the famous TSR
roster. Star Frontiers was a big one, we played that almost continuously
close to fifteen years. I also played a lot of West End Game's Star Wars
rpg, lots of D&D, Runequest, Rolemaster, and many others from that era.
Unfortunately during college I wasn't really connected to a lot of gamers,
and afterward everyone scattered to the winds, so there wasn't a core group.
We did a little bit of ccg gaming at that point, early on with Decipher's
Star Trek/Star Wars, and eventually tried Iron Crown's Middle-Earth: The
Wizards. That game was influential in that many of the artists whose work I
greatly admired in ccg's came from their work on that game. I often joke
with April Lee how the elves she did for that were directly part of my
interest in doing art for ccg's, more so than Magic or other illustrated
games. As that player base eventually disbanded, all of us started getting
married and moving on, so I turned my focus to creating and selling my own
art. In the time since I've been freelancing, I've hardly done any gaming.
We try to get to our local shop once in a while, since they have a board
game night with open gaming. I've also had many occasions to play the game I
illustrated, Infinite City. That's partly because everyone is excited about
it and curious, but also because it is a very good pick up and play game. My
wife, family members, and friends who aren't avid gamers can pick it up and
play it in a comfortable amount of time. That's the extent of it, besides
demos of games I've worked on. It's hard for me, because being on the
production and creative side of the industry doesn't leave as much time to
enjoy the games as a consumer or a fan. I am (a fan) but I don't get to act
on that very often.

Which creator or artist do you most admire?

That's hard to answer. There's a Facebook list that I posted a few years ago
and I think it was pick your 12 most inspirational artists. That was hard
enough. If I absolutely had to pick one, I'd actually pick two, Keith
Parkinson and Larry Elmore. I say the two of them because for me, their work
(though different stylistically) was mutually inseparable from my early
gaming experiences. If I had to pick who was still with us, I'd say Larry,
but I can't honestly say Keith was any less. It is an absolute, straight up
tie, and even today I look at their work from that period, and Larry's more
recent work, and there is still so much in it. Even though it doesn't
directly inform the work I do, their approach to the subject matter, that
sense of wonder, that attention to detail - those are things that I very
much admire. One of the greatest compliments that collectors and fans can
give me is when they say that "I purchased this piece and it reminds me of
Larry Elmore." or "I put it up next to a  Larry Elmore piece." It just
amazes me that something from my hand, might hang in the same room as their
work. It's an honor. Their work didn't just inspire me then, it still
inspires me today.

That's really cool. So which do you prefer when creating a piece; character
portraits, action scenes, or landscapes?

That's a question often asked by art directors, and sometimes where art
directors draw their own conclusions and define you their way. I don't see
myself as an illustrator of one thing. My preference is for any project
where I can creatively contribute in a substantive way. What excites me
isn't a type of art or particular subject, it's the ability to approach it
in my way and have my artistic vision come through. That can be challenging
as a freelancer because by it's nature, freelancing is a top down structure
where you're told "OK, this is what it has to be." Then you complicate that
with the politics, the interpersonal connections, the perceptions of an art
director or editor. To me, any assignment where my art director says,
"Charles, approach it your way." is subject matter that I can be passionate
about. I've done a body of work that reflects that, although it's
compartmentalized because for one game I may have done a lot of landscapes,
and for another game I may have done entirely monsters. I often find it
amusing that people come to my booth (it even happened today) and they're
surprised that there is this diverse body of work or that I'm now jumping
into another subject they've never seen me work on. It's all context. You
didn't see the forty-five monsters I did for Sony last year. Someone else
may not have seen my miniatures concepts. A third person may only have seen
the abundance of architecture I've done, mostly for L5R. Their understanding
of what I do depends on how they came to the art. At an event like this, all
they have to do is look at the wall or flip through the portfolio and they
say "Wow, you really have done all kinds of things." To me, that's my job as
an illustrator. I don't want to be limited to any one subject, I want to be
able to explore it all, but I do that best when it's on my terms.

So you're doing some design work for the Mage Knight miniatures, how does
that differ from your regular stuff?

Well for one, it's pure character art. There are no other concerns beyond
the occasional element of environment that needs to be included for
sculptural reasons. So the focus is designing a visual that can be
translated into a three dimensional figure. It's also different in that the
diversity of those figures is far greater than what any single gaming
company has given me so far. For Mage Knight, I've had a chance to do
everything from cybernetic,steam punk, half man/half machine Atlanteans to
energy based creatures that are a suit of elaborate armor filled with a
magical life force. It goes back to what I was saying, where I enjoy the
ability to explore multiple approaches. I look at those approaches as
different cultures. You have orcs, you have the Solonavi, you have gaming
races, but I don't visualize them as the standard D&D players handbook races
or other old stand-bys. I approach each as a new culture, with its own
civilization, aesthetics, and belief system. That's what informs the way I
approach the art, and what excites me about doing it. I get to say, "This
faction, this culture, embraces this shape as a motif because it reflects
this visual aspect of who they are." For example, with the Solonavi, who are
energy beings, the designs of their armor are very fluid and blade-like
because those shapes mimic the shape of a flame or a spark of energy. So
they are translating their understanding of themselves into the artistry
they put into their armor. That's the kind of thing that excites me about
the work and sets it apart. I've been fortunate to also work on Legend of
the Five Rings which is a very culturally based game that's much more
connected to traditional earth cultures. It has a deep appreciation for
history, knowledge, and the things that make the art of those cultures in
our world valuable. You get to start with that and then extrapolate out from
there. Again it always comes down to if I'm given the freedom to explore and
express those things, I can make it different. I can turn it into something
more than simply "Draw some orcs."

Sometimes by definition, freelance work has to be directed that way, but
whenever possible, and the Mage Knight assignment is definitely like that, I
like to try and elevate it and say "I want to contribute to world building."
That project is tailor made for that because there are so many factions
represented.

So, besides Mage Knight, are there any special projects you are currently
working on?

There's always work in the pipeline for the collectible card games as that's
a mainstay of what I do. That's partly because of the diversity and the fact
that it's steady work, but in many cases it's also because I like it. I
enjoy being able to produce images that people are going to see all around
the world, and that it releases in an ongoing manner. I like the fact
there's always something new down the road - something upcoming I can look
forward to sharing. However I also recognize that over the last few years,
almost all the work I've done has been for those kinds of products. So the
things I'm most excited about right now are the works I'll be creating for
myself or as commissions.

I really want to make time for work that means something to me, and in some
cases revisit older pieces where I enjoyed the concept, but not the
execution. There might also be instances where that would fill a niche or
void in the body of my work. There are many images that people have
specifically asked for, and I'd like very much to make those happen. I
wouldn't complain if an art director looked at those and said, "Will there
be more of this?" but I wouldn't be doing them for that specific goal.
They'd be for me, and the fans.

Saving this question for last, in case I am totally off base. It seems that
what you're saying is that with your art, no matter what genre or style or
whatever, you like to be able to add your own energy, emotion or something
to it. Is that correct?

I would say that's very true, and I think many artists feel that way, though
I'm not sure they all articulate it. The worst projects I can imagine are
the ones where I am recreating someone else's creative expressions, because
in that it becomes just an exercise. There's no sense of I'm creating, I'm
contributing, or I'm bringing the things that are unique to me to the table.
It's simply "Here's this, I want you to draw it from this perspective." Now
as a professional and crafts-person you're trained to do that and it comes
with the territory, but as you build a career and you move ahead in your
life, you try to  gain better control over what kind of work you do. You
don't turn away or resent the work that is less connected to you, but you do
try and nudge the opportunities more towards the things you're passionate
about. I would say absolutely, the best projects to me, in terms of personal
fulfillment, are the ones where my vision has been the driving force.

Alright, well thanks for talking to us and I'm glad to see that your table
is very busy. Goodbye.

Thanks.

Your niche group may seem big from the inside, but...

     This past week I was playing in a Heroclix sealed booster tournament, and while I waited in line to purchase said boosters I listened to the two guys ahead of me.
Guy 1: "Pathfinder Battles, what's that?"
Guy 2: "Looks Mage Knight."
That was the extent of the conversation, they did not make the connection between an rpg miniatures game and Dungeons and Dragons. At first I was surprised, shocked even, and then I realized that if they had not tried rpg's that they would be unfamiliar with them. They would not be on the inside. Sometimes when you are on the inside of a fan base it is hard to realize how big (or small) it is.

     I think we should all get together and see how we can expand our hobby. To make it something to proud of, no matter who you tell it to. Take care guys!

Making maps, just like in school!!

So, this past week, I have been drawing maps in notebook of graph paper. Currently I am transferring the map I drew for my Sunday game to a big piece of Gaming Paper. I mark off the "edge" of the map, each square equaling a square on the the final map. Once I finished the "Lost Village" map, I began playing around with designing space station floors. It has been a lot of fun, I should see about putting up a picture of it when I am done.

I like to do a light drawing on the gaming paper in pencil, I double check and fix any problems, then go over it with markers of different colors. I made a swamp map this way and it turned out pretty well, and has been used a few times since that initial game.

Also, if anyone has advice for me, I want to pop these mage knight and horror clix figures off their bases and put them on metal washers, or something like that. The mage knight ones I may repaint first, since the paint job on them looks pretty rough. Any help will be greatly appreciated, take care guys!

It's been a long time (btw, Happy fourth!!)

Sorry folks, been awhile but I am back, also my Sunday night game is still going! some close calls but no fatalities, though they had to leave the human capital of Galen to return to the Lost Village down South. For any newcomers, My Sunday game is a 4E sandbox that has been going for nearly a year I think and I hope to take the players to level thirty.

On free rpg day, I ran the free adventure/introductory kit for All Flesh Must Be Eaten entitled "The Waking Dead". There were three people there to try it out and we had a lot of fun, especially myself when I got to describe some of the zombies, hehe. All Flesh does not use maps and minis (though you could, I suppose), so it was a bit of a change. I would love to run a one off or a small campaign for it in the future, possibly a Halloween game is in order!

Now, with summer comes some free time with the kids, which means trying to play some of these games I have purchased and have not played. First in line was Dungeon Twister (http://www.dungeontwister.com/us/lejeu/index.html) and it was fun. Next was Z-G, which has been out of print for awhile (2001 in fact) here is the link to the board game geek page http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1820/z-g .

Origins happened just last weekend and once again the family and I went with the day pass. My oldest son found and purchased some Z-G figures in the dealers room, so I assume he had fun when we played the week before. I picked up some old Mage Knight stuff (oh man, some of the paint jobs, rough!) also picked up Telestrations, like playing telephone but drawing instead of whispering to the person next to you. It was a great party game, and if you are into those kinds of games I would call it a must have!

I am still wanting to run a sci fi savage worlds game, using Interface Zero as a basis. So many games, so little time!! Alright, I will stop there and hope to be back in a couple of weeks.

Oh Origins, how I love thee...

I've just spent the day wandering around Origins Game Fair with my spawn (read kids), and man I had a blast. Previously my youngest would normally be gripping my arm, practically climbing up me due to shyness/nervousness but this time was different. He actually gave me a little breathing room, only grabbing my hand a couple of times.

Just did the family day pass since I have sworn off paying to play with a bunch of strangers. Last time I did that, it was two guys playing female characters in an All Flesh Must Be Eaten (zombie) rpg, and even though the pre-generated cheracter sheets had brief backgrounds on them, they chose to play them like drunken whores. Not that I know how drunken whores act, I am just guessing. So yeah, I highly recommend going to the game library with your friends (miniatures room I think) and finding something to play. I played a couple games of Unspeakable Words by Playroom Ent. (art by my friend Tony Steele, though I didn't realize it at the time) which my friends and I a lot of fun with.

I spent a good deal of time in the exhibitor's hall looking for deals, basically out of print stuff that's dirt cheap. I've found Horrorclix mini's are good for lots of different zombies and other scariness, and I even came across some Mage Knight for some fantasy rpg type mini's. Got a roll of Gaming Paper that I am looking forward to drawing maps on, whee! I picked up some Game Science dice, which baffled my wife and kids, who didn't understand why I was happy to get some. I basically pinned it down to nostalgia, since I had some when I was a kid and they got lost sometime between being a teen and an adult.

Looked for mini's for Sunday night's game, but came up dry. So basically going to the big con for me is all about buying stuff, hanging out with friends, and playing games. Today filled all those requirements exceptionally well, though a few friends were absent, I am hoping I can swing back Sunday for a bit, unfortunately I am busy Saturday. Well, if anyone has a good con story, let me hear it. Until next time, take care everyone.