Welcome to a new installment of Illustrator Spotlight. In Illustrator Spotlight, we take a look at artists and graphic designers working on our titles. Today we are talking with Manthos Lappas. Manthos is the illustrator for Omen: Fires in the East, coming to Kickstarter in March 2018. Join us as we learn a bit more about him and talk about games.
What brought you to the board gaming hobby and community?
To be honest, I never was a board games fan, except my early childhood years of some particular games that changed a lot throughout the years. Growing up and as an adult, I watched my friends play modern board games that seemed very fun, but what brought me closer to that kind of games and community was the art used in the products as well how players seemed to engage with passion in this hobby.
What are your current favorite games (or types of games)?
Aside from being an illustrator I also work as a concept and 3D artist for videogames, which are my primary and favorite kind of hobby. I love rpg open world games like the Witcher 3 as well shooter, adventure, and horror games like the Resident Evil and Silent Hill franchises. A couple of other of my top favorite games are Alan Wake from Remedy and Hellblade by Ninja Theory.
So, what led you to become an artist/illustrator?
What led me into becoming an artist was a burning passion to draw since the age of 4 that continued and grew through my late 30s. I used to watch cartoons, play videogames, and read comics since young and I always felt that’s what I wanted to do in the rest of my life. Admiring later on the growth of art and technologies, I became even more interested into applied arts that I also studied throughout my career and education courses and ended up being a multi digital artist, but also retained my previous traditional career as a painter.
Are you currently working on any projects? Anything outside of the board gaming world?
I am currrently working for several projects. That ranges from doing regular illustrations for HEX by Cryptozoic, working as a 3D sculptor for a studio here in Athens, Greece, 3D graphics for another unannounced UK VG, artwork for some Steam games, and pretty much multiple graphic and book covers for my clients overseas. Other than that, I am also creating illustrations for various KS projects and individuals for their own board and card games. What is not very known about me is that I am a classic painter and sculptor and hence I’m doing a lot of digital sculpting in my days for products such as figurines, statues and toys. Sadly, I can’t yet share many of those artworks as they are on NDA, but you will be soon seeing a lot of diferrent stuff from me.
Who are some of your favorite artists (and why)?
Οh, there are so many but a few to name are, Feng Zhu, which I not just love his workflow and art but even more his mindset, the way he teaches and thinks just amazes me. Same goes for Scott Robertson when it comes to vehicular design and sense/practical design. I also love Craig Mullins and what he has offered in the world of digital art and his vision. Others are Yoji Shinkawa from Metal Gear series, Masahiro Ito from the original Japanese Silent Hill series. The list just goes on!
What hobbies do you enjoy when you’re not working on art?
Mostly video games, working out when possible, hiking and travelling around the world or locally.
Give us a few fun facts about yourself.
Oh fun facts. Well not sure if they count but …
I am a music composer! (sort of, just an amateur one and in fact, I have composed music for some of my animated projects you can find online).
An embarassing one is that when in first grade, as a kid, there was a local/national language book called “Our Language” but in our terms would be translated as “Our Tongue.” so, when the teacher asked us to take out our “tongue” books, I instead showcased my actual tongue to the entire classroom 😀 yeah, that was a good one, wasnt it!
Oh, and a favorite one. I am an explorer of supposedly, abandoned villages, houses, or even sometimes cemetaries with a history of ghosts stories and ancient local legends! So you can say, Manthos’ secret alternative job could be a detective of supernatural
phenomenas!
If folks want to follow you online, where can they find you? Any online galleries they can access?
Here are my primary online galleries you can find me on:
Deviant Art: https://mlappas.deviantart.com/
Artstation: https://www.artstation.com/manth0s
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/manthoslappas/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mlappasart/
Patreon (for those who might like to support me in my own personal art adventures!): https://www.patreon.com/ManthosArt
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