Alternative Press Expo 2012

It feels as though it just happened a few months ago but the Alternative Press Expo is happening this weekend. I'll have my books and prints from last year available for sale as well as some new prints and pins. I'd like to design pins for every San Francisco neighborhood eventually but three are a decent start.

I'll be sharing a table with my pal, Traci Hui, as always. You can find us at table #501, which is very close to the entrance and easy to locate. Here's a map of the expo floor with our table marked in red.

Hope to see some of you there.

Godfather: Park Avenue

We had a lighter-than-usual workload on the Godfather: Five Families team earlier this year and decided to take the opportunity to bust out a unique new expansion. I suggested we make this expansion take place at night, as we were all getting burnt out on using the standard warm Godfather palette. I painted two racket buildings and the background plate for the neighborhood view. It remains my favorite Godfather release to date.

The only part of the background plate above that I didn't paint was the Estate Tile, which is the bright building at the top with the lit-up roof. That was painted by my intern, Mclean, and is actually a separate tile that grows as you upgrade your Estate. 

I don't like drawing attention to shortcomings in my work but I think it's important to say that there are areas near the top and bottom of the background plate that look bare or unfinished. These are areas the user interface covers. I usually don't paint these areas much (if at all) since they won't be seen by the player. It allows me to spend my time making other areas that the player will see look better.

About Town

Sunday Sketchgroup: Mountain View Cemetery

Sketchgroup Sunday: Bernal Heights Park

Sunday Sketchgroup: Golden Gate Park & Richmond District

Godfather: Greenwich Village & Capitol

Things have been pretty quiet around here as I've been moving and settling into a new apartment. I'd forgotten how much of a time-suck moving can be. The last couple weekends I've been going out sketching with friends on Sundays and have quite a bit to show from that but for now, here are some older pieces I did for Godfather: Five Families. I'll also share some work from our Brooklyn and Park Avenue expansions in the next few weeks.

Above: This is a racket building from the first neighborhood, which we've been calling "The Capitol". Tony's Auto Body is named after our old producer, Anthony. The sign spins in the game.

Below: This is Jefferson Market Courthouse from our Greenwich Village expansion. It's also a real building in New York City. I think this is my favorite racket building I've designed and painted for Godfather.

Below: This is the train station from the first neighborhood. It's not designed after any particular station. Below it are a couple thumbnail sketches I did for it.

Below: This is the train station from out Greenwich Village expansion as well as some quick thumbnails for it.