Aquanauts

Tabletop Game // Illustration and Design

01_THE GAME

Aquanauts is an underwater research and engine building game for 2-4 players. Send your aquanauts out to gather algae, build new facilities, and load up the submarine with newly-discovered samples. Specialise in researching different species or constructing impressive research stations to earn more kudos through public objectives, whilst keeping an eye on your opponents’ progress. Working together in adjacent research facilities can earn you additional resources,

but ultimately only one person can become the most accomplished aquanaut.

#discoverthedeep

02_RESEARCH_CARDS

This was a series of cards representative of different species of beautifu animals that players need to discover using all kind of materials and equipment.

I tried to illustrate these cards with a realistic style but keeping a "paintery" looking to them. The first 15 cards were made using Photoshop, but last ones were painted on Procreate 5. The cards graphic design is consistent with the whole Aquanauts theme, looking as a pixelated screenshot from a subaquatic FLIR-like device.

Expansion Pack.

03_EXPANSION RESEARCH CARDS

Extra 4 research cards illustrations for the mini expansion pack. I included some time lapses directly from Procreate 5 that show my illustration process.

Deep sea process.

Echinocardium Cordatum.

Also known as the common heart urchin or the sea potato, is a sea urchin in the family Loveniidae. It is found in sub-tidal regions in the NE Atlantic. Other un-named species have been identified as this species from temperate seas around the world. It lives buried in the sandy sea floor.

Anseropoda Placenta.

These are generally small sea stars, flattened dorsally and bearing very short arms, often giving a pentagonal shape in the body.

They are characterized by their aborale face formed by plates shaped like crescents, sometimes giving a "knitted" appearance to the skin.

Luidia Ciliaris.

Is a species of sea star (starfish) in the family Luidiidae. It is found in the eastern Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.

L. ciliaris is a predator and scavenger and feeds predominantly on other echinoderms.

UI and
Graphic Design.

04_GRAPHIC DESIGN

My role in Aquanauts also included the graphic design, UI and overall feeling of the game. We went for a kind of technical research looking with some FLIR UI inspired design. Typography, icons, shapes and colors follows this design premise along all Aquanauts pieces.

These are the backs of the research cards and below The Submersible and Research Vessel player boards. Really enjoyed making these, giving them just enough detail to not overcome usability and gameplay clarity.

06_CREDITS

Game Designer
Michael Lee

Illustrator
Marco Luna

Developer
Rose Atkinson

Designer
Marco Luna

Linda Canton
ITB Operations

Lawrence Rowe
ITB Media

Creative Director
Peter Blenkharn

Kaysi Foster
Community Managment

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE FREE

All my illustration and writing work is free of AI. I'm a firm believer that using AI platforms, datasets and neuronal networks to reduce, replace or assist human creativity in a creativity-based work is lazy and unethical. Support the genuine human thought.

Read my stance regarding the use of Artificial Intelligence in my creative and executional process here.