July 18, 2016: Interview With Munchkin Pathfinder Guest Artist, Shane White

We sat down with Shane White, the man behind Munchkin Pathfinder Guest Artist Edition, and picked his brain about drawing this limited edition version.

1. Munchkin Pathfinder Guest Artist Edition looks amazing! Before doing this project, were you a Munchkin fan, or was this all new territory for you?

Thanks for the kind words. This was new territory for me. Oddly enough, about the same time I'd gotten the gig for the Munchkin Pathfinder Guest Artist Edition, I started seeing ads for the games in a few of the comics I read. When I mentioned to a few people that I was working on the game, their eyes rolled back in their heads in exultation for the game. I had a strange feeling I was working on something rather popular.

2. Did you look at the previous version of Munchkin Pathfinder before doing your version, or did you prefer to go in without any preconceptions?

I was given the John Kovalic set to look at. I really had no concept of what was expected of me in terms of card games. I'd only done work on The Spoils, years ago (it's now defunct) as the layout artist, but I'd never gotten a chance to render anything. That job was done in Singapore.

3. This isn't your first foray into Pathfinder, though, as the artist for the Pathfinder: Goblins! comic series. How would you compare drawing for a comic versus drawing for a game? Were there any particular challenges for one as opposed to the other?

Like the card game, I was contacted out of the blue to work on an edition of the comic a few years back. Erik Mona, of Paizo, had written a pretty great script. Again, I wasn't even familiar with Pathfinder but I did what I could to get into the world-space to create my own take on it. I've drawn comics and worked in games since the 90s, so bouncing between sequential story-telling to single illustrations wasn't particularly challenging.

What can be challenging is getting the "tone" of the universe and the product that one is working on. I feel strongly about getting that part right so the client and audience are happy. While I enjoyed working on the comic and giving the goblins distinct personalities, I wasn't happy with the end result. Stylistically it could have been more on model for what fans were familiar with.

With the card game, following John's simple and direct approach gave me more room to interpret and I felt more comfortable with the end product. Hopefully fans will agree.

4. What is your favorite card from Munchkin Pathfinder Guest Artist Edition?

Anti-Curse Purse. Mainly for the reason that I think the cartooning turned out better than I thought it would. Overall, the deck is full of funny gems. I'd find myself cackling with laughter in the concept stage because this game is just so nutty. Great hooks and funny ideas from the design team make for a fun gig every time.

5. If you could take any other Munchkin theme and re-illustrate it, which would it be?

Isn't there a sci-fi one? Anything sci-fi I'm pretty interested in. Anything weird I'm interested in, too. I never thought I was particularly good at fantasy because of my interest in challenging the norm and expectations overall. Years ago, I'd get comments from Art Directors telling me that it's not "Orc enough". And so I'd have to "Orc up" a particular illustration. And this was for Shadowrun . . . so, not necessarily straight fantasy. I don't know what my problem was.

6. Where can people find you online and learn more about your other projects?

My site, shanewhite.com is probably best for painting, comics, writing and illustration. I'm updating my professional site studiowhite.com soon, which is geared more towards video games, commercials and film.

And then a plethora of social media sites (oh, the horror!): YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook (for painting/comics), Facebook (for visual studio), and Tumblr.

Thanks to Shane for taking time out of his busy schedule to talk to us. Look for Munchkin Pathfinder Guest Artist Edition in stores this September!

-- Hunter Shelburne