Howdy, Illumineers! Disney Lorcana Buying and selling Card Sport: Azurite Sea is now obtainable on DisneyStore.com and at choose retailers nationwide simply in time for the vacations. The favored card sport permits gamers to tackle the function of Illumineers and summon Disney characters (referred to as glimmers) with magic ink, and makes an ideal reward for collectors and Disney followers alike.
Disney Lorcana TCG Gateway is the right introductory reward for somebody new to the realm, with two Beginning Decks, 4 Reward Packs, a Sport Board, a rulebook, and extra!
Set Sail on the Harmful Azurite Sea
Disney Lorcana TCG: Azurite Sea continues the story of Illumineers who had been final seen celebrating the defeat of Ursula in Disney Lorcana TCG: Shimmering Skies till they had been interrupted by chunks of the Nice Illuminary, the repository of all tales ever informed, falling off and plummeting to the bottom.
Repairs to the broken Nice Illuminary stay incomplete following Shimmering Skies, so the Illumineers set sail on the damaging Azurite Sea alongside glimmers of pirates and inventors. To study extra about their seafaring adventures, learn up on Azurite Sea at DisneyLorcana.com.
Shane Hartley Talks All Issues Azurite Sea
In celebration of Disney Lorcana TCG: Azurite Sea launching this week, I chatted with Shane Hartley, International Artistic Director at Ravensburger.
Disney Parks Weblog: Howdy, Shane! Thanks for taking the time to speak with us for the Disney Parks Weblog. Can we begin with a quick introduction, your love for artwork, and the way you ended up in your function at present?
Shane: As International Artistic Director, I oversee the visuals and storytelling for Disney Lorcana TCG, in addition to the opposite unbelievable tabletop video games Ravensburger produces worldwide.
Artwork has been part of my life since I used to be a baby, as I’ve been drawing for so long as I can keep in mind. My mother enrolled me in a group artwork class after I was a child—it was crammed with older ladies drawing nonetheless lifes, however I completely beloved it. After I acquired to junior excessive, I crammed my schedule with artwork lessons and by no means seemed again. I went on to artwork college, majoring in illustration and graphic design, all the time realizing I needed to work within the leisure business.
I landed my first function at a small sport firm and met my mentor Sandra Everingham who I nonetheless work with at present. Over time, I’ve labored throughout a variety of licensed shopper merchandise, together with tabletop video games, collectibles, youngsters’s books, attire, video video games, and even canine toys. And, after all, a whole lot of Disney!
I not too long ago shared on my Instagram how my love for Disney began at a younger age, fueled by limitless viewings of previous Disney VHS tapes—we didn’t have cable, so these tapes acquired a whole lot of love. (Proof of my Disney fandom: my highschool picture, which you’ll see right here.)
I joined Ravensburger in 2018, the place I constructed a staff of proficient creatives and later took on the function of managing our international video games inventive staff. Within the spring of 2020, simply because the pandemic hit, we pitched Disney Lorcana TCG. It was the right fruits of my profession, inventive expertise, and lifelong fandom all rolled into one.
Disney Parks Weblog: It’s so great to listen to your loved ones supported your love for the humanities. What has the collaboration course of been like with the Disney staff when designing a brand new glimmer? Azurite Sea particularly, some iconic characters have been reimagined as pirates and inventors.
Shane: Disney has been, and continues to be, an unbelievable collaborator on this mission. They’re concerned in each step of the method, from story improvement to card artwork to packaging design.
Glimmers are available in three kinds: Storyborn, that are devoted to the canonical Disney tales; Dreamborn, reimagined by the Illumineer; and Floodborn, glimmers which have come into contact with the risky flood and been unpredictably reworked. The creation of a brand new Glimmer begins with the theme of the set. Dreamborn and Floodborn Glimmers are the place we get to have essentially the most enjoyable, imagining how these characters would change and adapt to suit the theme.
For instance, in our latest set Azurite Sea, the theme was seafaring journey. With that in thoughts, we begin by contemplating the characters chosen for the set—chosen by each Narrative and Sport Design groups—to both assist inform the theme’s story or convey some enjoyable surprises. In fact, we’d embrace characters from Disney’s “Treasure Planet,” however how cool would it not be to see Tigger, Jasmine, or Sew on this atmosphere?
Take Sew, for example. We requested ourselves: How would Sew react to this setting? What would he naturally put on or carry? Are there parts from his unique story we are able to incorporate into his design? Staying true to every character’s persona and ethical compass is all the time a precedence. For Sew, we imagined he’d craft his swords from wooden and cord, tie a floral shirt round his waist, and, after all, convey Scrump alongside—treating her like a pirate would his parrot.
To convey these ideas to life, we work with costume idea artists, brainstorming and refining designs earlier than presenting them to Disney for overview. As soon as Disney approves the costume course, we transfer on to growing the ultimate card artwork. It’s a deeply collaborative and artistic course of, guaranteeing each Glimmer feels genuine and thrilling.
Disney Parks Weblog: It actually takes a complete village to design every set, I like what the groups got here up with for Sew as an “Alien Buccaneer.” The artwork is superb and we are able to see the staff has already tapped so many proficient artists for instance the playing cards. What’s that course of like for selecting the artists and the way do you stability the totally different artwork types when pulling a set collectively like Azurite Sea?
Shane: After we began growing Disney Lorcana TCG, we got down to create a cohesive artwork fashion that will function our “home fashion” for card artwork. The aim was to stability nostalgia with a recent, fashionable look—a imaginative and prescient we coined Fashionable Storybook. This fashion incorporates seen line work paying homage to animation, paired with vibrant shade washes that deliberately break these strains, giving every picture a way of vitality and life. It blends the normal, hand-drawn and painted qualities of traditional fairy story storybooks with modern digital methods.
To convey this imaginative and prescient to life, Matt Eng and I rigorously chosen artists we’d labored with previously or found by means of portfolio websites and social networks. These early collaborators helped us set up a mode information that will form the work of future artists.
Right this moment, we proceed to search out expertise by means of social media, suggestions from our present artists, and recruiting occasions. We’ve additionally carried out a proper portfolio submission course of, overseen by a Recruiting Supervisor and an Artist Useful resource Supervisor, who assist us choose the proper artists and foster a rising Lorcana artist group. When evaluating artists, we search for sturdy anatomy, mastery of lighting and rendering, and most significantly, the power to remain true to the unique “mannequin” of a personality.
Past card artists, we collaborate with specialists like atmosphere artists, visible improvement artists, and character designers. Whereas a lot of their work isn’t seen publicly, it’s vital to constructing the realm of Lorcana.
Over time, we’ve broadened the vary of non-public types throughout the Fashionable Storybook framework. We wish every artist’s individuality to shine by means of whereas sustaining key attributes—resembling seen linework—that unify the cardboard artwork. This method strikes a stability between consistency and artistic variety, preserving the artwork vibrant and fascinating.
Disney Parks Weblog: That is all so fascinating to me; I wouldn’t have considered different specialists specializing in atmosphere artwork. Talking of artwork types, the Enchanted playing cards have a unique appear and feel this time round, are you able to share extra perception into this inventive course, and may we count on extra like this in future units?
Shane: Enchanted playing cards are the place the Artwork Administrators on the staff get to discover new artwork types, typically drastically totally different than the remainder of the set. These playing cards enable us to convey a set’s theme by means of rigorously crafted composition and inventive expression.
For Azurite Sea, we envisioned a magical discipline information aesthetic, as if the playing cards had been pages pulled immediately from the lorebooks of the Illumineers on their travels. As soon as we set up the artwork fashion, we hunt down artists who’ve expertise in that fashion or are excited to experiment with it.
Typically, a few of our current artists embrace the chance to tackle a brand new problem and dive into uncharted inventive territory. I want I may let you know what’s coming, however I’ll let you know that we are going to proceed to push the boundaries and check out new issues!
Disney Parks Weblog: Properly, you and the Artwork Administrators nailed it for this set of Enchanted playing cards! OK, now for some trickier questions. What’s your favourite card(s) or merchandise(s) you’ve designed to this point?
Shane: My favourite playing cards are all the time within the subsequent set! Actually, it’s so arduous to decide on—every new piece that is available in or the early visible improvement will get me so excited. I typically love the method and creation much more than the completed product. But when I needed to decide a favourite from Azurite Sea (one in every of many), I’d select Simba – Satisfaction Protector. It’s bursting with vitality and emotion, as if it’s about to leap proper off the cardboard. Superb work by Kendall Hale!
Disney Parks Weblog: What do you like most about engaged on Disney Lorcana TCG?
Shane: Ah, that’s a tricky query, however I believe it’s the method of crafting a brand new world and story by means of visuals and narrative. Then, it’s seeing the followers’ reactions to all of the blood, sweat, and tears we pour into the set.
Disney Parks Weblog: Do you will have any recommendation for aspiring artists?
Shane: Draw—draw loads. Don’t be afraid to make errors. Research the work of artists within the discipline you need to pursue and study from their experiences. Attain out to them for recommendation and steerage. Be open to suggestions, challenges, and making an attempt new issues. All through my profession, I’ve usually discovered myself in conditions the place I knew nothing about what I used to be tasked to work on or handle. I needed to soar in, study as I went (usually terrified I’d fail), however these experiences formed who I’m at present. They helped me uncover what really drives me and provides me goal.
Disney Parks Weblog: Is there anything you’d like followers to learn about Disney Lorcana or can share concerning the future?
Shane: I want I may let you know concerning the future! And I’m horrible with secrets and techniques. I all the time give items to my youngsters or spouse early as a result of I can by no means wait! However what I can say is that Disney Lorcana TCG is simply getting began, and we’ll proceed to convey shock and delight to each single card.
Disney Parks Weblog: Properly, I for one, can’t wait to see what’s subsequent! Shane, thanks to your time at present and for sharing your data on the inventive course of. Feels like you will have an amazingly proficient staff at Ravensburger.
