I Expect You to Die 2: Operation Jet Set Key Art

I Expect You to Die 2 - Operation: Jet Set Key Art
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So I’m following up with the I Expect You to Die 2 art that I did, and I’m now allowed to talk about the Jet Set key art.
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Design knew early on in development that we wanted a level set in a private jet, and we spent a LOT of time testing this level in white box first. We worked to get that luxurious feel of a private aircraft/limo in the sky with the decor, architecture, etc. And all with the understanding that this had to work within the VR space.
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And because our goal was to build this with a fairly real-world scale and dimension, we also had to work to be very careful with placement of storage spaces and hidden compartments. For instance, the outer walls of a plane are pretty thin, so we had to be careful how much stuff we tried to hide in wall panels.
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The same with hidden table panels, there’s very little room to work with, so we had to carefully lay out where each compartment in the table was, and how they could open without interfering with the openings of neighboring storage slots.
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As I worked to create all of that feel, I have to say that one of my favorite bits of the key art painting I did in this post is the John Juniper duck. After I painted this in, the team liked it so much that there was a brief time where the team considered making themed rubber duckies be the hidden collectibles throughout the game, but ultimately decided to go in another direction.
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Still though, a super fun idea game idea was considered, based on something I had a chance to concept. :) For me, that is definitely the most satisfying part of doing concept art. As most of you know by now, being a concept artist means constantly having to work through a lot of iterations and incorporate many ideas and produce tons of art, some of which may never be seen by the public. Many of your ideas may honestly not work, and you have to develop a thick skin for sure. So it is an incredibly great feeling when something from a concept inspires the team enough to even consider it in gameplay.
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All in all it was fun challenge as there were SO many complex interconnected elements to this level to figure out, but I had an absolute blast working on it :D
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For all those considering a career in concept art, this is the perfect example and a great litmus test as to whether or not you would enjoy it. I happen to love complex pieces and lots of puzzles and figuring things out. That’s a part of concept art that really makes me excited and keeps me going.
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But I’m not gonna kid you, it is a lot of repetition and putting together hundreds of puzzle pieces, without the picture on the box to guide you. Add in a lot of opinions and various ever-changing art direction as well and it’s a challenge for sure, but for me that is part of the fun!