Capstone Project - Artist Research - VERFACE, Emmanuel Roudier and Curtis Lanaghan

 VERFACE -

VERFACE, or Ver, is a Polish artist and comic book illustrator living in Scotland. They are mostly a digital artist however have created several watercolour and traditional sketches from time to time. Their work features bold silhouettes, strong texture work and a rendering style that mimics traditional watercolour. (VER n.d.) 

Their artworks Cretaceous Stickers (Ver, 2023) and Miocene Stickers (Ver, 2023) initially drew me to their art, I found their designs for these prehistoric creatures to be both cartoonishly charming and also fairly accurate even if exaggerated to their real-life counterparts. The strong silhouettes, exaggerated poses and muted colours are both lively and exciting, but not over the top. I feel their artwork can be appreciated by all ages, which is something I hope to reflect in my own work.

Ver works in a range of art styles, from their chibified depictions of creatures found in both sticker artworks and their piece angelology / demonology (Ver, 2023), to their more painterly and dramatic pieces illustrated in SACRED BODIES(Ver, 2024) and Arrow of Poison, soaked in the viper's venom(Ver, 2024). Taking inspiration from their style, I think their more cartoony style fits better with the vision of my project and can be marketed more with a younger audience.

Emmanuel Roudier -

Emmanuel Roudier is a comic book artist most well known for his work in the series Neandertal, following the stories of a tribe of Neanderthals. He usually works with pen and ink or watercolour, and focuses most of his art on prehistoric subjects due to his love of archaeology (2DG n.d.). His work beautifully captures the unique facial structures of Neanderthal people, breathing life into these individuals through meticulous mark making and attention to detail. Even in his comic work, although he doesn't use as much detail as his illustrative works especially in the face region [the eyes being drawn as just small marks] there is still so much emotion in these pieces. Reviews of his work describe Neandertal to be a realistic depiction of what Neanderthal society may be like, filled with excitement and emotion that really puts you in the position of the tribes. This is mostly in part to his excellent illustrations and care to detail and realism in his work. (Goodreads n.d.)

Although his art style leans closer to semi-realism than cartoony, I would like to incorporate some of that realism and emotion into my own art. To do this, I will need to study some Neanderthal skulls and the speculative anatomy of their faces. I think combining this with VERFACE's bold shapes and the warm tones of Neolithic art could make for a very interesting depiction of Neanderthals within my game.

Curtis Lanaghan -

Curtis Lanaghan is most well known for his Dinosaur Caravan illustrations depicting the prehistoric reptiles combined with more fantasy/modern elements. His style combines thin lines, cell shading and scientific accuracy with whimsical outfits and details that give it a very fantastical feel. Lanaghan's art mainly focuses around creature designs (Lanaghan n.d) specifically that of dinosaurs which drew me to his work.

I really loved the relationship between the humans and the dinosaurs, treating them almost how we treat horses, ox or donkeys. I would really like to emulate this within my depictions of dinosaurs within my game, even the more malicious dinosaurs have more of a mischievous vibe than one of genuine danger, like is seen in his piece Coelophysis Caravan Thieves (Lanaghan 2024). The dinosaurs being perched on the boxes and rummaging through the sacks on the ground give them more of a cat like and playful feeling rather than something bloodhungry and terrifying, I think this really adds to the comedic value of the piece and paints them in a more anthropomorphised manner.

I also enjoy his use of flat shading and colouring, it feels almost like a scene from a comic book which is really visually appealing and, i think similar to how i want to approach my project, appeals to all ages. This simplistic yet cinematic style can best be seen in his pieces Yutyrannus (Lanaghan 2024), Carnotaurus.(Lanaghan 2021), and Suchomimus (Lanaghan 2021) which build atmosphere through colour pallets and composition rather than heavily polished and rendered shading.

How these artists will influence my work -

In my own work, I would like to aim to combine the elements i like best of these artists into one art style. This would include the cartoony and somewhat exaggerated features of VERFACE's art, the realism of Emmanuel Roudier's work, and the charming comedic nature found in the works of Curtis Lanaghan. As a secondary element, I would like to tie in elements of Neolithic cave paintings to link in the overall caveman theming and setting of Hotel Bunga. One idea of my approach in doing this is mimicking the markings made in cave paintings through digital art software, this will require me to study how cave paintings were made and how their pigments were made to get a better understanding of the textures present.

Trello Progress -

Research -

Alongside my continued research into benchmark games such as Superstore 3000 and hotel, I would like to do some general research into Neolithic cave paintings, the flintstones and ice age, I will be continuing to do this over the following week alongside my asset development section.

Asset development -

Using the research i have gathered in this section, I will create a set of art style experiments for my 3 main subjects, Neanderthals, dinosaurs, and plant life. Along with this I would like to create some thumbnail mockups for how the cards might look. At this stage, my game mechanics are still being developed, so a lot of things are likely to change.

Foreseeable issues -

I am feeling somewhat confident about getting my proposal together, I have began to transfer information from this devlog into a shortened version suitable for a 10 minute elevator pitch. I would like to create more artwork to show off however as most of my work so far has been research and mechanic development. I think if i really work hard these next few weeks, I will feel very confident about this project and its projected timescale.

Bibliography -

Anon, N.d. Emmanuel Roudier original comic art (Online). 2D Galleries. Available at: https://www.2dgalleries.com/emmanuel-roudier/comic-art/9293?order=10&lang=en (Accessed at: 8th December 2025)

Lanaghan, C., n.d. Curtis Lanaghan (Online). Cara. Available at: https://cara.app/clanaghan/portfolio (Accessed at: 12th December 2025)

Lanaghan, C., n.d. Curtis Lanaghan (Online). Artstation. Available at: https://www.artstation.com/clanaghan/profile  (Accessed at: 12th December 2025)

Lanaghan, C., n.d. Curtis Lanaghan (Online). Linkedin. Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/in/curtis-lanaghan-27b76822/(Accessed at: 12th December 2025)

Anon, n.d. Art of Curtis Lanaghan (Online). Clanaghan. Available at: https://clanaghan.com/ (Accessed at: 12th December 2025)

Lanaghan, C., 2024. Torosaurus Caravan Merchant. [Digital image]. Artstation, Available at:https://www.artstation.com/artwork/GvXPgB (Accessed at: 12th December 2025)

Lanaghan, C., 2024. Coelophysis Caravan Thieves. [Digital image]. Artstation, Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/rl9Jme (Accessed at: 12th December 2025)

Lanaghan, C., 2024. Pentaceratops Construction Zone. [Digital image]. Clanaghan, Available at: https://clanaghan.com/products/pentaceratops-construction-zone (Accessed at: 12th December 2025)

Lanaghan, C., 2024. Yutyrannus. [Digital image]. Artstation, Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/qJAQnR (Accessed at: 12th December 2025)

Lanaghan, C., 2021. Carnotaurus. [Digital image]. Artstation, Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/lRZn2Y (Accessed at: 12th December 2025)

Lanaghan, C., 2021. Suchomimus [Digital image]. Artstation, Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/G8mnLQ (Accessed at: 12th December 2025)

Roudier, E., n.d. Neanderthal - Ratings & Reviews (Online). Goodreads. Available at: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17412932-neandertal#CommunityReviews (Accessed at: 8th December 2025)

Roudier, E., 2005. Faudraug chassant un bison [Digital image]. 2D Galleries. Available at:https://www.2dgalleries.com/art/faudraug-chassant-un-bison-91370 (Accessed at: 8th December 2025)

Roudier, E., 2007. Untitled [Digital image]. comicartfans. Available at: https://www.comicartfans.com/GalleryPiece.asp?Piece=538953 (Accessed at: 8th December 2025)

Roudier, E., 2007. Untitled [Digital image]. comicartfans. Available at:https://www.comicartfans.com/gallerypiece.asp?piece=570323 (Accessed at: 8th December 2025)

Ver [pseud.] n.d., VER (Online). X. Available at: https://x.com/verface (Accessed at: 8th December 2025)

Ver, 2023. Cretaceous Stickers. [Digital image]. Patreon, Available at: https://www.patreon.com/verface  (Accessed at: 8th December 2025)

Ver, 2023. Miocene Stickers Stickers. [Digital image]. Patreon, Available at: https://www.patreon.com/verface  (Accessed at: 8th December 2025)

Ver, 2023. angelology / demonology [Digital image]. X. Available at: https://x.com/verface/status/1654892456637243394?s=20 (Accessed at: 8th December 2025)

Ver, 2024. Arrow of Poison, soaked in the viper's venom [Digital image]. X. Available at: https://x.com/verface/status/1836447922403315828?s=20 (Accessed at: 8th December 2025)

Ver, 2024. SACRED BODIES [Digital image]. X. Available at: https://x.com/Deekoter1/status/1851287304633024878?s=20 (Accessed at: 8th December 2025)