How this artist turned childhood nightmares into video game monsters
(Image credit: Chop Chop Games) Copy link Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Halloween is the time to linger in the dark a little longer, and John Kenn Mortensen is the artist to guide you. His…
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(Image credit: Chop Chop Games) Copy link Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Halloween is the time to linger in the dark a little longer, and John Kenn Mortensen is the artist to guide you. His illustrations teem with grotesque creatures, scraggly line work, and unsettling oddballs: the kind of thing you glimpse out of the corner of your eye, then need to stare at and see more of.“In the dark there are secrets and things to be explored,” he says as he explains his approach to the art and creature design you'll find in FLASK. “I see my work as a dark room, with a door slightly ajar at the end, where a little light comes in.”That ajar door has made Mortensen a go-to name for the macabre. Now he’s opening it onto video games with FLASK, a dark fantasy roguelike deckbuilder from Chop Chop Games.Inspired by Jim Henson’s 1986 cult classic Labyrinth and the thrash metal of Slayer, FLASK mixes gruesome fantasy, medieval imagery and black humour. Nightmarish creatures roam, magic is best handled with caution, and even a wizard has to worry about the mortgage on his tower.For Mortensen, the leap meant taking his pen-and-paper illustrations digital, working with a team of artists to turn his monochrome creations into a playable world. That’s a big shift for an artist who has spent most of his career working solo across books, comics, animation, TV and exhibitions.I caught up with Mortensen to talk about finding his visual identity, the music behind his monsters, and what it’s like to step into game development for the first time. And, of course, you can download FLASK on Steam this Halloween weekend (and beyond), and follow Mortensen on Instagram for more eerily good art.Read the full Q&A with Mortensen below, and he's even shared a couple of new creatures coming to FLASK very soon.Get the Creative Bloq NewsletterSign up to Creative Bloq's daily newsletter, which brings you the latest news and inspiration from the worlds of art, design and technology. (Image credit: Chop Chop Games)Creative Bloq: Your artwork is dark, grotesque and instantly recognisable. Where did your distinctive style come from?John Kenn Mortensen: It came from within. I have always been drawn to the dark; it is a much more interesting place to work. In the light everything is visible, revealed. In the dark there are secrets and things to be explored. I see my work as a dark room, with a door slightly ajar at the end, where a little light comes in.
