Games
We speak to Roxie Vizcarra, a former Rockstar Games illustrator about her art and inspirations.
Former Rockstar Games senior illustrator Roxie Vizcarra, who worked closely on the iconic marketing campaigns for Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption 2, is blazing a new creative path. The Peruvian-American artist was just out of college – she earned her BFA at the Parsons School of Design in New York – when Rockstar Games reached out to her in 2009. Several teachers had alerted the company to her talent, but Vizcarra never imagined she would become known for her work in video games, even though she personally loved therm.
"I lived on the East Coast, so working in video games didn't really seem like a possibility," said Vizcarra. "But I did a tryout for Rockstar, they hired me as a freelancer and then employed me full-time. I ended up working for them for 10 years."
Vizcarra was the first woman illustrator for Rockstar Games. The first project she worked on was Grand Theft Auto IV: Liberty City Stories – The Ballad of Gay Tony, but this was the DLC for Grand Theft IV, not the core game.
The first game proper that Vizcarra worked on from its inception was the original Red Dead Redemption, released in 2010. At Rockstar, the art's production happens roughly at the same time as the game's production and, at times, the art that the illustrators make can influence the decisions of the game designers.
Vizcarra finds inspiration in her art from spaghetti Western movies and she holds the artwork of 'Golden Age' illustrators, like Bob Peak and Robert McGinnis, in high regard.
"When I think about what I like about illustration, I tend to like character studies of really intense personalities," said Vizcarra. "A sense of quiet danger has always fascinated me. I tend to explore the complexities of masculinity in my art and I always felt that applied well to the stuff I did at Rockstar.
"The complexity is both positive and negative, although I'm more interested in the negative," continued Vizcarra. "But there's a definite vulnerability in the art that I make. A lot of people say that I draw things that are sexualised; there's danger in that [masculine] sexuality."
For most of her career, Vizcarra's process began by drawing in sketchbooks (she's a fan of traditional ink), which she then uploads and adds digital colors to via Photoshop. However, ever since a year or two ago she's tended towards using a Procreate on iPad, which she finds to be suitably flexible for her purposes. She also takes reference photos when she doesn't have a clear idea of what the illustration should look like, either of others or herself, in the desired pose.
Vizcarra shows uncommon humility; she's insistent on not taking sole credit for herself and she repeatedly declines to attribute specific drawings to one person or another, or to get into the whys and hows of the illustrations. Rockstar's culture is team-oriented – it celebrates the result of when multiple talented people work toward a common goal.
But even with an untrained eye, one can see Vizcarra's influence and hand behind Red Dead Redemption 2's artwork. The menace that Dutch van der Linde and his band of outlaws exude is evident. And in art, first impressions are important.
"On some video game covers, things are muddy and indistinct, so you can't really tell what's going on," explained Vizcarra. "On the box covers for Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption 2, you can see exactly what's happening. It's immediately impactful. I feel really honoured to have worked with other artists who were that talented. I've never been involved in something where the caliber of talent was that high. We were able to make something incredible."
In her latest venture, Vizcarra is more answerable to herself, as opposed to a massive team. She and her partner Anthony Macbain, former director of illustration at Rockstar Games, founded Anthrox Studio in April 2019. Macbain and Vizcarra are partners both in business and in love – they met at Rockstar and already knew they worked well together.
They officially describe Anthrox as a "visual development/ illustration powerhouse." One of their first projects was to create marketing materials for black midi, a band signed to Rough Trade Records. They also created a music video for the band, along with technical director Isam Prado. The band used these images and video in a digital billboard campaign around London, England.
Anthrox is also interested in getting into television and cartoons. As for video games, the company has been approached and is currently in serious talks with a AAA company.
Independently, Vizcarra created two Google Doodles for the Women's World Cup. The first image went live on July 7, when the United States took on the Netherlands. The second image went live on July 8 to celebrate the United States' win.
Vizcarra will be a guest speaker at Pixelatl 2019, an animation festival that takes place in Cuernavaca, Mexico this September. She will also be an adjunct professor at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, New York City, where she'll teach Illustration. It's a role she values and takes seriously, especially for the young women who always approach her whenever she gives a talk or speaks publicly. She finds it important to cultivate female talent.
"There's a huge difference from where we were 10 years ago," said Vizcarra. "Those female perspectives are invaluable. It's important to see people like you involved in anything you aspire to. I'm really excited to see that happen."