Big Experiment Medallions

In 2000, Looney Laboratories hired me to produce original art for the prizes in their Big Experiment 2000 game tournament series.

The prizes were round, 3 inch wide medallions on ribbons, with a different image on each one. I created artwork for twenty-four medallions. Some of my favorites are shown here; you can see them all at the official gallery (along with the Fluxx and Aquarius medallions, for which I provided only suggestions).

For some of the medallions, I photographed the Icehouse game pieces used in the games. I used direct sunlight to create an almost blinding glare on the plastic pyramids. (Compare Andy Looney's more reserved (but excellent) photograph of the pieces on the official Big Experiment page.)

The existing promotional materials for one of the Big Experiment games, Ice Traders, had some interesting black-and-white art. I interpreted the themes I saw there with 3-D renderings to create "comic book" style space battles for that game's medallions.

For another game, Martian Chess, I decided to depict the game as it was played 100,000 years ago on Mars, with tripod robots fighting to the death on a giant chessboard straddling the intersection of two canals.

The last game I created medallions for was Zarcana, a game which uses Icehouse pieces and a Tarot deck.  Consequently, I created variations on some classic Tarot card imagery, incorporating the Icehouse pyramid's distinctive shape.