Susan Van Camp
Encyclopedia
Susan Van Camp is a fantasy
artist
, best known for her work on various role playing games.
, Michigan
. She began her commercial career in gaming by doing work for Steve Jackson
's Car Wars
series. From there she proceeded to comic books with Arrow Comics
' Tales from the Aniverse
in 1984, and Varcel’s Vixens from Caliber Comics
. Comics led to science fiction convention
s and the art shows held at the conventions, where she began painting and putting her paintings up for bidding by the public. In 1994 Van Camp began doing work for Magic: The Gathering
.
She began selling her own RPG game in 1996, Dragon Storm.
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
, best known for her work on various role playing games.
Biography
Van Camp was born on June 11, 1959, and raised in FlintFlint, Michigan
Flint is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and is located along the Flint River, northwest of Detroit. The U.S. Census Bureau reports the 2010 population to be placed at 102,434, making Flint the seventh largest city in Michigan. It is the county seat of Genesee County which lies in the...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. She began her commercial career in gaming by doing work for Steve Jackson
Steve Jackson (US)
Steve Jackson is an American game designer. After working for many years at Metagaming Concepts designing such games as Ogre and The Fantasy Trip, he left to found Steve Jackson Games in the early 1980s...
's Car Wars
Car Wars
Car Wars is a vehicle combat simulation game developed by Steve Jackson Games. It was first published in late 1980 .-Game play:In Car Wars, players assume control of one or more automobiles, which may include any powered vehicle, from motorcycles to semi trucks. Optional rules include piloting...
series. From there she proceeded to comic books with Arrow Comics
Arrow Comics
Arrow Comics was one of the original independent publishers of black-and-white comics in the mid 1980s, starting out in Ypsilanti, Michigan by founders Ralph Griffith and Stuart Kerr.- Origins :...
' Tales from the Aniverse
Tales From The Aniverse
Tales from the Aniverse was a science fiction comic book created by Randy Zimmerman and Susan Van Camp, first published in 1985 by Arrow Comics, featuring anthropomorphic animals as the main characters.-Overview:...
in 1984, and Varcel’s Vixens from Caliber Comics
Caliber Comics
Caliber Comics or Caliber Press was an American comic book publisher founded in 1989 by Gary Reed. Featuring primarily creator-owned comics, in the next decade Caliber published over 1300 comics and ranked as one of the America's leading independent publishers...
. Comics led to science fiction convention
Science fiction convention
Science fiction conventions are gatherings of fans of various forms of speculative fiction including science fiction and fantasy. Historically, science fiction conventions had focused primarily on literature, but the purview of many extends to such other avenues of expression as movies and...
s and the art shows held at the conventions, where she began painting and putting her paintings up for bidding by the public. In 1994 Van Camp began doing work for Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering
Magic: The Gathering , also known as Magic, is the first collectible trading card game created by mathematics professor Richard Garfield and introduced in 1993 by Wizards of the Coast. Magic continues to thrive, with approximately twelve million players as of 2011...
.
She began selling her own RPG game in 1996, Dragon Storm.
Role-playing game credit
- Otosan Uchi (Legend of the Five RingsLegend of the Five RingsLegend of the Five Rings is a fictional setting created by the John Wick and published by Alderac Entertainment Group in 1995. The setting primarily involves the fictional country of Rokugan, though some additional areas and cultures have been discussed. Rokugan is based roughly on feudal Japan...
) (2000), Alderac Entertainment GroupAlderac Entertainment GroupAlderac Entertainment Group, or AEG, is a publisher of role-playing game and collectible card game products. AEG was formed by Jolly Blackburn in 1993 and is based in the city of Ontario, California...
; interior artist - Doomtown or Bust! (DeadlandsDeadlandsDeadlands is a genre-mixing alternate history roleplaying game which combines the Western and horror genres, with some Steampunk elements. It was written by Shane Lacy Hensley and published by Pinnacle Entertainment Group....
: The Weird West) (1999), Pinnacle Entertainment Group; interior artist - Blood Enemies: Abominations of Cerilia (Birthright) (1995), TSR, Inc; interior artist
- Faeries (Ars MagicaArs MagicaArs Magica is a role-playing game set in Mythic Europe, a quasi-historical version of Europe around AD 1200 with added fantastical elements. The game revolves around wizards and their allies...
) (1995), Wizards of the CoastWizards of the CoastWizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
; interior artist - Houses of Hermes (Ars MagicaArs MagicaArs Magica is a role-playing game set in Mythic Europe, a quasi-historical version of Europe around AD 1200 with added fantastical elements. The game revolves around wizards and their allies...
) (1994), Wizards of the Coast; interior artist - EarthdawnEarthdawnEarthdawn is a fantasy role-playing game, originally produced by FASA in 1993. In 1999 it was licensed to Living Room Games, which produced the Second Edition...
(1993), FASA Corporation; interior artist - Paranormal Animals of Europe (ShadowrunShadowrunShadowrun is a role-playing game set in a near-future fictional universe in which cybernetics, magic and fantasy creatures co-exist. It combines genres of cyberpunk, urban fantasy and crime, with occasional elements of conspiracy fiction, horror, and detective fiction.The original game has spawned...
) (1993), FASA Corporation; interior artist - Citybook VI - Up Town (Catalyst) (1992), Flying BuffaloFlying BuffaloFlying Buffalo Incorporated is a Scottsdale, Arizona game company that publishes role playing games, card games, gaming materials, and runs Play-by-mail games....
; interior artist - Central Casting: Heroes Now! (1991), Task Force GamesTask Force GamesTask Force Games was a game company started in 1979 by Allen Eldridge and Stephen Cole. Mr. Cole left the company in the early 1980's, but continued to design the company's best selling Star Fleet Battles game. Mr. Eldridge sold the company to New World Computing in 1988...
; cover artist - Citybook V - Sideshow (Catalyst) (1991), Flying Buffalo; interior artist
Other game credits
- Clout FantasyClout FantasyClout: Fantasy is described by its creator as the first "collectible throwing game". Clout Fantasy, released by Hidden City Games, is composed of poker-style chips featuring fantasy art by various artists. In a game of both strategy and dexterity players compose stacks consisting of 15 chips...
, Base Set (2005), Hidden City GamesHidden City GamesHidden City Entertainment, formerly known as Hidden City Games, Inc., was founded in 2004 by Peter Adkison and Jesper Myrfors. The company, started in Seattle, Washington was originally founded for the sole purpose of publishing Clout Fantasy a game invented by Jesper Myrfors.Hidden City...
; chip art - Galactic EmpiresGalactic EmpiresGalactic Empires was one of the "first wave" of collectible card games to come out on the heels of Magic: The Gathering's success. Produced by Companion Games, the first cards were released in August, 1994, and can be difficult to find; however, excepting a few misprints, they were all reprinted...
, Primary Edition (1994), Companion Games; card art - Legends (Magic: The Gathering)Legends (Magic: The Gathering)Legends was the seventh Magic: The Gathering set and the third expansion set, released in June 1994. It was the first expansion set to be sold in packs of 15 . The set was designed by Wizards of the Coast co-founder Steve Conard and friend Robin Herbert in Canada before the game was initially...
(1994), Wizards of the CoastWizards of the CoastWizards of the Coast is an American publisher of games, primarily based on fantasy and science fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail stores for games...
; card art - Arabian Nights (Magic: The Gathering) (1993), Wizards of the Coast; card art
Magazine article credits
- Animal Henchmen in DragonDragon (magazine)Dragon is one of the two official magazines for source material for the Dungeons & Dragons role-playing game and associated products, the other being Dungeon. TSR, Inc. originally launched the monthly printed magazine in 1976 to succeed the company's earlier publication, The Strategic Review. The...
#269 (Mar 2000); interior artist - The City of Lofty Pillars in Dragon #201 (Jan 1994); interior artist
- Dungeon Mastery: Talk of the Town in Dragon Annual #2 (1997); interior artist
- Ecology (Love-Life) of the Lamia in Dragon #192 (Apr 1993); interior artist
- PC Portraits: Gnomes & Halflings in Dragon #262 (Aug 1999); interior artist
- The Wizard's Companion in Dragon #246 (Apr 1998); interior artist
Short story credits
- Dedrak's Quest (Sci-FiScience fictionScience fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
) in Dragon #250; interior artist