Rob Caswell's Artwork

This page was originally developed by Jay Adan, and is reproduced here by permission. The picture descriptions are by Rob Caswell himself, and are reproduced by the permission of both. And now for a word from Jay...

The following is a group of scanned pictures from the various 2300AD products. In my opinion, it was the art of Rob, along with a few others, that really helped to create the feel of the 2300AD universe. Permission to use these pictures on this page was granted by the artist.

Sung.gif

SUNG: As some of you may have guessed, my design of the Sung head was highly influenced by the Parasaurolophus - though it was subconscious. Back then, I'd yet to study dinosaurs, in depth. But the image of the Parasaurolophus' head was lodged in the back of my brain, somewhere. When I considered the Sung, that head seemed perfect, as it had a "steering fin" of sorts - ideal for directing flight. - Rob Caswell

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ALIEN COMPARISON CHART: I love doing graphics like this - it helps to put diverse gaming elements in perspective. I hate the human, though. For some reason, I just COULDN'T draw a human being to save my life, that day. The human is wearing an Australian Drover's Coat.... mostly because I REALLY wanted one, back then, and thought they were the cat's meow (I still think they're cool....). - Rob Caswell

Cone.gif

LANDER: This piece actually began life as something completely different. This was included in my initial portfolio to GDW, and was my attempt to portray the Jinxian Lander from Niven's "Ringworld Engineers". Barbie Pratt (GDW's art director, at the time) called me and asked to use it in 2300. Being a true graphic mercenary, I said "Sure!". As it turns out, I got the details of Niven's lander wrong, so it's just as well it found a home and design rationale in the 2300 universe. - Rob Caswell

Klaxun.gif

KLAXUN: This is another image that I'd approach differently, if I were doing it now. I was tying myself too much to the original illustrations which appreared in "Energy Curve". If I could redo them, I'd build in a much wider array of biological diversity and, overall, make them look less like lumpy apple trees. I'm not quite sure HOW I'd do that, but I think they just need to carry more of an air of sentience. - Rob Caswell

Xiang.gif

XIANG: My wife, Deb Zeigler, initially detailed this race, so my work was based on her rough sketches. Their biology was conceptually interesting, though I was never quite sure how exciting they'd be in play. I'd always thought they had the strangest psychology in the game. - Rob Caswell

Walkers.gif

TWO WALKERS: Again, this is a visual area of the game I'd love to rework. Since I designed these walkers, I've seen so many cool mechas, in japanese creations, that have such elegant design. I thought these designs were a bit too boxy... but I'm pleased that they seem to have been generally accepted with some enthusiasm. I was trying to make the lines of the German walker match the design ethic presented in Bryan Gibson's 2300 German Armor illos. I hit that target with only partial success (I think). - Rob Caswell

Ship.gif

AIR FRANCE This one was fun. I think this may have been my very first 2300 piece. I was full of enthusiasm and open to all kinds of possibilities. When I found out the role the French played in the game, I couldn't resist the "Air France" touch. - Rob Caswell

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THE AURORE SPACEPORT: I liked this piece at the time, but if I had to do it over again, I'd make it look more "frontier", and less modern-metropolitan. I remember taking great care to get the weapon's details correct, since I knew visuals like that would make Frank Chadwick happy. - Rob Caswell

Serpent.gif

AURORE WATER SERPENT: The AURORE SOURCEBOOK was by far my favorite 2300 project - both to work on and read. I felt Bill Keith was the first to accurately capture the gritty frontier feel which 2300 was founded upon. And his science was refreshingly rigorous - again, another 2300 design ideal that was all too rarely met. And it was just great fun! I took great pride in adhering the details of my illos to his text, and I supplied all the captions for my art. The subjects were specific enough that the reader almost needed captions on everything, to keep straight what was what. And I'd like to think it added to the book, all around. I was sorry that it didn't become a standard for the line. Evidentally Barbie Pratt liked my AURORE work as much as I enjoyed doing them. When she recieved the final work, she said she was so impressed, she wanted me to become >THE< 2300 artist, and illustrate the whole product line, from then on. While that was certainly flattering, I didn't feel I had the time and patience to tackle such an extended commitment. Finally, the name on the boat - Lady Tana - is named after Joe Fugate's (then president of Digest Group Publications) daughter. - Rob Caswell