“The game felt highly polished and challenging, and I took that as the standard I should be setting myself for creating the artwork. With my work I am often juggling those kind of physical problems in design that aspect, added to the deep, philosophical, perfectly told storyline in the game made for the perfect combination that felt so in tune with myself as an artist and designer.”Ī taster of the world of The Talos Principle:
Manning wouldn’t call himself a gamer per se, but decided to dive into the The Talos Principle for research: “I love puzzles, especially spatial, three-dimensional ones. After glimpsing just a few of the assets, he was instantly intrigued: “For some reason I knew that this was going to be something special.”Ī marketing screenshot from The Talos Principle: Road To Gehenna DLC: To get him started, Manning was sent sent a variety of assets for inspiration, including The Talos Principle logo files, key art by Croteam’s artists and various in-game screenshots. You can listen to the soundtrack album on Spotify or YouTube: The Talos Principle ~Made of Words~, featuring music by Damjan Mravunac, 2xLP soundtrack vinyl is currently sold out. He filled us in on his creative process, the approach he took to creating the art for the vinyl set in particular, and offers some valuable tips for budding artists and designers. So when Tom J Manning was commissioned to work with developer Croteam on a few different product releases - the PlayStation 4 Deluxe Edition boxed edition and, in conjunction with Laced Records, the 2xLP soundtrack vinyl - he relished the chance to grapple with the metaphysical questions that are posed during the course of the game’s narrative.
Laced With Wax interviews illustrator and designer Tom J Manning about his intricate and impressionistic artwork for The Talos Principle soundtrack double vinyl set.įirst-person puzzle game The Talos Principle asks a lot of philosophical questions: What does it mean to be human? What is free will? Can it be simulated? Why can’t you solve this easy puzzle, you simple-minded mortal?