Our blog has always aimed to keep things fresh and interesting for our readers. One way we do this is by speaking with the talented graphic designers who shape the look of the games we love. I personally believe that a game’s visual appeal is just as important as its mechanics. A great design can make a game successful, while a poor one can hold it back. Over the years, we have interviewed several artists, including Antonio Pinar Peña, Nicolás Eskubi, Ilya Kudriashov, Ania Ziolkowska, Matt White, and Iván Cáceres. Today, we are excited to talk to a rising talent who has created stunning graphics for many wargames recently: Wouter Schoutteten.
Grant: To start, Wouter, could you tell us a bit about yourself? Where do you live, and what are your hobbies? What kind of games do you like to play?
Wouter: My name is Wouter Schoutteten, and I live in Belgium. I am married and have two children. I have many different interests and hobbies! I enjoy gardening, reading, grilling food, taking walks, baking sourdough bread, drawing, and collecting music. However, my biggest passion is playing board games. I play a wide variety of them. Obviously, I play a lot of wargames, but I also enjoy Euro-style games. Last year, I really got into tabletop role-playing games as well. I play a lot of solo games too—almost every evening, which I find very relaxing.
I really appreciate games that are tight and have limited mechanics. Games where every single decision matters are my favorite. The White Castle is one game I like a lot. As for wargames, I actually have more interest in history from before World War II. Although I do play WWII games, usually on a tactical scale. I am currently getting into the American Civil War, and one game that really stood out to me is Mark Herman’s Rebel Fury. It is a very clever game, and I am lucky enough to play it with my 8-year-old child.
Grant: What is your main profession? How did you get started in wargame graphic design?
Wouter: I work as a graphic designer and illustrator. I do a lot of illustration work in the fields of branding and marketing. I have been working independently for almost 10 years now. One day during a holiday, I was thinking about my career as an artist and the types of jobs I had done so far. I always feel that an artist should set their own goals and create things they want to put into the world. It occurred to me that I could probably combine my hobby with my profession. I loved spending time tinkering with board games, making my own accessories, and creating player aids that I shared on BoardGameGeek. But I wondered if there was actually a place for an artist in the wargame niche. I felt it would allow me to create something for myself while also giving something back to the hobby.
So, I first created the art for Corvette Command. I then got in touch with the designer, Allen Eagle, and presented the art to a few publishers. That got the ball rolling!
Grant: What is your favorite part of the graphic design process? Conversely, what do you struggle with or find to be the biggest challenge?
Wouter: My favorite part is really early in the process. I enjoy reading up on the topic, doing research, and spending a few days diving deep into the subject. I look for documentaries, listen to podcasts, and try to understand what the topic is really about. I did this with Volko Ruhnke when we started on Coast Watchers. We sat together and played a single turn of the game so I could understand the basic ideas. I heard from the designer what he was trying to convey and what he thought the ideal experience for the player should be.
As for my greatest challenge? In 2025, I started taking on more and more commissions, which was very exciting. I did a lot more work in the wargame space than ever before. However, I learned that mapping out the workload and working out my schedule is a nightmare! These games can take a long time to develop. There is a lot of back-and-forth communication, and getting everyone on the same page often requires many iterations. So, I am working on my planning skills this year!
Grant: If you are given strict design parameters for a specific game, does this stifle your creativity?
Wouter: Not really! As long as the parameters aren’t strictly about the look and feel of the game, I am okay with it. Usually, being creative is actually easier within constraints. Starting from a blank canvas can be a bit paralyzing. It is nice to have some parameters, like “we are looking to bring this kind of feeling” or “this one should really feel like 1600.” These kinds of guidelines work really well to spark creativity.
Grant: How long does it usually take to fully design the graphics for a wargame? What is the starting point for the whole process?
Wouter: The starting point is really doing research, reading up on the topic, and talking with the designer about his vision. I need to know what he is trying to convey and what the players should experience while playing. Once I have that, I start with mood boarding, looking for inspirational or similar graphics that I like. I also dig into the whole BoardGameGeek catalog, looking for other games on the same topic and taking inspiration from them. Then, I usually design a couple of components to get a general look and feel. I hope to get the green light from both the publisher and the designer. Once we have that, I work out everything, and usually, there are a couple of iterations going back and forth between me, the publisher, and the designer.
Grant: Where do you obtain information to ensure the accuracy of your subjects, whether it be uniforms, insignia, equipment, maps, or terrain?
Wouter: When I say mood boarding, it is more than just finding an aesthetic. It is also about collecting reference images from the appropriate period so that I will be working on the right uniform, the right insignia, and things like that. I like to have at least a couple of different sources. Online groups with miniature painters are excellent for this; these guys are experts. Also, museums, books, and documentaries are great resources.
Wargamers can be really picky about details, and rightly so. I remember a talk from the historian Adrian Goldsworthy on historical accuracy in movies. The same applies to games: We create these visuals as a representation of history, and they are passed from generation to generation. We expect them to be accurate. There is a big risk in that if we make something inaccurate, not many people will be able to tell. So, it is important for us to try and tell the history as accurately as possible. I like to think of wargames as another form of education, a way of studying history, but also as a way of preserving stories and keeping them alive.
Grant: What role does a good map play in a proper wargame? How does it help tell the narrative of the battle depicted?
Wouter: One of the things a map does is convey the feeling of the era. It can also tell a part of the story in itself. For example, the board I did for 1812: Napoleon’s Fateful March from VUCA Simulations. If you look at the top right corner, where Moscow is, you will see the colors there are paler and almost white. This is in contrast to the lower left, where the colors are more greenish. This is because the French invasion started from countries with a more mild climate. As the French marched toward Moscow, winter was setting in. Once they retreated from Moscow, they had to do so in terrible conditions, freezing severely. For this game, we couldn’t create two maps just for the sake of the narrative. So, I worked with this color gradient so the French player would feel that the more he moves toward Moscow, the harsher the terrain and conditions become.
Another example is the map for the upcoming Merville Battery from Dan Verssen Games that I am working on. For the raid on that French coast battery during D-Day, British paratroopers were dropped very early in the morning. By the time they attacked the battery, the sun was almost coming up, so the sun would have created very long shadows. I visited the site of the battery in person to see how it looked and what kind of colors are there. I also checked photos from tourists taken at early dawn to really simulate those colors. In my first designs, I tried dark blue tones to give it that night ambiance, but we settled for a version with a lot of dark greens with some pastel-like hues, some pink, and soft purple. A peculiar color scheme, but one that gives that sense of early dawn on the map.
Grant: How does the design process for counters compare to the process for maps? What is your goal with the look of counters?
Wouter: Oh, I enjoy drawing counters! I make illustrations based on reference images like photos from miniatures. Counters are drawn by hand. Usually, I do a couple of tests to see if they work well when printed small. They have to be clear when used, so very tiny. One thing I like about counters when placed on the map is when they really pop out. That is something I keep in mind: to keep the colors of the map rather subdued and work with brighter colors for the counters.
Personally, I like if the counters are a bit of a narrative as well. I am not a fan of NATO symbols because I feel they are too abstract, and I lose that emotional connection with the people that were involved in the action.
Grant: What wargame companies have you worked with in the past? What games have you been involved with?
Wouter: I have been blessed to work with a very wide roster of publishers in such a short time. Lately, I have been working with GMT, VUCA Simulations, and Sound of Drums. But I also work with DVG, Nuts! Publishing, and have worked for PHALANX, Fort Circle, and War Diary Publications.
Grant: What games have you been involved with?
Wouter: 1812: Napoleon’s Fateful March, 1920: Nest of Eagles, Assault Red Horizon 41: Revised Edition and Primosole Bridge Expansion, Corvette Command, Nightfighter Command, Merville Battery, Coast Watchers: Allied Field Intelligence in the South Pacific, 1942-1943 (to be released), The Far Seas (to be released), 1813: Napoleon’s Struggle for Germany (to be released), A House Divided: Designer Edition (to be released), and my own Dreaded Flags: Naval Conflict in the Age of Piracy 1568-1720.
Grant: How would you classify or describe your distinct graphics style?
Wouter: I try to inject little bits of innovation in my art, something a bit different at least for the wargame scene. I like clear iconography and clear typography. I am not a big fan of a lot of drop shadows and special effects. So, I think you would classify it more as a bold, flat, very graphic style with some elements of the Franco-Belge comic, DIY, and print techniques such as screenprinting, copier effects, and lithography. I think these are some common elements you will find with other European artists as well. Is there something as a European wargame look?
Grant: What game’s graphics are you most proud of? Is there one game that you would like another crack at to improve or simply do differently?
Wouter: I really like the whole package of 1812 and how everything in that box works together. I am also pretty proud at the humble Corvette Command. It is published by War Diary Publications and is a game by Alan Eagle, more of a narrative-style game in the line of B-17: Queen of the Skies. Usually, in these games, you have not many visual components in front of you. So for this type of game, I really wanted to create something different, something new, a strong visual game. I like the box art of Corvette Command. I tried a couple of new techniques in there.
Grant: What graphic designers or artists out there have influenced your style? Do you spend a lot of time studying others’ work?
Wouter: No, I try not to look too much to other artists. I am a bit of a perfectionist, prone to tinkering with my own art. And, like many artists, I struggle with the infamous ‘imposter syndrome.’ Nothing is ever good enough, especially if you compare it to work made by people who are way more experienced than me. “Comparison is the thief of joy” is a mantra I need daily. Of course, there are artists I admire a lot, and if I buy a game, usually it is because I like the look of it! Work by Nils Johansson, Marc Von Martial, Iván Cáceres, Roland MacDonald, Donal Hegarty, Rick Barber, Albert Monteys, Javi de Castro… Sure, I am now forgetting many… So many talented artists.
Grant: What games are you currently working on?
Wouter: We have the Kickstarter running for Merville Battery by Vince Cooper for DVG. I am also finishing up Coast Watchers with GMT Games before I start working on A House Divided. I am also working on 1813, which is the follow-up on 1812, and the next volume in that series. There is this big rework of The Far Seas I am finishing for Vuca. With Sound of Drums, I am working on their ‘Assault’ line, and with Nuts! on a game on the Battle of Borodino. And some others as well, but that is too early to say anything about!
Grant: Where do you see your wargaming graphic design career in 5 years?
Wouter: Difficult question because honestly, I didn’t think there was such a thing as an artist career in wargames, because it is so niche. Something I started to realize is that working in a niche industry is incredibly rewarding. In five years, I hope to still be creating art for wargames, perhaps with a bit more experience under my belt. I want to keep pushing the boundaries of what wargame art can look like, while staying true to the history we are representing. It is a journey I am enjoying immensely, and I look forward to seeing where it takes me.
