Get to know Elaine Ho, this year’s talented artist behind the Gen Con program cover art.
Elaine is an Asian-American illustrator and art director, and she’s forever drawn to the broken and the beautiful.
Her previous clients include Illumicrate, Uncaged: Goddesses, and Kraken Dice.
Read on to learn more about her art, her creative process, and what it’s like to be an exhibiting artist at Gen Con!
What inspired your work on this year’s Gen Con program book cover art?
Since it’s the Year of the Dragon, dragons had to be the main subject! It was a blessing to have Genevieve as Gen Con’s mascot, and I wanted to paint an eastern dragon living with her, showing both kinds can coexist in this world.
We’re represented by the dragon tamer at the bottom, symbolizing the underlying humanity that ties us all together.
What’s it like to be an exhibiting artist at Gen Con?
Stressful (because of all the prep) but satisfying (because of all the people who have nice things to say about my work!) It’s a rollercoaster of highs and lows, but at the end of the day, it all pays off.
What are you most looking forward to at Gen Con 2024?
The fans! I love seeing people excited to be here and expressing their joy through costumes, panels, and games. It’s a sense of community that can’t be replicated anywhere else.
What has been the biggest influence on your art, your style, aesthetic or creative process?
My first degree was in psychology, so I’m obsessed about capturing inner emotional worlds, and the relationship between subjects. I also love Renaissance and Baroque art – Caravaggio is a huge influence for me – and I try to keep that dramatic light and heightened drama in my pieces.
Do you have any special upcoming appearances, releases, or prints you’re particularly excited about?
Aside from Gen Con, I’ll be exhibiting at San Diego Comic Con as well. I’m heavily leaning into my monsterlover era this year and I’m releasing a series of girls with their monster partners.
What can attendees look forward to seeing at your booth at Gen Con this year?
I’ll have prints, pins, playmats, and limited edition metal prints, most notably a one-off master edition metal print of the painting I made for Gen Con. Along with my monsterlover series, I’ll also have a couple of Baldur’s Gate 3 paintings, and lots of original work!
You can find Elaine at www.artofelaineho.com or follow @artofelaineho on Instagram. Be sure to stop by her booth at this year’s show, which will take place August 1-4 at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis.