Thomas Olson
Artist * Game Art Prof * Educator * Game Developer
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DragonVale splash and pre-prod art

DragonVale started life as "Dino Game", and was going to be a cross between Tap Zoo and Pocket Frogs. We lucked out when one day the AD came in holding his phone up with Tap Jurassic on the screen. They beat us to it. In the end, it was a huge boon. Breeding one dino species with another to get a third seemed strange--this was how Tap Zoo worked: breed a gorilla and a puppy and get an owl. It made no sense, but it was cute and popular. Dragons moved into the top slot and we did well with them :D I had a lot of fun designing dozens of dragons over the years, and the team has kept going with some really wonderful art.

I only painted this image, I didn't draw it. In the early days of my time at Backflip, the studio AD had several contractors he would use to do things. The juvenile Plant dragon looks a bit like a combination of Snoopy and Woodstock to me here.

I only painted this image, I didn't draw it. In the early days of my time at Backflip, the studio AD had several contractors he would use to do things. The juvenile Plant dragon looks a bit like a combination of Snoopy and Woodstock to me here.

A sizing chart for the original primaries. I would have loved Water to be titanic, but it wouldn't fit in the habitats. If you look at the project with the primiaries, you'll see we posed it later to let it be bigger and not clip through it's habitat.

A sizing chart for the original primaries. I would have loved Water to be titanic, but it wouldn't fit in the habitats. If you look at the project with the primiaries, you'll see we posed it later to let it be bigger and not clip through it's habitat.

DragonVale started life as "Dino Game", and was going to be a cross between Tap Zoo and Pocket Frogs. This little t-rex was the end result of a lot of style exploration, and was coming down to how we would render them.

DragonVale started life as "Dino Game", and was going to be a cross between Tap Zoo and Pocket Frogs. This little t-rex was the end result of a lot of style exploration, and was coming down to how we would render them.

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