Greetings fellow gamers. I've been lurking the FFG boards for some time now, and wanted to take this opportunity to introduce myself and join the melee. My name is Ryan Barger, and I'm a professional illustrator whose work has appeared in several FFG products including Cosmic Encounter, Talisman: The Reaper, and other projects currently in development. Having seen the positive reception of the new alien powers art featured in Cosmic Encounter, I really want to offer my gratitude to the community. Knowing that you guys and gals are enjoying the artwork as much as we enjoyed creating it is a true joy for an illustrator, and one of the most rewarding aspects of the job.

That said, I'm looking forward to taking a more active part in the FFG community here on the boards. I find myself (like many others) addicted to the cruel whims of the Reaper in the latest Talisman expansion and though I'm still trying to get together a regular Cosmic Encounter group, I can't wait to latch my Parasite onto some unsuspecting slob's cranium again. FFG is a terrific company that designs terrific products, and I'm as much a fanboy as anyone.

So if you have any questions, comments or observations related to the art side of things (or just feel like chatting), fire off a message and I'll be happy to respond as long as I'm not in the middle of assassinating my brother's drunk and passed out Wizard in the tavern.

Happy gaming,

Ryan Barger
www.ryanbargerportfolio.com

Keep up the great work... don't ever underestimate the impact art has on a game. It's refreshing to see great, accessible art in this edition of Cosmic Encounter.

I've said it before, but I have to say it again directly to you: the art is fantastic, and just the kind of thing that I would hope to see in CE. Better than most, if not all editions before.

Just please make the Pirate match its history--in the Eon version, the Pirate was actually the being on the shoulder of the human-looking swashbuckler!

I didn't actually know a lot about Cosmic Encounter before, but it was the art that made me dig a bit deeper. The art is the first thing you notice in a game, and bad art can really kill one's interest in a product before they give the game a fair shot. I can't wait till my copy arrives, my girl is going to fall in love with your designs, she is a huge science fiction fan. I also can't wait till my copy of the reaper expansion arrives, really glad to hear that you did some work in that as well.

Keep up the great work

Absofreakinlutely. The art's so good, I'm going to be taking inspiration from it for my upcoming Uplift universe game. Thanks!

I don't have the game yet, but the pics I have seen of your work are brilliant. The concept and execution on the Parasite are amazing!

Thanks everyone for the compliments! Cosmic Encounter was one of my favorite projects to work on to date, largely because FFG gave us a healthy amount of leeway in conceptualizing the alien critters.

The parasite was among my personal favorites as well. His choice of victim was partly alphabetical and partly ironic.

Heh. Yeah. I appreciated that the Parasite latched on to the alien (Pacifist) that came right before him. As you say, the subtext of that joining just tops it off. Thanks for the great work.

Yeah, I've been saying that I just love the alien artwork for Cosmic ever since I first played it. Your a great artist.

I can't figure out your website, though. All the links take me to pages where I can buy artwork from ebay or something. I was just trying to track down some of the alien art from Cosmic.

Good to hear from you. The artwork is excellent. I especially like the fact that the aliens are often so.. well, alien. Much more bizarre and interesting than most you might see in Star Trek or Star Wars. I was curious which aliens you were responsible for illustrating and is there some kind of common style that you try to adhere to for all the cards?

I had the old Games workshop edition of cosmic (80's) and the new versions artwork really struck me when i opened it up. The level of detail is tremendous. I love your choice of making Loser a cat-like being. I also love the fact the Zombie has a Loser skeleton in it, and the Mimic is imitating it. I have to admit I do want to squash that cat when I see it!!!

Where is all your CE art? Can't find it on your site.

Ryan Barger
www.ryanbargerportfolio.com

This link seems to take me to a hijacking web page.

got some great pics there ryan

Hi everyone,

Thank you for the interest in my artwork. My website has been relocated to www.ryanbarger.net and I plan to include the more recent Cosmic Encounter aliens with my next update. Gicih, the Loser and Zombie aliens were actually Felicia Cano’s work--just a heads up, as I don't wish to take accidental credit for the fine work of another artist.

Happy gaming,

Ryan

That's great news, Ryan. I was sad to see your old site go away and look forward to seeing all your Cosmic Encounter art again.