The Art of Hades II with Supergiant Games' Jen Zee | Interview

In this exclusive video, Game Informer interviews Jen Zee, the renowned art director behind Supergiant Games' Bastion, Transistor, Pyre, and your favorite characters in Hades, about the making of Hades II. We discuss how art history inspired Jen when depicting Melinoë, why she loved revisiting her past work, the graphical differences between Hades and its successor, and fan art from Supergiant's community. 

// SUBSCRIBE TO OUR CHANNEL

// GET A GAME INFORMER MAGAZINE PRINT SUBSCRIPTION

// FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL

#supergiantgames #hades2

[MarcoChiappero]

so good to finally hear from the person that my generation is named after 🙏🙏🙏

[Haelian]

Mel is SO much more detailed and it really shines in Hades 2. Great work Jen and the entire art team!

[evemartinez]

As an illustrator, and animation student, Jen Zee and all Supergiant team are such a big inspiration to look up to.

[FryCanon]

Love this. Jen Zee is iconic!! Have loved her art for over a decade!

[NxghtMarsH]

That Chronos design was so menacing and unique. I love her mind.

[BucklingSwashes]

1:50 I honestly never would have guessed that they were using different tech than the first game. I assumed it was the exact same engine with minor changes at best. They did an incredible job of mimicking the look of the first game. I had noticed improvements, especially to things like lighting and the general smoothness of animations, but I didn't think we'd gotten such an actual upgrade.

[ACameronUK]

The art of their games is instantly recognisable and iconic - hooray ☺️

[PhilipAlexanderHassialis]

The art direction and especially the zone art design is so much better than Hades 1. Kudos to the art team, and ofc to Darren for dressing it all up magnificently. Also, *WHERE IS THE COMPLETE SCYLLA & THE SIRENS ALBUM DARREN? WHERE IS IT???*

[stratovolcano]

I got punked by this title so hard because I've been waiting for a hades artbook since 2020 and I wanted this so bad to be a release video 🤧 heartbreak aside I'm soooo grateful to be able to listen to jen zees artistic process !!! Supergiant is one of my biggest inspirations and I've always been in love with jen zees art! <3

[xmlthegreat]

She's so genuine, and from the way she communicates I get the feeling that everyone at Supergiant is just having fun in the creative process of making these beloved games.

[paullittle]

She's such a star! Not only a supremely talented character artist, but also, what a scholar!

[ISawABear]

I love how even as wild as some of their designs can be (especially when compared to ancient Greek statues) they still have pin point lots of references to the depictions of the gods that informs their models.

[pastelhermit]

I just need an art book to drop for these games they are so beautiful!!

[tristezaeternal]

Jen Zee is so talented like omg.... I wanna squeal at everything she created for both parts of Hades. And the passion of the community is only a fair tribute to such a great team as Supergiant <3

[DariaElGrellPozina]

I am SO OBSESSED with Jen Zee's art, ever since the Bastion, it has such a painterly quality, such a great balance between smoothness and details. If she ever makes an artbook whether of SuperGiant art or her own I would get it in a heartbeat. 💖

[Schizm]

She's AMAZING art director. Thank You for the interview!

[BrettDalton]

Love all the art work, since I accidentally came across transistor, I've been a massive fan

[andreeam.]

Hades 2 has been a FANTASTIC early access. So much polished content already, it is insane. Had a blast with it. So happy to hear Jen speak about their creative process ❤❤

[Zories]

Love this. I’m so excited for Hades 2 when it’s fully done and released.

[grahamkristensen]

I wonder how she feels knowing her art skills gave millions of people weapons grade bi-panic.