Join us as Rocket League honoring Black History Month through February! We are going down FREE three packs in the Merchandise Store all month long, with each package celebrating the work of talented Black artists.
The first is the painter Geneva Bowers, whose beautiful painting covers Sunni decal. Her lovely designs are also featured on the symmetry Sunni Avatar Border and Sunniya Player Poster. Stay tuned—the next two free Bundle drops will be announced on our blog and social media throughout the month.
Get Sunniya from the Geneva Bowers Bundle in the Item Shop via the Black History Month Tab in-game now through February 28th!
Sunniya and Geneva Bowers Bundle (Free)
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Sunni decal
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Sunni Avatar Border
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Sunniya Player Poster
Meet the Artist
Geneva Bowers captivates the world with his art through comics, children’s books, and now Soccar! Combining vibrant concepts with unusual colors, his mystical illustrations bring life to everyday situations. During our interaction, we took the time to ask a few questions about him, his art, and his story.
Question. Can you walk us through your journey and how you developed a career in the art industry?
A. I will start in college. I dropped out after a year for a few reasons. I had no knowledge of anything other than drawing. But since that was all I could “do,” I was adamant about making art. After reading a random user’s answer on a now-dead internet forum, I realized that you don’t “need” an art degree. So I studied online from YouTube and blogs to get good enough to be “hired.” I stumbled upon a great space from a tee design company that happened to work really well! I still tried to improve my drawing and general skills after work, though. After a few years, the freelance painting I was doing on the side started to overtake my work, so I made the choice to become fully self-employed. It has been worked on ever since.
Voyage, Lucid Blade, and Grasp by Geneva Bowers
Q. Many of your artworks combine the extraordinary and the ordinary. Can you speak to your relationship with the world of magic?
A. Most of my art is “what-if.” What if this electricity tower was the same, but with a dragon on it? What if this window was the same… but with a dragon on it? What if everyone was just, I don’t know, thrown into the 90s and given a sword? We all have a daily routine that we have to go through that can be mundane, and I’m really inspired by general fantasy, so it kind of mushes together.
Q. As a huge fan of the hovergirl genre, I can’t help but ask about your webcomic, HoverGirls. What inspired you to take on such a long-term project?
A. I’ve wanted to do comics for a while, so I’m grateful for HG’s idea! I grew up on magical girl VHS tapes and love playing with tropes, so this webcomic was a great vehicle to steal from anime and show that love. HG has been picked up for publication by Bloomsbury next year (2024) too, with over 40% of the story and basically all the artwork redone. The web will always be online, though.
Also, aside: As someone who illustrates a lot of books and covers for young adults, I really wanted a story to exist where the story wasn’t just about being black or a person of color. For lack of a better word, there are a lot of “black struggle” stories / important points that are important, yes, but I rarely saw or was hired for anything that was just a story where the main characters happen to be POC or. black and did not consider that fact. The characters in HG are just shaky in their established characteristics, and this is the stupid problem that happens with incitement.
Artist Geneva Bowers
Q. What do you think about video games as an interactive art form?
A. Games are a wonderful art form. It brings together a lot of emotions, and you can interact with it all on top of that! I’m very interested in games from the PS1/PS2 era, with all the tricks to deliver this emotional art package to a large amount of data/space. You can tell when something has a lot of love and thought put into it.
Q. Different people are attracted to different types of sports. Is there a type of game that you find really speaks to you?
A. Roguelikes and rogue-lites. I can’t get enough. Randomization, reboots, dungeons, and looting are the ultimate dopamine hits. I immediately turn off any other game of a different genre that has rogue elements.
Q. What impact would you like your art to have on the world?
A. I just want people to be happy, really. There is always a lot going on. So I just want people to see for themselves and maybe feel more comfortable for the day.
We hope you enjoy the sketch of Geneva in Rocket League! Be sure to check out her Instagram and shop. Now, go grab his free Item Bundle and stay tuned for our next artist feature coming later this month.
