graphic artist
A graphic designer is a practitioner who follows the discipline of graphic design, either within companies or organizations or independently. They are professionals in design and visual communication, with their primary focus on transforming l ...
and
illustrator
An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...
.
Early life and education
Hotz was born in
Burnaby
Burnaby is a city in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Located in the centre of the Burrard Peninsula, it neighbours the City of Vancouver to the west, the District of North Vancouver across the confluence of the Burrard In ...
, British Columbia, Canada and studied at
Simon Fraser University
Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a Public university, public research university in British Columbia, Canada. It maintains three campuses in Greater Vancouver, respectively located in Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, British Columbia, Surrey, and ...
,
Langara College
Langara College (snəw̓eyəɬ leləm̓ in ''Halkomelem'') is a public degree-granting college in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada which serves more than 19,000 students annually. Langara College started in 1965 as part of Vancouver Community ...
, and
Capilano College
Capilano University (CapU) is a teaching-focused public university based in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, located on the slopes of the North Shore Mountains, with programming that also serves the Sea-to-Sky Corridor and the Sunshi ...
, mainly studying
archaeology
Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...
,
art history
Art history is the study of Work of art, artistic works made throughout human history. Among other topics, it studies art’s formal qualities, its impact on societies and cultures, and how artistic styles have changed throughout history.
Tradit ...
,
fine arts
In European academic traditions, fine art (or, fine arts) is made primarily for aesthetics or creativity, creative expression, distinguishing it from popular art, decorative art or applied art, which also either serve some practical function ...
and
commercial art
Commercial art is the art of creative services, referring to art created for commercial purposes, primarily advertising. Commercial art uses a variety of platforms (magazines, websites, apps, television, etc.) for viewers with the intent of promo ...
.
Career
Hotz worked for ''First Encounter Magazine'' (DELF) from 1983 to 1984, for
Columbia Games
Columbia Games is one of the oldest manufacturers of board wargames, and has also produced the '' Hârn'' role-playing game as well as various card games and collectible card games. Their wargames are notable for using small wooden or plastic bl ...
Inc. from 1984 to 2000, and was the in-house illustrator, production editor, and cartographer. His work included interior color, black
line art
Line art or line drawing is any image that consists of distinct straight lines or curved lines placed against a background (usually plain). Two-dimensional or three-dimensional objects are often represented through shade (darkness) or hue (co ...
, map work, and cover art, for Columbia's fantasy role-playing world ''
Hârn
Hârn is a campaign setting for fantasy role-playing games, designed by N. Robin Crossby, and published by Columbia Games in 1983.
In 1998 Crossby founded Kelestia Productions (KP), an electronic publishing e-company. KP and Columbia Games now ...
''. He also produced board game map art for Columbia's
board wargames
A board wargame is a wargame with a set playing surface or board, as opposed to being played on a computer or in a more free-form playing area as in miniatures games. The modern, commercial wargaming hobby (as distinct from military exercises, ...
including ''Rommel In The Desert'', ''
EastFront
''EastFront'', subtitled "The War in Russia: 1941–45", is a board wargame published by Columbia Games in 1991 that is simulation of the conflict between Germany and the Soviet Union during World War II.
Background
In September 1941, German f ...
'', ''WestFront'', ''1812'', ''Bobby Lee'', ''Sam Grant'', and many other titles.
Hotz did the design and art for the role-playing game '' High Colonies'' (1988) for Waterford Publishing House Ltd. In 1992, he started working freelance for Columbia Games, and his work included art for the card game ''
Dixie
Dixie, also known as Dixieland or Dixie's Land, is a nickname for all or part of the Southern United States. While there is no official definition of this region (and the included areas have shifted over the years), or the extent of the area i ...
'' and ''Eagles'', of which he illustrated over 1,000 cards within a year and a half.
Hotz eventually also worked freelance for companies/publishers like:
TSR, Inc.
TSR, Inc. was an American game publishing company, best known as the original publisher of '' Dungeons & Dragons'' (''D&D''). Its earliest incarnation, Tactical Studies Rules, was founded in October 1973 by Gary Gygax and Don Kaye. Gygax had bee ...
(''
Dungeons & Dragons
''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...
''),
Wizards of the Coast
Wizards of the Coast LLC (WotC or Wizards) is an American game Publishing, publisher, most of which are based on fantasy and List of science fiction themes, science-fiction themes, and formerly an operator of retail game stores. In 1999, toy ...
(''
Talislanta
''Talislanta'' is a fantasy role-playing game published by Bard Games in 1987 that forgoes many of the tropes used by popular games of the genre in favor of a unique world and many new game mechanisms. There have been six different English-langu ...
'' and ''
Dungeons & Dragons
''Dungeons & Dragons'' (commonly abbreviated as ''D&D'' or ''DnD'') is a fantasy tabletop role-playing game (TTRPG) originally created and designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson. The game was first published in 1974 by TSR (company)#Tactical ...
''),
White Wolf Publishing
White Wolf Entertainment AB, formerly White Wolf Publishing, was an American roleplaying game and book publisher. The company was founded in 1991 as a merger between Lion Rampant (game publisher), Lion RampantVampire: The Dark Ages'' and '' Werewolf: The Apocalypse''),
Atlas Games
Atlas Games is a company which publishes role-playing games, board games and card games. Its founder and current president is John Nephew.
History
When Atlas Games did not have the finances to publish '' On the Edge'' (1994), they partnered with J ...
,
Avalon Hill
Avalon Hill Games Inc. is a game company that publishes wargames and strategic board games. It has also published miniature wargaming rules, role-playing games and sports simulations. It is a subsidiary of Hasbro, and operates under the compan ...
, and many other RPG/Game publishers.
Hotz also worked for himself, creating ''Whitewash City'', a large set of PDF Wild West cardstock buildings he researched and designed from historical sources, many from actual surviving
Old West
The American frontier, also known as the Old West, and popularly known as the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that bega ...
buildings. He also created ''Roman Seas'', recreating authentic Roman
warship
A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is used for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the navy branch of the armed forces of a nation, though they have also been operated by individuals, cooperatives and corporations. As well as b ...
s and merchant ships in PDF format for paper construction.
In 2005, he founded his own company, Hotz ArtWorks, and also began a line of silk-screened felt game mats from his studio in Canada.
Hotz was the co-author of the Online comic strip, ''Larry Leadhead'' from 2000 through September 2012. From 2012 to 2019, Hotz also worked in the educational field as a creative director for educational teaching companies.
Starting in 2020, Hotz had his first solo art show at the MAC art gallery in Mission, BC, Canada, where he featured paintings and illustrations on natural history subjects. From 2020 to 2023 Hotz showed his work in over 14 art shows, winning several awards for his paintings, including a third-place award at the Federation Gallery (Federation Of Canadian Artists) in Vancouver, BC, Canada in October 2023. On May 27th, 2024, Hotz won "First Place" in the "2024 Landscape Exhibition" at the Federation Gallery (Federation of Canadian Artists) in Vancouver, BC, Canada. In a follow-up exhibition, on September 13th, 2024, Hotz won "First Place" in the "2024 Beautiful BC Artist Spotlight Presented By The Nature Trust of BC" at the Federation Gallery (Federation Of Canadian Artists) in Vancouver, BC, Canada, and won "Third Place" on November 19th, 2024, in the "2024 Water Exhibition" at the Federation Gallery (Federation Of Canadian Artists) in Vancouver, BC, Canada. On May 12th, 2025, Hotz won an "Honourable Mention" award in the "2025 Landscape Exhibition" at the Federation Gallery (Federation of Canadian Artists) in Vancouver, BC, Canada.
Reception
In his 2023 book ''Monsters, Aliens, and Holes in the Ground'', RPG historian Stu Horvath reviewed ''Hârn'' by Columbia Games, and noted, "The art is a significant contributor to the world's sense of cohesion, a secret truth of RPG world building ... Eric Hotz provided just about every illustration for every ''Hârn'' product from 1984 to 2000, creating a remarkably consistent visual representation of the world through sepia toned drawings that alternate between gritty realism and a flattened, faux medieval style — a clear forerunner of the single artist approach to campaign settings that TSR would adopt in the '90s. Most RPGs focus on epic clashes, but Hotz routinely favored domestic scenes and depictions of every-day objects that do so much to breathe life into the world."