Niklas Åkerblad

Niklas Åkerblad (born 17 April 1983), also known by his pseudonym El Huervo, is a Swedish artist and musician known for his oil paintings, watercolor paintings, and video game art. His portraits are known to be bold and vivid in nature. Åkerblad's wide body of work gained significant attention following the success of the video game Hotline Miami, for which he created the cover art, along with its successor Hotline Miami 2: Wrong Number.^[1] Åkerblad was also the sole artist for other video games, including Kometen and Else Heart.Break().^[2] Åkerblad is also widely known for regularly creating the cover art for Bandcamp Weekly, the official podcast of Bandcamp.^[3] Åkerblad is also a musician with an extensive discography and created soundtracks for several video games.

Biography

Early life

Åkerblad grew up in Gothenburg, the largest port city in the Nordic countries. As a child, Åkerblad spent the majority of his time indoors drawing, and being influenced by comic book art and video game covers. He found relative happiness leading a simple life and being free to be creative. He took an early interest in art, often drawing pictures of monsters, comic heroes, and masks.^[4] In his youth, Åkerblad would discover the work of Stan Sakai, Moebius, and Edward Hopper, which he studied and took great inspiration from. It would be later while working as a concept artist for a game studio, that he would make the decision to take on independent art in earnest. By this time, he primarily painted in either watercolor with ink outlines or strict oil on canvas. He experimented with contradiction and boldness, often working from vivid color palettes. This style largely remained a consistent theme in his future paintings along with a consistency for blending horror and beauty. Recurring themes in Åkerblad's paintings are love and social oppression. His work often features skulls, masks, and various elements of Danse Macabre. When asked where his inspiration and drive originated, Åkerblad replied, "Everyday life can be so mundane. Art is an adventure. So I want to explore as much as possible before I die. It is just a very strong calling."^[5]

Breakthrough

In 2012, Åkerblad had been spending an increasing amount of time with his friends and fellow Swedish artists

Åkerblad has received widespread acclaim for his art in video games. In 2008, Åkerblad created the concept art, which the game Colosseum by Shortfuse Games is based on.[7] Åkerblad worked as a character designer and animator at Shortfuse Games.^[8]

In 2010, while discussing collaboration for a potential space exploration game with Swedish game developer Erik Svedang, Åkerblad was tasked with creating all the art. Svedang and Åkerblad collaborated closely to design and complete Kometen. Åkerblad created all the art using watercolor, and the game would later be described as a "gorgeous exploration experience".^[9] For Kometen's art, Åkerblad set out to create visually stimulating planets for the player to discover. Each planet represented a different message, such as paranoia, unseen danger, and deceit. Åkerblad explained that he wanted his art for the game to communicate what words could not with the player.^[10]

In 2012, Åkerblad illustrated the cover art for the

After collaborating with game designer Erik Svedang on several games, Åkerblad took on the art for the 3D adventure game Else Heart.Break() which was published in 2015.^[12] Åkerblad's art was recognized again when Else Heart.Break() was nominated for a 2015 IGF Excellence in Visual Art Award.^[12][13] When asked about the unique visual style of Else Heart.Break(), Åkerblad stated "the Swedish television program Skrot-Nisse started to become a major influence. It’s a puppet show, and all the scenography is handmade and very elaborate in its execution, creating an almost over-saturated level of detail."^[14]

Music

Åkerblad is also a musician with an extensive discography. He created prominent tracks for