We are so excited for the release of the Halo Legacy Collection trading card set. Today we’re going to share some insight behind some of the most unique cards that can be found in this set: Sketch Cards! A number of talented artists were recruited, including previous Halo concept artist Horia Dociu. We were able to catch up with a few of the artists to hear more about their connection to the games.

Along with Dociu, the other artists included in this interview are Kaysi Smith, Vinz el Tabanas and Gary Cogdill.

How familiar are you with the Halo universe?

Dociu: As the Studio Art Director at 343 Industries at the time (now Halo Studios) I was quite familiar with the Halo universe

Smith: I grew up playing Halo when it first came out, but I was too young to realize how rich the universe had gotten. For me the game was a fun shooter. All of my family is into Halo, for thanksgiving my in-laws would play halo together and take turns in multiplayer matches. 

el Tabanas: I discovered Halo with my first Xbox and generally I don’t like FPS but this license changed my view.

Cogdill: The word I want to use is Completely. I’ve been a fan of the Halo franchise for over 20 years now. Bought every novel, art book, encyclopedia, and game. Plenty of merchandise in my collection to.

What was your introduction to the Halo games?

Dociu: Like many folks my age, Halo is the game that made me buy the original Xbox, in college, after playing a few rounds of multiplayer at a buddy’s house. Jumping in a Warthog with your pals and living out all the 80s/90s action sci-fi movie fantasies was unbelievably cool!

Smith: I believe it was the first game, I was about 8 at the time, and my dad played through it while I watched. I have a lot of nostalgia for Halo music in particular because of this memory. 

el Tabanas: It was one of my first games on x360, Halo 4 is one of the games that still makes this console one of my favorites.

Cogdill: Back in Early 2002. I went over to my best friend’s for a sleepover. They had just got an Original Xbox. Spent till midnight playing Halo Combat Evolved co-op. I vividly remember playing on the level – Truth and Reconciliation and trying to keep quiet not wake up my friend’s parents while fighting in the covenant ship and having a blast.

On the day I was to go back home, we went to a bookstore and I discovered the first novel The Fall of Reach. I was super hooked from then on.

Do you have any favorite characters?

Dociu: It’s hard to not love Master Chief because, from a character design standpoint, he’s such a crystal-clear distillation of that walking-tank space soldier fantasy…. it just doesn’t get much cooler in any game out there!  

Smith: I loved Cortana, in fact I sketched several variations of her in these cards because she was the OG girlie! I was familiar with the older games, and haven’t gotten into the newer games as much, so seeing Cortana’s evolution as I was doing research for the cards was really cool for me! 

el Tabanas: I like all the universe, Spartans and weapons, spaceships and all vehicles, but my fav is drawing all the enemies/monsters. All the elements that make up the universe work so well together.

Cogdill: I have a favorite character for every game. But if it’s for the entire series, then my favorite is Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck. Guy saw the entire war from beginning to end.

Are there any moments that you knew you wanted to include in a sketch card?

Dociu: Being a visual guy, I just wanted to capture some of the amazing silhouettes of these characters because they all have a super appealing action figure quality to them! 

Smith: I didn’t want to call back to any particular moment in the games, but I was most excited to illustrate a grunt! I find their designs to be really cute in a weird way, and was definitely the most fun character to interpret! 

el Tabanas: Battle scene but I don’t know If I can draw death on sketch card, perhaps it’s a cool idea to redraw a first person key moment.

Cogdill: The most “iconic” moment when people think of Halo is Master Chief holding and/or looking at Cortana. That and Master Chief on the first Halo ring. It’s on the front cover of the first game. So they were instantly my go to pieces.

I’m also in love with BLUE Team so I wanted to do a 2-card spread of the 4 Spartans together.

Do you have a favorite game in the Halo franchise?  Any specific reason why?

Dociu: The original trilogy truly stands the test of time, and Halo 4 and 5 were beyond visually stunning, but nostalgia aside, the gameplay in Halo Infinite is the most refined, and being able to deliver those epic sci-fi vibes with modern-day cutting-edge graphics was a treat for the senses! 

Smith: If I had to pick a favorite, I’d say Halo 1. I was a massive fan of the energy swords; it’s still my favorite weapon in the series! That, combined with the fond memories I had growing up makes it hard to beat! 

el Tabanas: All. Halo 3 and 4 are my fav, haven’t play the 5th for now. The 4th because I have so many emotional memories of the game.

Cogdill: Easy, Halo: Reach. Not gameplay reasons. But art design wise. As an artist I adore what was achieved.

Are there any additional thoughts or comments you’d like to share?

Dociu: As a kid I grew up with superhero trading cards and I would pour over them and copy the hero poses in my sketchbook for practice- that’s really what got me super focused on trying to become an artist in the entertainment industry. So, to get a chance to actually make some cards officially and do it with pencils and markers just like when I was a kid, that was just a beautiful, full-circle moment for me! 

Cogdill: Only that it had been years since I had done traditional art. So for me to jump back into color pencils, oil markers, and pens to be an officially licensed Halo project was super exciting. I’m pretty proud with how they turned out.

Smith: I really loved internet deep-diving for lore about Halo while working on these cards! It rekindled an old interest of mine and was so much fun to really sink my teeth into! 

We hope you enjoyed learning more about the artists behind some of the sketch cards you’ll find in the Halo Legacy Collection trading card set! If you pull a sketch card, we’d love to see you share with us on our X account or share with us on Instagram.

The Halo Legacy Collection is available now in hobby stores! 

©2024 The Upper Deck Company. 5830 El Camino Real, Carlsbad, CA 92008. All rights reserved.
©2024 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.