You might not immediately recognize the name Stephen Bliss, but I guarantee you'll recognize his work on arguably the most influential game franchise of our time. As a senior artist at Rockstar Games from 2001 to 2016, he defined the iconic pop art and comic book feel that has become the visual hallmark for Grand Theft Auto. IGN spoke to him at the Lucca Comics and Games festival about his work with the series, what he's been working on since, and finding the balance between making a name for himself away from the brand and seeing his artistic impact continue even as he works on other projects.

IGN: I was reading an interview with you where you said you didn't want to be known as the GTA guy, but you take it as an affirmation that people know your work and are inspired by that. Is that something that has been tricky to navigate in the past 10 years?

Stephen Bliss: I wanted to make a name for myself away from Rockstar in fine art and to make my own IPs, my own properties, and cartoons. And that's worked to a degree, and it's getting stronger all the time, my career. But I can't ignore what working at Rockstar has done for me. I'm very grateful for getting a job there and working there for such a long time. After GTA 3, Vice City, and Warriors, the team came in, Anthony Macbain [Director of Illustration at Rockstar for 13 years] and Steven Olds [former visualization director at Rockstar Games], who are both amazing artists.

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