Hey Poptropicans! 😀
It’s been a while since we’ve featured a Poptropica artist’s portfolio here on the PHB – if you haven’t already, check out the works of Chris Goodwin and Nate Greenwall.
This next one has been around for a while, but we’re finally getting around to posting about it: the portfolio of Poptropica illustrator Abraham Evensen Tena! (The character of Gamer Guy, or Abe on Zomberry Island, is most likely modeled after him.) You can check out the works we’re highlighting in this post and more on his portfolio website.
Perhaps the most interesting pictures from Abe’s portfolio are these glimpses of the forgotten underground island that we’ve seen sneak peeks of in past Daily Pops. It’s a land lined with pink crystals, flowing streams, and even dinosaur bones! I for one would love to play this island someday.
The rest of the Poptropica-related art on his site are mostly desktop wallpapers for islands we’ve already seen, some illustrations he made for the Poptropica Lunar Colony chapter book, and other miscellaneous concept art. Here’s a look at some more pieces (click to enlarge the artwork):
If you check out his website, you’ll find even more Poptropica pieces. You can also see some of his personal non-Poptropica work on other parts of the site, but be warned that some of his (non-Poptropica) illustrations contain nudity, so only proceed if you are comfortable with that.
Abe Tena’s resume states that he worked as a game designer (most likely for Poptropica) from October 2010 to July 2015, which means he no longer works there. Right now, though, he’s an assistant professor specializing in human figure drawing at the Massachusetts College of Art and Design in Boston, the city where Poptropica HQ is located. How cool would it be to have a Poptropica Creator be your art teacher?
Anyway, hope you enjoyed this look into a Poptropica artist’s portfolio! Thanks to Abe for all the fantastic ideas and artwork he’s contributed to the game we know and love. 🙂
🏝 Poptropica Help Blog 🗺 
Awesome! But, why did that underground island get canceled? It looks so cool! Oh, and do you guys know when the second part of the Readers’ Survey Analysis and the first part of the Valentine’s Day Sepcial will come out? Thanks.
Most likely the Creators got busy with other plans and pushed the underground island aside, but considering how far the development went (they even planned to release it early last year at one point!), I really hope to see it someday. 🙂
Also, I don’t know when those will be coming out yet, but probably soon – that’s up to UiPE (who’s doing the analysis) and Blake (who’s doing the special). ^^
Oh, and I can kind of relate to the whole “having a Poptropica Creator as your art teacher” thing. My art teacher is the son of a famous author, so yeah.
Wow, that’s cool. Well, my art teacher is pretty special in his own way. 😀
Wow. He is an amazing artist! I wish I could draw like that. 😀
I wonder why the island didn’t get released, though. That’s odd. Maybe someday.
Yup, it takes a lot of practice to get there! ^^ I wonder as well. It would be a waste not to release it, since it looks like a lot of work went into it, so hopefully someday. 😀
You ain’t kidding. Art is hard to get good at, but it is worth the effort. 🙂
I agree. Just the design itself looks amazing. It’d be a waste.
Yup, he sure is! I’m really mad because I really want to make Poptropica fan art, but I can’t since I’m TERRIBLE at art.
Also, I think I know why the island was never released- the Creators probably never finished it, and they didn’t want another Monster Carnival, so they put it aside and quickly worked on another island. This island was Galactic Hot Dogs, and since it was rushed, it turned out to be one of the worst islands of all time. The Creators continued working on new islands, the graphic novel, the app, TV, and all sorts of other stuff, but forgot about the unfinished underground island, so it was never released, and forgotten. The only thing that’s left of is are sneak peaks. One day, just like Monster Carnival, it may be released. Just maybe…
Don’t feel discouraged- it probably took him years to get that good. Lots of time and effort, I’m sure. I’ve been drawing for years, and I’m barely intermediate.
Wow!!! I’m feeling so inspired by these works of art. I wonder if Abraham listens to David Bowie too…
Awesome! Looking at great art can be very helpful with the creative process. 😀 When Poptropica tweeted about his death, they mentioned that many Creators were fans of David Bowie – so for all we know, Abe might be among them. 😛
Mega kewl beans 😀 thanks!
I wish the underground island would have been released!
*sigh…* Me too.
Yeah,when the sneak peaks of underground island were released I was so excited. Later came to know that it wouldn’t get released. 😦