I am a wargame collector who likes to upgrade the quality of modern wargames by printing new counters and maps. A few years ago I noticed the superior artwork of Ilya Kudriashov in several games he supported for various companies. I contacted him and asked if I could contract him to design replacement counters for a game on the conflict in Ukraine 2014. He did and I was very impressed. He excels at AFV icons and silhouettes. From that point I was hooked on his work. Ilya has redone the counters for many games at a very fair price. His artwork is beautiful and brings to life many of the games I love to play but always thought had mediocre graphics. When it comes to modern warfare, he is the best game artist in the industry! Ilya is also extremely well versed in modern warfare and has helped me with OOBs frequently. I have designed a couple of wargames just for myself concerning modern war in Eastern Europe. I couldn’t have done it without his help. If you are a wargame company and looking for an artist who can take your games to the next level, I encourage you to talk with Ilya. You will not be disappointed. I have a couple of projects for the future and I hope that Ilya will be available for them.
Stephen Cowne
Counters done for Stephen
I have worked with Ilya on a number of projects as a developer and designer. I love the way that Ilya takes the ideas from the game and gives them a real interpretation in his artwork. He is great to work with, very quick and highly professional. I’m always really pleased to work with Ilya on my projects.
Jay Ward
The Battle of Hue / The Battle for Ramadi
Ilya a dessiné une superbe carte pour mon projet Thousand day’s war. Avec très peu de consignes, il a vraiment réussi à donner le ton que je recherchais pour mon jeu. De plus, Ilya est très accessible et réactif. Si l’occasion se présente, je travaillerai à nouveau avec lui.
Rémi Dekoninck, Game designer
Thousand days’war
In 18 years of publishing, Ilya Kudriashov is one of the best artists that I have worked with. He is fast, reliable, and patient with changes. His sense of style is impeccable. I thoroughly enjoy working with him.
Mark H. Walker
Flying Pig Games / Tiny Battle Publishing
I worked with Ilya at “Burning Mountains” for Paper Wars. I found him a very creative graphic designer and an excellent collaborator. I like very very much his graphic style, and it’s a pleasure to work with him. With the hope to work again together.
Andrea Brusati, Game designer
Burning Mountains (Paper Wars #89)
I have worked with Ilya on 3-4 projects now with him doing art for my game designs being published by Compass Games. He does a really fine job, is easy to work with, and is always open to suggestions and changes. Certainly one of the best modern wargame artists I have dealt with over the years. And I look forward to working with him again in the future.
Stephen Newberg, Simulations Canada, Ltd
Ilya worked on our Borodino 1812 and Invasion of Poland 1939 board games. It was a great pleasure working with him on those publications. He is not only very talented artistically but his study of war game design informs his efforts on board game projects.
Michael W. Kennedy
White Dog Games
I was thrilled with Ilya’s work on Pacific Tide – the map was gorgeous and functional at the same time. He was good to work with because he listened and got changes done correctly.
Gregory M. Smith, Game Designer
Pacific Tide: The United States Versus Japan, 1941-45
I have worked with Ilya on Scream aim fire and Scream aim fire pacific. His artwork is awesome and really brings the look of the games to life. Easy to work with and look forward to working with Ilya in the future.
Jay Kirkpatrick, game designer
Scream Aim Fire!
Beautiful art is the visual vehicle to take our games into the past. Ilya is not only beautifully skilled artist for the gaming world, but he is also exceedingly patient as we have tested. Skill, patience and attention to detail— all matter and he gets it.
Danny Parker, game designer
Hitler’s Last Gamble
We’ve worked with Ilya on multiple game projects and he has done a splendid job. He is responsive and able to complete work quickly, while also demonstrating a willingness to consider feedback and implement improvements. We are fortunate to work with him.
John Kranz
Compass Games
Ilya Kudriashov is one of the best map and counter designers out there-his map for my Czech Legion Game, published by CounterFact magazine in 2018, combined excellent historical atmosphere with clarity and usability.
Javier Romero
Czech Legion: Escape from the Soviet Russia
Ilya does splendid work on all of our games and card sets. He works in a very timely and thorough manner, and his love of games shows in his artistry and in the way he integrates all of the game’s components into an enjoyable and understandable whole. I am VERY proud to work with Ilya and look forward to more in the future!
Paul Rohrbaugh
High Flying Dice Games
Mr. Kudriashov’s vibrant art breathes life into otherwise flat paper. His work on “Nomads No More” pulled mountains up from the map while also invoking the feel of post revolutionary Russia with clever placement of period text in the background and appropriate colors in the foreground. First rate, happy to work with him.
John Gorkowski
Nomads No More
Ilya is by far the most competent, able, and professional artist in the wargaming industry. Able to work extremely quickly and at the best rates in the industry, there’s a reason he’s done almost all of the maps for our games! Highly recommended.
Ray Liberto
CSL (Conflict Simulations LLC)
Ilya was professional and responsible throughout the process. He worked with us to change many things, to get it just right. Ilya not only understood how we wanted it to look, he contributed new ideas that made the art even better. I would recommend him for any art project.
Edward J. Castronova / Professor of Media / Indiana University
2040: An American Insurgency
Илья, я очень доволен работой с Вами. Все мои просьбы выполнялись, карты получились красивые по исполнению и при этом надежные, тщательное выверенные. Отличная работа!
С уважением, М. М. Кром,
доктор исторических наук, профессор исторической компаративистики Европейского университета в Санкт-Петербурге
Russia XV-XVI cent
I always enjoy working with Ilya. He dependably keeps to the production schedule, and his sense of color, proportion and iconography is excellent.
Ty Bomba
Ilya is a wonderful artist to work with. His work on board for The Chosin Few was top notch and I look forward to working with him again on another project.
Nathan Hansen, Tabletop Game Developer
The Chosin Few
Excellent graphic artist with vision, inspiration and a lot if independent thinking. He answered my queries and needs for change extremely quickly. You can give him a project with only rough guidelines and let him run with it: the results will amaze you. 🙂
Carl Paradis, Game Design
No Retreat
Ilya’s graphic design is of the highest quality– beautiful, distinctive wargame maps being a speciality. He’s also very fast, both at turning in the initial project, and at making changes as needs dictate.
Amabel Holland, Game Design
Hollandspiele
So, for the moment, dear Ilya, I say: THANKS. It was a pleasure to make these maps. Jasper Oorthuys, who told me about you, has not exaggerated that you were a great artist and easy to work with.
Jona Lendering
Omniboek publishing: First Punic War and Hannibal in the Alps