Qhimera's Gallery

Description of Work

In our team project, I primarily worked as the character artist and animator, focusing on development of sprites for each of the spirit guides, the axolotl and the hummingbird, as well as implementing the NPC assets. Each asset was then animated using a mix of key poses and keyframe animation using Clip Studio Paint.
 
I was also tasked with animating the opening and closing sequences for the game. Both sequences were a compilation of multiple clips I individually created that I then merged together to create one unified piece. Furthermore, I also contributed to the color design for the backgrounds, working collaboratively with my co-artist on some parts of the maps such as the market stalls, the foreground elements, and the colorful tone we wished to exemplify.

Artistic Statement

For this project, my artistic intention was to explore the beauty of memories, creating an immersive experience that would feel both vivid and whimsical. I wanted to play around with some of the beautiful aspects of Dia de Los Muertos by implementing elements such as marigolds, butterflies, axolotls, skull mask patterns, and papel picado. I used a moodboard created by my lead, Sam Trejo, that pioneered a lot of the visual design. It contained a vast collection of art and designs in Mexican culture and the symbolic animals and items associated with it.
 
In terms of the art style, I was influenced by Disney concept art– in particular, I was inspired by Wish. I was especially interested in the prototype concept designs that were made. Furthermore, I was inspired by storybook techniques that I felt created a sense of nostalgia that would play well into the game. I chose a vibrant color palette that included colors such as magenta, orange, and cyan (colors I associated with Dia de Los Muertos).

Description of Work

For this project, I was in charge of designing the background assets and mapping out each stage of our game. My main contribution was the environment —from the grass and water tiles to the houses and bridges. The bulk of my work was created using the pixel art program, Aseprite.
 
I served as an art consultant, guiding the sprite development and game interface and influencing character design decisions. My primary focus was designing a unique environment that matched the narrative while maintaining the cute aspects of traditional top-down pixel games.

Artistic Statement

As a newbie at environment art and top-down pixel games, many of my design choices were guided by the limitations of pixels and miniature nature. One of my goals this time around was to capture the nostalgia of classics like Pokémon, The Legend of Zelda, Stardew Valley, Fields of Mistria, and Plants vs. Zombies. These games stood out to me for their vibrant environments, their color palettes drawing attention to the scenery without overshadowing the spritework.
 
For the color and tone, I drew some inspiration from Hollow Knight, Little Nightmares, and Night in the Woods. I was particularly drawn to the challenge of turning something that was visually vibrant and colorful into something more somber and melancholic. In order to achieve this, I heavily used monochromatic color schemes.