-- Early Production --

We are trying to have as many elements in prototype state as possible, before moving on to alpha.
And since we are still early in development, I only have a rigged and prototype-animated player and enemy done.

To cut down on time, we decided to use Rapid Rig for the humanoid characters. I know i'm going to create the most advanced and largest amount of animations for the player characters, so I wanted something reliable and easy to use. For the enemies it's mostly easier and quicker for me to just make my own rigs, especially since they won't have that many animations, and don't need to be that advanced in most cases. 

The first animation pass of the player, captured in unity. 
It's - of course - very ugly right now, but for the prototype state i just wanted something my teammates can work with in unity, so we can set up as many of the systems we need as possible, and then polish it later.
To allow us to quickly change the look of the player, all the armour pieces are separate objects parented to the bones of the player! We hope that this can be a cheap way to create more variety of the player characters later on.

The bat enemy. It was surprisingly easy making a rig for him and doing these simple animations ( I had only made humanoid rigs up till this point, and was pleasantly surprised to figure out that every rig doesn't necessarily need 200 bones and extremely specific and advanced controls, yay!).

It was nice making this quick character and testing the process out, as it made me confident that i could easily do it for the other enemies too.

-- Character Portraits --

As mentioned before, to save time and costs we decided to use the same model in-game for all the characters. We will be able to change the textures and armour, but everyone will share animations and model. It is a zoomed out isometric perspective, so the player won't be able to see too much details on the characters no matter what. We needed some other place to give the characters cool art and expressiveness, and decided to do that through character portraits.

Some exploration of the style for the portraits

The player should be able to create their own character, and we want to have the tools to generate our own random characters to populate the game. This was some tech we wanted to try out early on too, so with few pieces of facial features, we tested out making a simple generator:

This turned out to be a really quick way to make some cool portraits, I made the different parts for the face in greyscale, and my teammate made a system in unity where i can quickly set up different gradient maps to colour the different parts! Having gradient maps instead of simple colour overlays makes the whole thing look so much better, and it gives me control to make quick but pretty colours directly in unity. 

Here's all the pieces used for the generator above - these were done in an evening, so it's a very time efficient way for us to get a lot of content.

Later on we want many more parts to the generator, and we will have the player able to age through 3 stages of life, keeping their main features by registering them to their character profile. Below is an early concept of how that could look:

And that's about it on the art for now!
I am currently working on the UI, and figuring out how the in-game grid and targeters should look and work.
This is - of course - Just the art part of the project, and you certainly can't make a good game with just pretty pictures.
There are so much more time and thought gone into the gameplay parts of this game, which i am in no way qualified to talk about! 

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⭐

It's a big project, but that just means i learn that much more!
And i get the change to do what i really love - building worlds and finding a style for that place. 
Figuring out how every nook and cranny in the game should look and feel, coming up with stories and characters, and making a place come alive. 

⭐

"Dice" Is a game project i'm creating together with Joshua Christiansen and Anton Pilmark.
It's a Tactical RPG with dice mechanics, with a gameplay focus on always being engaged in the choices you make,
having to think strategically about the uses of the die that has been cast.

The setting of the world is a kind of parallel reality where the renaissance sensibilities never went out of style, and different families/houses control the world we live in, but in modern ways - there’s a family that controls the media, a family that works on all the latest technology and gadgets and so on. The branded clothing the commoners are wearing will feature colours, coat of arms or patterns associated with one of the houses, and commercials on the streets will of course feature important personages of the well-off families. 

You play as one of the lesser families who are mostly tasked to suppress people and beings who disturbs this world, while also keeping the major families pleased, and making sure not to make an enemy out of any of them - unless you are sure you can take them on!
The tone is a bit over the top, it should be a colourful and cool futuristic renaissance world, rather than a sad and dystopian future - highlighting the eccentric and corrupt lifestyles of the people who control the world in a tragicomic way.

The setting of the game has changed a lot over time though, so I will go a bit back and take a look at the development of the world, and talk about why we took some of the choices we did. LET'S GO!

---- Early Concepts ----

At the beginning of development we had a world which was very inspired by ancient Egypt, and especially funerary texts like the book of the dead.
The ancient texts meaning to guide the dead through the underworld is extremely unique and inspiring - and the world they build up is honestly a perfect fit for a game.
I did some research into ancient Egyptian mythology, and read quite a lot of text written during the New Kingdom - a very long period to be sure, but since I'm sadly not very knowledgeable about that period, I just read whatever I could find. I was honestly surprised about how many works are preserved from such a long time ago, and how many good stories there are, that I feel people are unaware about - unless they are specifically interested in that subject!
Well, with inspiration in mind and pen in hand I worked on some concepts of an Ancient Egyptian underworld.

early exploration of different rooms

I was of course inspired by ancient Egyptian architecture, but also looked at Egyptian revival architecture to get some other elements in.
I also experimented quite a lot with colours in the start, to see how I could push it in different unique ways, but still keep it "Egyptian". 

Some thumbnail designs for "the temple to the underworld"

I also worked on some character concepts to figure out how an ancient Egyptian inspired fashion style could look!
I looked at a lot of accessories, paintings and architecture from that time, to find some interesting patterns and shapes to use that would still have the right feel!

↖  some of the concepts ↗

As you can see, we did end up doing a bit of work with this theme in mind, and I did quite a lot of exploration before we ended up changing the theme. So why did we do it?
Most of all, it just didn't feel right. We really thought the setting was cool, but somehow we never got too excited about it, we had a hard time coming up with truly interesting stories and encounters we could envision in this world - at least the way we wanted it.
A big thing was that the setting was a bit too serious. We do want a world that can have depth to it, but we also want a world that will have space for very extreme characterizations, and characters that don't take the whole thing too seriously.
At one point we knew that we would have to come up with a new setting we could be really excited about - sadly, that's not always something you can just magically invoke, but luckily for us, we were about to go to a perfect place for renewing the creative juices and gather inspiration
- a vacation!  

---- New Exploration ----

The idea of different renaissance houses in a modern setting was sparked after a trip to Italy,
especially after seeing the medieval "skyscrapers" of Bologna.

Walking around in Italy, you can't help but be confronted with the different prominent families that have ruled the country through time, they have made their marks on the land with magnificent monuments and buildings, and immortalised themselves through the most talented of artists.
Every family has a legendary narrative surrounding them - their often humble beginnings, soon to be plagued by intrigue, war and deceit, is bound to inspire anyone who hears about them. It definitely inspired us, and we were so eager to figure out more about the world, that we would use the hot Italian mid-day hours with a cold shakerato in one hand, and a notebook in the other. When we went back home we were brimming with ideas, and ready to work!

One of the first things I worked on back home was the mood picture above: I wanted to capture a bit of the warm Italian colours while they still were fresh in my mind - something we know we want in the game. This special kind of sunshine that can make the most haggard ruins and run down places look appealing and beautiful. 

We want the player to be able to see which families' district you are in by looking at the commercials, banners and colours in the environment.
I'm working a lot on making different recognisable and appealing brands for the houses, with their own shape language, patterns and colours.
The concepts you see above is early exploration of some commercials and patterns for the "science" family, a family involved in tech, gear and knowledge. Their way to success is always having the newest and coolest products available, they use science and knowledge to reach new heights of production and technology.

Above is the very first colour and shape design I decided on for the Science family. For the colours I decided on the Black and white to give them a very clean and professional feel, the cyan to invoke a bit of futuristic technology feelings and the orange to tie it together with the world.
Their shapes are only made with sharp corners - no rounded shapes here! They cut straight to the point, it's clean and efficient. The 2nd pattern is inspired by shapes you would see in ancient Greek, which is of course a time often associated with knowledge and forward thinking. The last two patterns is a very stylized version of a laurel leaf, placed in different potential patterns. The Laurel, too, is a symbol associated with wisdom and greatness.
I needed to rethink some of the design though, as each of the families' symbols are supposed to show up on a dice, and be associated with different things - for the science family it's movement, and I didn't feel like it was communicated enough with their main symbol (the first one).

I've started thinking about and working on some redesigns for them, but i'm not completely satisfied yet. As you can see above, i've tried some designs associated with movement, still using the shape rules of course - No rounded shapes!

Above is some very early style concepts for the science family, i quite liked them at the time, but my teammate pointed out that they looked a bit too renaissance, and we needed to have some modern elements in it too. I could definitely see what he meant, and one of my biggest struggles with the style of this project (especially in the start) is that i naturally tend to incorporate more renaissance elements than modern ones.
Luckily i've gotten better at reminding myself to change it up - otherwise my teammates will definitely remind me! 

This is the result after the feedback, which turned out much more interesting!
I'm still trying to incorporate some renaissance elements into all designs, parts like the puffy or long sleeves, and the dress cut with square neck, but i'm experimenting more with modern fabric and details - like pants! The vibrant cyan and orange combo is definitely also helping.
It's a very fun challenge, since I neither want it to look too sci-fi or too renaissance! I have to find the right balance, and the style of the different families will undoubtedly have varying degrees of "modern-ness" and "renaissance-ness". 

A small moodboard and quick sketch of another families' style - the "media" family! It's the celebrities, the news, the influencers, and the movie directors. Their shapes are much softer - but there can still be some edge to them! Their colours are inspired by purple and pink sunsets, when the sky goes from yellow to pink to purple, and you can still see the sun that shines and the stars beginning to twinkle! I also want to incorporate a lot of holographic materials into their style, as it is a material that shines and draws a lot of attention to itself, with very modern feel! 

Some early concepts of the player family: the "inquisitor" family. They are send out to punish the wicked, and i wanted a bit of chain and leather feel to them, together with a lot of sharp edges. Their design still have some curves, but it should invoke more of a dragon scale or sea creature feeling, since the ends are always pointy, and not rounded. 

Well, what's a magnificent renaissance noble without their shiny armour? We knew we wanted our characters to be in armour in-game on missions. We've had to find some way to cut down costs throughout development, as i will be in charge of creating all art, and having armour that multiple characters can use is a great way! I wanted the armour to be reminiscent of modern day branded race cars - completely plastered in colourful commercials, and made out out of extremely shiny and polished materials! 

We of course needed some enemies as well, and where I wanted the families to be clean and a bit too perfect, i wanted the enemies to have a distinct unruly and messy style, while still looking cool.

 Above is some of the explorations for the enemies' style. I tried to experiment with unusual colour combinations or materials, and giving them a messy look with some painterly flairs like splatter effects, grunge and shifted linearts.

Some of the final designs we are going with for now!

I want to experience a bit with how much i can do with their material and shader for the in-game model, to get a feel of what looks good and what is possible. So before doing too much refinement, i went on to create the model for the bat enemy to test it out!

---- End of Part 1 ----

Well, you already made it this far, so i'm sure you can handle some more ~

[GO TO PART 2]

Executioner's Academy is my ultimate hobby project, where i wanted to work on something i could always be excited for.

I've always loved making comics, since it's a way to combine story and art - two subjects i love!
The story is about the son of an executioner who abhors the idea of himself having to become one,
a setting where i could include some of my favourite themes - some macabre fun mixed with the grotesque beauty you find in gothic cathedrals and memento mori monuments.

The comic currently has 281.4k views and 5.2K subscribers, along with a fan translation to Russian.
You can read it here: https://tapas.io/series/Ex-Ac !
- I haven't been able to update it since April 2019, since i got a job i'm dedicating my time to, 
There's no time for the quality i want the comic to be in. I used to update it 1-2 times a week.

I looked a lot into medieval manuscripts and illuminations, and their colourful patterns and illustrative framing inspired me a lot.
I researched a lot during the making of the comic, and read several books and manuscripts written in and about the 1300's, (mostly for my own enjoyment). But i also feel that the knowledge helps me a lot to decide how i build my world, and what themes are in it, even though i sometimes twist that knowledge and make it extra cartoony and exaggerated.
I also wanted to explore some themes of what is good and what is evil, and that question becomes even more dramatic when you put the medieval church into the picture. I wanted to have a good sense of how medieval people might view some of those values.

 Illumination from Suetonius, Life of Caesar, 1433, Princeton University Library MS Kane 44. 
A nice illumination that have clear different shapes with patterns in them, i especially love the vegetation.

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✒ The Process ✒

I draw the lineart traditionally, mostly with my trusty Maru Nib-Pen, and whatever fine brush marker i have on hand.
The colours are done in photoshop. 

There's definitely some challenge with drawing very detailed and patterned drawings like this, since it quickly becomes chaotic. I feel like i've become better at tackling that with the power of colours throughout my process of making the comic.
Having much simpler colour blocks makes it easier for the eyes to move around to the different parts and not become overwhelmed, while still keeping the wow-factor of the amount of details. Colouring the lineart also makes everything flow better together, I like to give the lineart a tint of the colour underneath it, but keeping it completely black for the parts of the characters/objects that would normally receive ambient occlusion.  

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🖼 The imagery 🖼

Église Saint Maclou - Rouen

The awe inspiring feeling you get when walking into a grand gothic cathedral is one of the best things I know.
The ceilings and arches towers above you, and the intricate and grotesque stonework both instils fear and wonder.
It's hard to believe that this immense structure is build by human hands, with it's perfect symmetry and grandness.
But when you move closer, you will notice that each stone-worked flower is unique, and every gargoyle is making a different grimace.
Not many buildings holds such a vast amount of stories, and it's no wonder you can't keep from getting inspired if you take a look at them!

That feeling as described above is a very big inspiration, and i try to use the symmetry, the imagery and the mood i've gotten from visiting such places, and capture that in the pages of the comic.
Of course, i'm not building a wonderful monument, i'm making a silly comic, but i quite like having something immensely beautiful and unachievable as a guide, i believe it's gonna make the work better than if you had a more reachable goal.
And your biggest inspiration should be something you could look at forever, and it would still inspire wonder in you. 

The colourful lights that flow through the vivid stained glass in a cathedral is a particular favourite motif of mine!
Above is a picture of said beautiful motif taken in Ulm Cathedral.

Inspirations from illuminated manuscripts and their unique way of using patterns, colours and objects to frame the content of the image, giving it a certain mood! Above is an illustration from the Codex Manesse, a beautifully preserved collection of poetry written about 1304.

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🎵 BeatTrip is a platformer where your every action is recorded onto an 8-step beat bar! 🎵

It was made for the 48 hour GMTK jam, with the theme "Out of Control ".

check it out here:
| Itch.io Page | | GMTK JAM submission page |

After some hours of coming up with ideas, we settled with a music based gameplay, where a bar records your actions.
I thought it would be cool to have an art style that would fit the theme, and I had a bit of time to think of ideas, so I went to work:

the super quick mock-ups and some inspiration gathering

Is there art styles that represent music? it's a fun thought, since music and art doesn't - in theory - need to have a lot to do with each other,
but different cultural movements have brought the arts together, and we now think of 60's soul music with special images in mind!
I looked at some different decades, genres and their respective art styles, and talked with my teammate in charge of music.
Some of the styles would have been a bit too hard to do musically in such a short amount of time, and we thought it was better to keep it a bit more open at the time.

Another place where music and art is tied together is in concert posters! They often have a whole style of their own, both needing to convey a message through text, and giving a feel of what you are going to be hearing at the club tonight.
I started looking into different poster designs, which had a lot of cool and inspiring ideas. 

we of course didn't have too much time to use on art exploration, but I did some quick sketches and decided on a style with the team!
An important part of making art for a game jam is of course that it can't be too detailed or complex,
and this modern poster style with many stamped and copied symbols together with a very simple colour scheme was a perfect fit for that! 

and now it was just about churning pieces out! 

At the last hours I quickly drew our character with more details to use for some of the images we would put up on the jam site.
It's a cheap trick but with a jam with 5300 entries it helps a bit to have something to catch the eye of the people browsing through :D
A mantra I like is: Come for the art, Stay for the gameplay! 

You can play the game at our Itch.io page : https://sassynero.itch.io/beattrip

i worked on BeatTrip together with:

Anton Pilmark, Game design, Code, Music -  https://www.antonpilmark.com

Melker Berg, Technical Animator, inter alia - http://www.melkerberg.com

Joshua Christiansen, Game design, Code - https://joshua-christiansen.com

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👿Parasite👿

In Parasite you have to carefully balance your corruption as every move consumes and empowers you.
you will gain corruption by killing demons, but Dashing, Shooting and even moving drains it!

| Itch.io page | | |GMTK Submission page|

The theme for this game jam was "only one", we decided to go with a gameplay where you only had one resource for everything you did.
I was a bit opposed to making a 3D game in the start, as it takes a lot more time than doing it 2D art wise, and we did only have 48 hours.
My teammates thought the gameplay would work better 3D, so i decided to take on the challenge. 

I thought about how to make a 3D environment the fastest way, and decided to do simple shapes without textures, and then do a cool cartoony shader- i had wanted to work a bit more with unity's shader graphs, since it was very new, but had received a few updates since i last checked it out. The enemies and items would be done in 2D and then billboarded towards the player, since it would have taken too much time doing several different enemies with animations in 3D. This would also communicate to the player that everything you could interact with would be in 2d, which worked well!  

I had a lot of troubles with the shader, since the new updates to shadergraph had made it more unstable, and we had to settle for something simpler than anticipated, since there weren't much time to troubleshoot. I settled for a simply toon shader with some texture in the mid-shadows. 

I ended up trying to make everything look a bit better with some rather extreme colour grading. Given the demonic setting of our choosing, it did still work. 

I felt that I learned during this gamejam not to rely too much on tools that you might have trouble using, rather have the main pieces be something you know very well, and experiment with less important parts. I still think a game jam is a perfect place to learn new tools though, so it's a fine balance. The 3D workflow for such a short amount of time also proved some complications for the team. 

I still felt i learned a lot during this project, and i feel much more confident tackling a 3D Jam in the future! I think it would have proven useful to put a bit more time on style and exploration (which i did in my next jam).
Putting down a bit more time in the start to make sure how everything should look, makes it easier to churn out content when you are done with that step. You won't get stuck using unexpected time on tackling art problems - or at least, you will know how to quickly solve them!

I worked on Parasite together with:

Game Design and Scripting by Joshua Christiansen : https://joshua-christiansen.com/ 

Level Design and Game Design by Anton Pilmark : https://www.antonpilmark.com/ 

You can play parasite here: https://sassynero.itch.io/parasite 

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🦇 Captain Dracula 🦇

Dracula is flying across the bloody seas again and his ship is not holding up well.
It's up to you and your friend, the Dracula's henchmen, to control the ship while simultaneously repairing it. 

|Global game jam page|

For this jam i worked together with the wonderful Koni on the art! : https://www.artstation.com/connynordlund , which all of a sudden gave me a lot of extra time! I mostly worked on the splashes and the direction, with Koni doing all he sprites and animation. 

This was a very fun jam, and the general feeling was that we wanted to do something a bit fun and wacky with the jam theme "Repair".
We ended up with the idea of Captain Dracula flying the bloody skies in his airship, with 2 players as his ghouls constantly trying to repair the breaking ship. As the Jam was an On-Site event, it was a great opportunity to make co-op games, as you don't get that chance with online jams.

It was a fun opportunity working together with another artist
- we had to make sure our styles matched, and decided to go with pixel art for that purpose!
For the in-game view itself, we decided on a more detailed left part where you as the player would move around and control the ship; on the right would be a view of your surroundings. It fitted well with both having the right view less detailed, as to not take too much attention from the player, and making it in shades of red - it gives it a kind of "radar" feel, but more bloody.

Sometimes it's nice to just do something in your comfort zone, and this definitely was one of those jams. We had a nice small scope, and we quickly decided on a style and mood to go for, so everything went smoothly.

You can find the game here: https://globalgamejam.org/2020/games/captain-dracula-9

I worked together with:

Art & Animation - Conny Nordlund 

Sound Design & Music - Dominic Ninmark

Programming - Mikkel Bybjerg

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