Kandria Art Document

This document should serve as a reference for the art direction and kind of style we should be aiming for. Please also see the lore document, specifically also the section on technology.

Pixel Art

In general the pixel art should be focused on extremely limited palettes of only a handful of colours, with many large, flat shapes. A good comparison would be vector graphics but reduced to pixel art. This means noise and detail should be avoided in favour of keeping the art clean and easy to read.

Sprites

In the low-resolution sprite work, the palette should be limited to one primary colour per shape, with one additional shade colour if necessary. This ensures a high degree of readability.

Profiles

In the high-resolution profiles the line work should always be clearly visible even with shading. Shading should be used to anti-alias the lines, but not to a degree where the lines would disappear entirely. For the shading more than one shade colour per shape may be employed, but the palette should still stay extremely limited. Instead of introducing further shades, colours from other shapes should be adapted for use in shading when possible.

Animation

In exchange for the simplified and relatively low-detail look, the animations should instead be very fluid and target a high framerate. The animations must be clear to read, so movements should be exaggerated, and especially the weight of characters in the animations should be apparent.

Tiles

Surface tiles should follow a distinctive look in both hue and pattern for each area. Using strange, unnatural hues is strongly encouraged, both to make the game look more unique, and to help differentiate the areas from each other. Everything should still follow the limited palette design choice however, and be constrained to only a few alternate shades where necessary.