CREATING A VISUAL IP : BUILDING A WORLD
When approaching the visual development of a game, I try to capture the essence of the players' motivations - what truly excites and wows this specific audience. With Avatar World, it came naturally - as it turned out, I was creating for the player I once was (and still am)
Tapping into my own memories of childhood amazement at the sight of a scene so rich, so full of life and detail that it feels almost overwhelming with possibilities to explore - it was important to me that the game felt rich, rich, rich! - dense and alive, evoking that same sense of awe and a playful urge in our players
Designing the environments, I set out to encourage the player’s natural urge to touch, explore, discover, and even make a delightful mess. Every corner mattered, and no area could be left unattended - each one crafted with care, love, and attention.
Avatar World functions both as a universe reflecting the player’s everyday familiar life - serving as a stage for pretend play and storytelling full of its necessary emotional benefits for kids, and as a miniature world living in the palm of the player’s hand, evoking feelings of heart-melting cuteness and care.
In crafting the aesthetics for this world, I had this in mind, drawing from my own childhood-rooted love for miniature toys, cute things, and tiny worlds.
I envisioned how players would emotionally engage with the game world and translated those intuitions into creative choices that shaped the art style, prop design, and environmental composition - using visual richness and a sense of emotional depth to craft the cozy and immersive experience I wanted for the player-child.
CHARACTER DESIGN
Developing the prototype character, I tapped into my love for kawaii stylization and spent hours refining subtle details - the distance between the eyes, the curve of the cheeks, the tilt of the head. I wanted to find the right base posture and angle - settling on a subtle ¾ turn that gave the character a dynamic, voluminous touch while maintaining a readable presence, and providing the best foundation for outfit readability, motion, walking, and other animations.
Inclusiveness was a key value for me. It was important that players could see themselves represented and celebrated within the game. The system we developed allowed endless combinations giving each player the ability to create a character that truly felt like their own reflection inside the world of Avatar World.
UI DESIGN
I see UI and UX as extensions of the player’s emotional journey, and I made sure they would feel as tactile and rewarding as playing within the world itself. So, it was crucial to me that the UI’s visual language felt illustrative and aligned with the game’s overall art style, while remaining intuitive, clear, and functional. After establishing the art style for the main screens, I continued to oversee its development to ensure a smooth, satisfying, and visually "juicy" experience for the players.
ENVIORMENT
Environment design for games is all about illusion - conveying atmosphere, guiding the player’s eye, and bending space to meet the needs of gameplay and the limits of the screen.
In Avatar World, I explored the illusion of unfolding a 3D space within a 2D, elongated, horizontally scrolled mobile frame - keeping it both visually rich and easy to navigate. Designing a world for mobile means working within very limited real estate: how can we create a sense of openness, depth, and vertical expansion within the canvas constraints and the type of player engagement it allows? How do we bend the laws of perspective to preserve the illusion of depth while enabling draggable objects in a 2D world to align harmoniously with the composition at any point?
In terms of art style, I aimed to build a visual language that feels 2D yet rich with hints of 3D depth expressed through selective details. The world needed to feel alive within its flatness. Focusing on subtle shadow and lighting effects, along with the addition of brushwork and gradients to create volume across items and backgrounds, made all the difference.
LEVELS
In guiding the art team, I approached each level as its own visual language within the game’s overall art style - defined by distinctive motifs in shape, material, and a color palette that feels varied yet cohesive. Sometimes this means creating a signature icon or presenter character that gives the level its own recognizable identity - almost like a mini brand within the world.
The team worked within a perspective system and grid I developed - a framework that evolved through close collaboration with our environment artists, serving as a constant creative and technical challenge that adapted to our changing design needs.
I personally accompanied the development of each level, helping define its main visual motifs and ensuring an appeal and atmosphere consistent with the game's artistic language and creative message.
Allowing pretend play in an open world designed for kids guided not only the game design and content selection but also the visual and creative decisions. We needed to create a stage that felt both intriguing and comforting - one that offered space for personal storytelling, freedom in customization and playfulness, while gently guiding players within safe boundaries and limitations.
PROP DESIGN
When the team dives into detail, they truly do — perfecting every leaf of a plant, every corner, every bevel of a piece of furniture, and every texture, whether it’s stone, wood, or fabric. Even the smallest items — a pencil, a cup, a book — receive the same care and attention.
My team and I are deeply detail-oriented, and I believe this is what makes our designs exceptional and helps the game stand out among others. I feel fortunate to work with such a talented group of artists who continually raise the bar, fine-tuning our visual language from the tiniest props and elements to the larger picture of the world itself.
TEAM
Building and leading the art team for Avatar World has been one of the most rewarding parts of my work. My role is to guide the vision and connect people - helping each artist’s strengths come together in a coherent whole.
I believe great art direction means recognizing each person’s unique strengths and giving them the space to shine. The team that joined me, one by one, each elevated the art style and creative vision in their own way - bringing the results to a level of finesse I could never have dreamed of:)
We continue to face a variety of technical and creative challenges, always tackling them together as a team. I learn from them constantly - they are deeply skilled, curious, and generous, and they teach me something new every day. I feel proud and grateful to lead such talented people and to keep growing alongside them as we shape the world of Avatar World together.
Disclaimer: Screenshots shown here were captured from the publicly available version of Avatar World by Pazu Games Ltd. They are displayed solely to illustrate my role as the game’s Art Director and to showcase professional experience. All visual assets and intellectual property belong exclusively to Pazu Games Ltd (©). Art Direction and Visual Development by G.L.