CHIBI COMBAT CHARACTERS
A phased pixel-art roster and animation project, commissioned character by character. The hook is the whole game: these heroes cannot really lift the weapons they carry, and they save the world anyway.
About the reference: the image was AI-generated and is shared only to communicate proportions, energy, weapon scale and overall pixel-art direction. We are looking for original, artist-made work, not traced or generated artwork.
Already taken: the archer in the top right is marked in progress, so the trial character would be one of the others. Everything else on the sheet is still open.
WHAT WE'RE COMMISSIONING
We are building a small roster of expressive fantasy combat sprites. We want to begin with one paid test character, establish a strong working style together, and expand the commission if the fit is good.
1 CHARACTER / 2 ANIMATIONS
idle + attack
- One approved character sprite at the agreed game scale and viewing angle
- A seamless idle loop and a clear, satisfying attack animation
- Transparent sprite sheets, individual frames, and source file if included in the quote
The roster is not all-or-nothing: we also commission individual characters. If you only have room for one sprite, or you want to do a single character and stop there, that is a real option and it is paid the same way. Take as much or as little of the roster as fits your schedule.
The longer-term opportunity: if the first commission is a strong fit, we intend to commission the remaining characters and enemy in additional paid milestones, ideally with the same artist for consistency.
What success looks like
- A readable silhouette and personality at native game scale
- Consistent proportions, lighting, palette quality and baseline across the roster
- Animation with clear anticipation, action and impact, without unnecessary frames
ENEMIES AND CREATURES
The other half of the roster. Same chibi language and the same readability bar as the player characters, but built to read as a threat at a glance.
About the reference: same as above, this sheet was AI-generated and only communicates scale, silhouette and creature direction. Beasts, elementals, plants, constructs and armored critters are exactly the space we want.
Content rules: hard requirement
- No skulls, skeletons or exposed bones
- No demons, devils or horned evil figures
- No occult or ritual symbolism (pentagrams, inverted crosses, summoning circles)
- No gore, blood or body horror
This is not a taste preference. The game will ship in regions whose store review rejects that imagery outright, so a great sprite with a skull on it is still a sprite we cannot use. If you are unsure about a design, ask before you animate it.
What we want instead
- Beasts, elementals, plants, slimes, constructs and armored critters
- Hostile but characterful, closer to charming than grim
- A silhouette that reads as an enemy next to the player sprites, not as another hero
- A clear tell before the attack, so the fight stays readable
OTHER ART WE COMMISSION
The roster is the main commission, but it is not everything the game needs. Each of these is its own paid milestone with its own trial, so you do not have to take more than the one you are good at.
2D VFX
- Hit, impact, heal and buff effects
- Their own palette, readable at game scale, no muddy frames
- Same model as the characters: one paid effect first, then more
Icons and items
- Item and skill icon families on a consistent grid
- Readable at small size, not shrunken illustrations
- Not scoped yet, so tell us if this is your thing and we will size it
Backgrounds and props
- Battle backgrounds, map art and props
- Single large pieces, not a seamless tileset
- Not scoped yet, so tell us if this is your thing and we will size it
Not looking for: HUD and interface art, which is already covered, and audio of any kind. Please do not quote for those.
ART DIRECTION + HANDOFF
The reference is a direction, not a template. Your artistic judgment matters.
Visual cues
- Chibi or super-deformed fantasy proportions
- The weapon is always too big for its owner, and the pose admits it: braced legs, balance thrown off, both hands committed, effort on the face
- Strong silhouettes that remain readable at game scale
- Crisp pixel clusters, deliberate highlights, and rich but controlled palettes
- Energetic posing that reads as effort, not as a confident hero stance, and a cohesive scale across the roster
Please avoid
- Tracing or directly copying the reference image
- Generative AI in the final artwork
- Blurred scaling, interpolation, or muddy pixel edges
- Tiny details that disappear at native size
- Generic posing that hides the character's role or weapon, and any pose where the character looks comfortable holding the weapon: if it looks easy, the joke is gone
Requested technical delivery
- Transparent PNG sprite sheet plus individual frames at 1x native resolution
- Consistent canvas size, pivot, baseline and frame order for every animation
- Nearest-neighbor 2x or 4x preview exports are welcome for presentation
- Editable source file (Aseprite, PSD, or equivalent) if included in the agreed quote
- Commercial-use rights for the game and its marketing materials
What you keep
- You can show the finished work in your portfolio, watermarked
- You are credited in the game's artist hall, alongside the rest of the cast
- We take commercial-use rights for the game and its marketing, and nothing beyond that
If the commission is cancelled
- The upfront half is yours from the moment you start. We do not ask for it back and we do not open a payment dispute.
- If we cancel when the work is essentially finished, we pay the full amount, not the half.
- We only ask for the upfront back if nothing had been started yet.
- This is not a promise resting on goodwill: the upfront is already in your account, which is the only cancellation term a small studio can actually honour without a platform holding the money.
When replying, please include
- Portfolio or relevant pixel-animation examples
- Price for the 1-character trial
- Recommended sprite dimensions and frame counts
- Estimated turnaround and revisions included
- Availability for the full roster if the trial goes well
EMAIL OR DISCORD.
Send your portfolio, trial quote and timeline. The five points above are the whole application: no cover letter, and no unpaid work up front.
* We pay up to 50% of the agreed value upfront, and the remaining 50% once the work is delivered and approved.
We read everything and answer the ones we can work with.