Spring Update 2024

Hello friends! I hope spring is off to a rejuvenating start for you all. I know I’ve got a bit more spring to my step, because I have some Moonshell Island progress to share thanks to a couple things I’ll be talking about today!

Heads up: This post includes animated GIFs which are best viewed on your browser!

Demo Artwork Timeline

As you’ve probably noticed, I haven’t had much to showcase in the last year or two while I’ve been focusing on the planning side of the project. Planning can be a pretty endless stage. But I’ve decided to move on for now! And what I’ll be moving on to first is the part I’ve been missing the most: game art!

So I’ll be dedicating this year (and likely beyond) to completing the art assets required for the demo as the plan currently stands.

I’ve mapped out these art tasks and milestones across a timeline as a rough estimate for how long I’d need to get it all done at my known pace. I hope to beat these projections by building momentum with fewer distractions, because it’s looking like I won’t be done until early next year. But slow progress is still progress!

Milestones 1 & 2: Buildings & Portraits - Complete!

So far I’m on track and have completed the first two milestones: Buildings and Character Portraits!

Milestone 3: Character Sprites - Active!

I’ve already begun the next sprint: Character Sprites! This week I got some new player states done, and next week I’ll start animating NPC states. This milestone includes a lot of character states and animations, so the deadline isn’t until late October.

Welcome Aboard, Ain!

I have a feeling this won’t take quite as long as projected and at the very least should be more fun, because I won’t be going it alone. My dear friend has joined the Moonshell Island Crew to help me out!

I’m talking about the wonderful, the stupendous AINHOA RUEDA!!!

Ain is a highly versatile artist and character designer whose work has not only influenced aspects of my own art style, but also fits in rather seamlessly with it in Moonshell Island. This combined with our well-established friendship makes Ain especially qualified to share in the work I’ve always reserved for myself.

While I’ll still be handling most artwork tasks as well as the overall art direction, Ain has already proven to be a natural in many categories of the artist role. We will be flexible on the type of work delegated based on what flows best, but to start out Ain is responsible for the character design, portraits, and sprite states of our newest NPC: Martha! I’m sure you’ll agree she’s off to an impressive start.

Since Ain came onboard, we’ve both been having a blast working together and I think it’s safe to say we’ve got an effective dynamic going. Ain has also helped motivate me on my own art tasks via encouraging and constructive feedback throughout the process, saving me loads of trial-and-error time. It’s such a privilege and mood booster having Ain on the team.

For the next while we will be working toward our current demo art milestone: Character Sprites! We’ll keep ya posted!

For now you can look forward to the April 2024 Postcard I’ll be posting here soon and mailing out to all qualifying tiers early next month. Thanks for all your support!

Your friend,
Sam