Watercolour, Goose, and a Zombie Village
Last week was all about the art side of things, and I’m happy to say I finally made some progress there. The big one: it looks like I’ve actually settled on an art style. At first, I leaned more toward a rough, freehand graphical look. But after finishing the first scene, something felt… off. The style just didn’t quite click with the world I was building. So I went back to the drawing board (literally) and tried out different approaches: graphite pencils, watercolours, even pastel. After a lot of sketching, testing, and doubting myself - I think the search is finally over. The mix that works best for this game is graphite pencil + watercolour. It just has the right balance of roughness and softness, giving it a handmade feel while still looking alive and colorful.
And as soon as that puzzle piece fell into place, another one followed: the sidekick design. This was a huge relief because I’d been stuck on it for a while. Having the art style locked in made it so much easier to imagine how the sidekick should look and behave. I won’t spoil too much yet, but let’s just say — the goose has landed.
I also started sketching out the second scene: Zombie Village. The Blacksmith’s house is done, the Carpenter’s house is also in place, and now I’m scratching my head over who should be the third villager. The world needs to feel lived-in (or, well… half-lived-in), so having the right mix of characters really matters. Got any fun ideas for who else should live there? Drop me a comment — I’m curious what kind of weird villagers people would expect to meet in a zombie village.
Oh, and I’m toying with the idea of making a YouTube video where I show how I’m designing levels that actually tie into the narrative, not just generic “catch-22 room”. I think it could be fun to share the process — plus, it forces me to explain my own logic out loud, which usually makes me spot things I’d miss otherwise.
Quick side note: social media is brutal. Growth feels glacial, and it’s way too easy to get discouraged when you see big accounts everywhere. But hey, I’m still here, still posting, and not planning to give up anytime soon. If anything, slow progress is still progress, and that’s the indie dev way, right?