ChaosMole Visual Development
⊹ Visual development of Mole & Friends, created for ChaosMole's livestream channel. ⊹
In 2017, I was asked to create a small set of emotes for ChaosMole's streaming channel on (now defunct) streaming website Beam, later known as Microsoft's Mixer.
The project quickly grew, and I designed additional characters (Mole, Cousin Mole, Frank the Chicken, and Old Mole), along with new assets that allowed for more creative freedom. Stickers, illustrations for specific videogames, start/offline screens, animations, and more.
After Mixer was gone, we adapted the graphics for Twitch, and then Trovo Live. Each website has slightly different requirements, and it was important to adapt the art to suit each one of them.
Here is an insight into the creative process that went into bringing these characters and their adventures to life.
- Jump to:
- Emotes
- Stickers
- Event Screens
Art by: Dona Vajgand
Characters: ChaosMole
Emotes - For Beam/Mixer
Left - rough colour sketches sent to the client. Right - the final emotes.
The biggest challenge was adhering to Mixer's 24x24px size limit while keeping the emotes clear and readable.
Emotes - Big
Left - rough colour sketches sent to the client. Right - the final emotes.
The bigger emotes were made when Mixer changed their size requirements. These are meant to be viewed on different devices, and as such they have to look good at any size. I changed my sketch style to show how it would look at three different sizes, to ensure it looks good for all users. The change allowed for some more freedom and nicer, more detailed lighting on the characters.
Stickers
Stickers are a fun addition to any stream and allow for more character exploration. Typically, they are used as a reward during live streams, and the design is supposed to immitate traditional sticker sheets. Stickers have a big storytelling potential because it's easy to depict various events and they are convenient to make for holidays and season changes.
I usually do the first exploration sketches on paper, then pick out the best ideas to sketch digitally and send to the client. There is a lot more work involved than what anyone besides me gets to see. Brainstorming like this helps avoid the cliches and the stickers look more creative as a result. Here's a sample of sticker sketches, for the summer sticker set.
Event Screens
Full size screens to depict various states: stream break, stream offline, E3 event, karaoke night.
Videogame Modification Screens
A special type of "event screen" created for specific videogame streams. They are a modification of official art, repainted in the style of the game, showing how Mole and his friends would look like if they were a part of that game.
Videogame Screens
Screens used for specific videogames, conceptualized from scratch.
Character design for the Cyberpunk 2077 screen, depicting the Mole crew in the cyberpunk setting.
Concepts for the final screen, exploring what's iconic about the design and history of Cyberpunk.
