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2D Art Contributor Guide
This section explains the general 2D art requirements for NETFISHING.
NETFISHING uses a warm, stylized, low-resolution visual direction. The project combines:
- Pixel-style user interface art
- Inventory and hotbar icons
- Fish and creature illustrations
- Character clothing and cosmetic thumbnails
- Low-resolution environment textures
- Simple signs and interaction symbols
- Promotional and website artwork where requested
The goal is not strict retro pixel art for its own sake. Assets should use deliberate pixel structure, limited palettes, simple rendering, and strong silhouettes while remaining readable in a modern third-person game.
Visual direction
NETFISHING 2D art should feel:
- Warm
- Cheerful
- Cozy
- Handmade
- Chunky
- Slightly imperfect
- Easy to read
- Consistent with the low-poly 3D world
- Stylized rather than realistic
Prioritize:
- Strong silhouettes
- Clear color blocking
- Limited palettes
- Readability at the intended display size
- Bold, recognizable forms
- Simple highlights and shadows
- Consistency with neighboring assets
- Clean transparent edges
Avoid:
- Photorealism
- Smooth airbrushed rendering
- Excessive gradients
- Very fine linework
- Tiny details that disappear in-game
- Large amounts of texture noise
- High-resolution art reduced carelessly to icon size
- Generic mobile-game icon rendering
- Generative-AI-created artwork
Reference characteristics
The current reference direction uses:
- Cream and tan interface panels
- Dark brown text
- Muted green tabs and controls
- Large rounded corners
- Simple item silhouettes
- Fish and creatures built from a small number of strong colors
- Selective dark outlines
- Small bright highlights
- Low-resolution grass and soil textures with repeated angular shapes
- Minimal visual effects
- Accent colors reserved for important items and creatures
Main asset categories
Contributors may work on:
- UI panels and button graphics
- Inventory and hotbar icons
- Fish and creature sprites
- Journal thumbnails and larger illustrations
- Character clothing and cosmetic thumbnails
- Environment textures
- Signs and interaction icons
- Emotes
- Promotional illustrations
Each issue should identify the intended asset category and final use.
Human-made work only
Do not submit generative-AI-created:
- Illustrations
- Icons
- Sprites
- Textures
- Concepts presented as original artwork
- Paintovers generated from another artist’s work
- Upscaled or altered generated images
References may be used for inspiration, but submitted assets must be original human-made work.
Do not submit:
- Ripped game assets
- Copyrighted commercial art
- Unapproved marketplace packs
- Traced artwork
- Assets with unclear licensing
- Work copied from another project
Recommended software
Suitable tools include:
- Aseprite
- LibreSprite
- Krita
- GIMP
- Inkscape for vector source work
- Affinity Designer or Photo
- Photoshop
- Blender for UV preview and texture testing
- Godot for final import and in-game review
The final file requirements matter more than the specific software used.
Repository organization
Use the issue’s specified path when provided.
Suggested organization:
art/
├── source/
│ ├── ui/
│ ├── icons/
│ ├── fish/
│ ├── creatures/
│ ├── cosmetics/
│ ├── environment/
│ └── promotional/
└── exported/
├── ui/
├── icons/
├── fish/
├── creatures/
├── cosmetics/
├── environment/
└── promotional/
Examples:
art/source/icons/items/coffee.aseprite
art/exported/icons/items/coffee.png
art/source/fish/bluegill.aseprite
art/exported/fish/bluegill_journal.png
art/source/environment/grass/grass_olive.aseprite
art/exported/environment/grass/grass_olive.png
Required deliverables
Unless an issue says otherwise, include:
- Editable source file
- Exported PNG or SVG
- Asset dimensions
- Palette or color list
- Screenshot at actual in-game size
- Screenshot in the relevant Godot UI or environment
- Notes about transparency
- Notes about tiling, if applicable
- Related issue number
For animated assets, also include:
- Frame count
- Frame timing
- Looping behavior
- Sprite-sheet layout or individual frame convention
Readability test
Before submitting, check the asset at:
- Native resolution
- Actual in-game display size
- A typical gameplay screenshot
- A smaller window size where applicable
Ask:
- Can the object be identified immediately?
- Does it still read without zooming in?
- Are important edges distinct?
- Are the colors too similar to the background?
- Does it contain unnecessary detail?
- Does it fit beside the existing UI and environment art?
Start from an issue
Do not create large batches of unsolicited assets without discussing them first.
Good questions include:
- What is the target size?
- Is this an icon, illustration, or texture?
- Does it need transparency?
- Should it tile?
- Is nearest-neighbor scaling required?
- Does it need an outline?
- Will it appear on a light or dark background?
- Is animation required?
- Are color variants needed?
- What is the final Godot node or material using it?
A quick clarification before drawing is better than rebuilding a completed asset.