Add 2a. 2D Visual Style and Palette

2a.-2D-Visual-Style-and-Palette.md

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+# 2D Visual Style and Palette
+
+NETFISHING uses warm, palette-limited, pixel-style 2D art that complements its chunky low-poly 3D world.
+
+The art does not need to follow a strict historical console limitation. It should still look deliberately constructed at the pixel level rather than like smooth high-resolution art that was reduced afterward.
+
+## Core visual qualities
+
+Assets should generally use:
+
+- Limited color counts
+- Clear blocky silhouettes
+- Intentional pixel clusters
+- Minimal antialiasing
+- Simple shadow shapes
+- Small selective highlights
+- Warm neutral interface colors
+- Muted environmental colors
+- Brighter accents for interactive or collectible elements
+
+Avoid:
+
+- Smooth vector-like antialiasing in pixel assets
+- Soft airbrush shadows
+- Large blurred highlights
+- Heavy texture noise
+- Photorealistic detail
+- Excessive gradients
+- One-pixel noise scattered without purpose
+- Colors that blend into surrounding panels or terrain
+
+## Shared palette
+
+The following colors are a starting reference rather than an absolute restriction.
+
+### Light neutrals
+
+| Name | Hex |
+|---|---|
+| Cream | `#F3E3C5` |
+| Pale panel | `#F8E8CB` |
+| Warm highlight | `#FFE8C2` |
+| Soft sand | `#D7A35F` |
+
+### Browns and earth
+
+| Name | Hex |
+|---|---|
+| Warm tan | `#D5AA72` |
+| Caramel | `#B77A2E` |
+| Dock wood | `#8A4F23` |
+| Dark timber | `#4E2816` |
+| Deep soil | `#6B2D1A` |
+
+### Greens
+
+| Name | Hex |
+|---|---|
+| Olive grass | `#A3A62A` |
+| Moss green | `#6F7D19` |
+| Dark foliage | `#40552C` |
+| Muted UI green | `#5D7A61` |
+| Deep UI green | `#354C39` |
+
+### Water and cool accents
+
+| Name | Hex |
+|---|---|
+| Seafoam | `#8FD3C4` |
+| Turquoise | `#2F9E9A` |
+| Deep teal | `#176F73` |
+| Navy outline | `#0D1B2A` |
+
+### Bright accents
+
+| Name | Hex |
+|---|---|
+| Fox orange | `#D94908` |
+| Playful coral | `#F04F73` |
+| Strong red | `#C9003D` |
+| Golden yellow | `#F0A000` |
+| Purple accent | `#55305F` |
+
+## Color hierarchy
+
+Use calmer colors for:
+
+- Large UI panels
+- Terrain
+- Background decoration
+- Common item frames
+- Structural elements
+
+Use brighter colors for:
+
+- Characters
+- Rare fish
+- Important items
+- Selected controls
+- Notifications
+- Bobbers
+- Interaction icons
+- Shop highlights
+- Rarity indicators
+
+Do not make every object equally saturated.
+
+## Shading
+
+Preferred shading is restrained.
+
+Most assets should use:
+
+- Base color
+- One shadow color
+- Optional highlight color
+- Optional outline or edge color
+
+Small icons may use only two or three colors.
+
+Larger fish illustrations may use several colors where species markings require them, but should still avoid smooth painterly rendering.
+
+## Highlights
+
+Highlights should be:
+
+- Small
+- Purposeful
+- Positioned to describe form
+- Drawn as clean pixel clusters
+- Limited to important surfaces
+
+The creature references use small cream or white highlight marks rather than broad glossy gradients.
+
+## Outline policy
+
+NETFISHING does not require a heavy full outline around every asset.
+
+Use one of these approaches depending on the asset:
+
+- Selective dark outline on visually important edges
+- Dark local color at the shadow-facing edge
+- No outline where strong color contrast is sufficient
+- Full outline for tiny icons that otherwise lose readability
+
+Avoid inconsistent one-pixel outlines that appear and disappear accidentally.
+
+Dark navy, brown, dark teal, or dark purple may be more appropriate than pure black.
+
+## Pixel clusters
+
+Good pixel art uses connected, intentional shapes.
+
+Prefer:
+
+- Larger coherent clusters
+- Clean diagonal rhythms
+- Deliberate stair-step edges
+- Controlled texture patterns
+
+Avoid:
+
+- Random single-pixel noise
+- Dithering everywhere
+- Unnecessary checkerboarding
+- Jagged shapes caused only by poor resizing
+
+## Background awareness
+
+Contributors should know the likely background.
+
+Common backgrounds include:
+
+- Warm cream UI tiles
+- Tan panels
+- Olive grass
+- Brown soil
+- Teal water
+- Dark green tabs
+
+An icon that looks good on white may disappear on cream or tan.
+
+Include an in-context screenshot with every submission.
+
+## UI color language
+
+Suggested UI roles:
+
+- Main panel: warm cream
+- Inner panel: sandy tan
+- Primary tab: muted or deep green
+- Text: dark brown
+- Secondary text: caramel or muted tan
+- Selection: green outline or stronger contrast
+- Warning: coral or orange
+- Disabled: low-contrast cream, gray, or muted tan
+
+## Environment texture language
+
+Environment textures should use:
+
+- Large angular patches
+- Low-frequency patterning
+- Limited palettes
+- Subtle value variation
+- Clearly repeating but not distracting motifs
+- No realistic photographic surface detail
+
+The grass reference uses overlapping angular shapes in nearby olive values.
+
+The soil and cliff reference uses dark brown and reddish shapes with sparse marks and denser texture near the base.
+
+The texture should support the 3D form rather than overpower it.