YUGA LABS
ILLUSTRATIONS
2024
Various illustrations done between November 2023 and May 2024 for Yuga Labs:
1. UNIQUE KODAMARAS, AURAS
AND KING CATALYST
Legends of the Mara is a web3 strategy game based in the world of Otherside with the Koda as the protagonists. It is also the first truly interoperable game from Yuga Labs. As the creative director of the game, I led a cross-functional team of art, concept, narrative, UI, and external vendors to bring the world of Otherside to life.
Here are some unique Kodamaras I made for the Kodamara Collection.
Traits were made in Adobe Photoshop.
Render by Yian Lee based in the sketch and concepts below
Rendering based in the sketches by Santiago Suárez and Anthony Higuera
Legends of the Mara is a web3 strategy game based in the world of Otherside with the Koda as the protagonists. It is also the first truly interoperable game from Yuga Labs. As the creative director of the game, I led a cross-functional team of art, concept, narrative, UI, and external vendors to bring the world of Otherside to life.
The traits and auras were made in Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator under the art direction of Long Vu and German Reina with the supervision of Yian Lee
Players start out with one or multiple generic Mara, only by acquiring and consuming a Catalyst, the Mara can evolve into Kodamara — their superior forms. The Kodamara are part of a NFT collection...meaning each and everyone of the Kodamara is unique compared to one another.
2. MOONBIRDS
Moonbird art is entirely on-chain, meaning the images are outputted directly from the smart contract, with no need for storage on IPFS or the like.
Each of the 10,000 digital artworks in the collection grants holders access to unique experiences to connect with artists and own and champion their art. As a community, Moonbirds is a home for creatives, dreamers, and collectors seeking real connection as we all contribute to the future of web3 art, culture, and technology.
There are also a number of customizable backgrounds available to holders based on their on-chain activity (such as other NFT holdings)—which disappear when the bird is transferred.
One of the projects developed during my full-time tenure at Yuga Labs,
the Moonbirds collection (in its pixelated version), originally developed by Proof, required a style update to offer greater customization to users and allow for personal and commercial use.
Pixelated — Illustrated
This illustrated version required a style based on the character development for the animated version of the Moonbirds and Mythics trailer. The exploration and development of characters and traits were done in collaboration with Yian Lee, under the art direction of Colin Hesterly
Here are some early explorations based in general references to define the illustrated style for Brave, Crescent, Emperor, Guardian, Professor, Sage, Stark, Tabby and Tranquil, the nine bird classes that the collection includes.
Explorations for the skeleton version
Some eyes/expressions explorations
Explorations for the robot version
Explorations for the glitch version (my favorite)
Traits
Moonbird art is entirely on-chain, meaning the images are outputted directly from the smart contract, with no need for storage on IPFS or the like.
Each of the 10,000 digital artworks in the collection grants holders access to unique experiences to connect with artists and own and champion their art. As a community, Moonbirds is a home for creatives, dreamers, and collectors seeking real connection as we all contribute to the future of web3 art, culture, and technology.
There are also a number of customizable backgrounds available to holders based on their on-chain activity (such as other NFT holdings)—which disappear when the bird is transferred.
YUGA LABS
ILLUSTRATIONS
2024
Various illustrations done between November 2023 and May 2024 for Yuga Labs.
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