Ellie Warmingham experimented with different color palettes, character designs, and backgrounds in Piskel. This included testing calming color combinations as well as skin tones. Ellie animated a walking character in black and grey to focus on movement. Different cat and character designs were also explored, keeping the designs simple to potentially animate later. Backgrounds with vibrant colors and neutral browns/whites were compared. Ellie reflected that the character styles and color palettes created could be included in the final product.

1. Experiments
Ellie Warmingham

2. Process
• Colour palettes
I wanted to experiment with different
colour palettes that I could use for the
characters, testing what worked well
together and what didn’t. I tried to go for
some calming colours like light blues,
yellows and pinks while also adding in some
darker colours like reds and dark blues.
I also experimented with a mix of skin
tones because sometimes I can struggle
to get the right colour when making
characters. I found that this was useful
for me to experiment with this so I have
some idea of what my final product
could be.

3. Process
• Walking cycle
I tried to animate a person walking using Piskel. I
thought I should choose a black and grey colour
palette so I didn’t complicate things and the process
wouldn’t take too long. The colour palette I chose
made it easier to focus on, allowing me to do a simple
animation of a person walking. I kept the upper body
black, while the legs were lighter and darker shades of
grey. I did this so I was able to tell them both apart
and not get confused. To add some more movement, I
decided to animate the arm swaying back and forth. I
also made it a different shade of grey just like the legs
so I wouldn’t mix them up. I looked up a few examples
of side views of pixel characters to gain a better idea
on how to draw a character sideways. This experiment
helped me to see how I could animate a character
walking from the side.

4. Process
• I started by creating a natural
background using Piskel. I
wanted the first one that was set
in the mountains to be vibrant
and colourful; to show a
cheerful environment. The one
below has a smaller selection of
colours, like browns and whites.
I chose these because I wanted
to have a calm and more neutral
scenery. Doing this helped me to
compare what might look better
for the final design and think
about whether I wanted a
brighter and more colourful
background or a less colourful
and simple background.

5. Process
• Character designs
I tried some different cat designs in Piskel
that I could use for my character. My first
attempt was to try and make the cat more
round and less realistic. I had never done a
design like and I thought it was a good
experiment to see if it looked good or not. I
thought the design didn’t turn out too bad
and I could end up using it for my product. It
was more simple but I liked it like that. I
didn’t use many colours though because I
didn’t want to confuse myself. This is why I
did the body in white along with the tail, and
then I made the paws a light grey and the
eyes a darker grey. This helped me to tell
apart each part of the body.

6. Process
• Character designs
For this experiment which I did on Piskel, I wanted to
play around with the colours to test what went well
together and what didn’t. I created a simple colour
palette which I liked and then I looked at a mix of pixel
characters online to get inspiration. I ended up trying
to keep the design simple. I added a red cape and a
crown to the character below, testing what looked
better with the colours I chose. I also chose these
colours so the character could stand out a little more.
I kept the design more simple because if I did decide
to keep a character like this for my production
process, I would need to animate them. Not making
the design too complicated was something I tried to
keep in mind while making these. For the top
character, I thought having a more blue-ish colour
palette would look good against the red character. I
made the character above different shades of blue,
doing the same to the eyes so it matched.

7. Reflection
• What elements of your experiments will you
include in your final product?
The style of the characters and the colour palettes
that I created for them is something I could add into
my final product. I like the designs of them and I
think they could fit in really well. The backgrounds
that I made is also something I could consider
having in my product because I like the style and
different colour palettes.