Martina Archetti | 2D Character Artist
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Martina Archetti
Hi, I’m Martina. I'm an illustrator and game concept artist with three years of experience, specializing in character design.I studied Game Concept Art for three years at Event Horizon School in Italy, where I currently live.After my studies, I worked with various individuals and companies. Some of my most formative experiences include:
- Having worked as a general 2d artist for (www.KaraGameDesign.com), a game design blog.
- Working as an illustrator for an up-and-coming musician (Gren_mp).
- Working as a Character artist and 2D animator for a company that produces Visual Novel (Luminous Threads)My goal as an artist is to create meaningful projects through my art. That’s why I’m always seeking out companies whose mission is to create meaningful experiences, so I can help them achieve their goals.In the meantime, I’m certainly not going to sit on my hands. I’m always busy creating new and exciting projects of my own, as well as continually learning new techniques to best express my ideals.
Personal Infos
Certainly! Here’s a more polished version of your text:I'm a quiet person who values time alone, which is why I immerse myself in creative activities like crocheting puppets, hand embroidery, watching movies, anime, and TV series, playing video games, and reading books.Here are some of my personal recommendations for artistic works that I believe are worth exploring:Videogames: Death Stranding, Metal Gear Saga, Inside, Mosaic, Grime, Sea of Solitude, This War of Mine, Stillness of the Wind, Oxenfree, Kentucky Route Zero, In Other WatersMovies: Beau is Afraid, Crimes of the Future, Split, Moon, Guilty of Romance, In Time, Madama Butterfly, The Sea Song, Belladonna of Sadness, Parasite, The Neon Demon, Perfect Blue, BroodAnime: Shinsekai Yori, Charlotte, Wonder Egg Priority, Made in Abyss, Sagrada Reset, Nagi no Asukara, Haikyuu, Land of The Lustrous, Ranking of the King, PlutoTV Series: Bojack Horseman, Severance, 11.22.63, Peaky Blinders, The Peripheral, His Dark Material, The Good DoctorYou might be thinking, "Wow, that's some intense stuff!" And yes, I hear that a lot, haha. But I believe that the most powerful works of art are the ones that have something meaningful to say. It just so happens that I’m naturally drawn to stories with darker, more somber tones.That said, you can trust that my recommendations are top-notch. Quality is the cornerstone of creating great work ;)
Software and Skills
Software:
⦿⦿⦿⦿⦿ - Photoshop
⦿⦿⦿⦾⦾ - Aseprite
⦿⦿⦿⦾⦾ - Affinity Publisher
⦿⦿⦾⦾⦾ - Spine (Essential)
⦿⦾⦾⦾⦾ - Blender
⦿⦿⦾⦾⦾ - Toon Boom
⦿⦿⦾⦾⦾ - Unity
⦿⦿⦾⦾⦾ - Unreal Engine
Skills:
- Develop concepts within specific constraints
- Meet deadlines consistently
- Engage in rational, constructive discussions
- Create compelling concepts that best reflect the narrative and design of a game
- Produce illustrations that convey stories and emotions
- Adapt to the demands of different projects
- Possess basic knowledge of related fields, such as Game Design, Writing, Animation, 3D, and Storyboarding
- Design interesting and cohesive covers and logos for projects
- Apply knowledge of lighting and composition to enhance storytelling in illustrations
- Establish an art style from scratch, including the creation of an art bible
My Timeline
2024 - Current / LumeDev
- Working as Freelancer Pixel Artist
2024 / Luminous Threads
- Working as Freelancer General 2D Artist and Animator 2D (Spine)
2023 / Project Nomad's Dream
- Worked as Freelancer Concept Artist and Illustrator
2022 - Current / The Temple (Personal Project)
- Partecipating as Storyboard Artist and Concept Artist with some friends
2022 - Paused / I Shine in Silver (Personal Project)
- Creating a Book on my own as Writer, Storyboard Artist, Concept Artist and Illustrator
2022 / Bloop Animation (Education)
- Animation Foundation Certificate
- Storyboarding Foundation Certificate
2022 / S.I.G.M.A srl
- Worked as Freelancer Graphic Designer
2022 / Gren_mp
- Worked as Freelancer Illustrator
2021 - Current / KARA Game Design
- Working as Freelancer General Artist
2020 - 2022 / Event Horizon School (Education)
- The Sinking Theater (Game Project First Year)
- Hell of a Management (Game Project Second Year)
- Rebel Robot Project (Game Project Third Year)
- Game Concept Artist Diploma
- Pixel Artist Certificate
Testimonials of my Clients
BitQuirky
We are Magdalena and Colin MacLeod, a husband-and-wife team running Bit Quirky, an indie games studio.
Before hiring Martina, we struggled with finding an artist who could capture the unique aesthetic and emotional depth we envisioned for Luminous Threads.
We needed someone who could bring our characters and world to life with a cohesive and captivating art style.
We were hesitant to hire an artist because we were concerned about finding someone who could fully understand and execute our artistic vision.
Since Martina joined us, we have achieved a visually stunning game praised for its art direction.
Her contributions significantly enhanced the overall quality and appeal of Luminous Threads.
Martina's creativity, professionalism, and ability to translate our ideas into beautiful artwork made the development process enjoyable and productive.
Her readiness to speak her mind ensured that the art was always top-notch.
We highly recommend Martina to others. Her artistic skills, collaborative spirit, and dedication to quality make her an invaluable asset to any creative team.
Her work on Luminous Threads speaks volumes about her talent and dedication.
Lorenzo Pompei
I'm Lorenzo Pompei, a software developer and hyperautomation specialist, currently developing my first video game.
In the beginning, I struggled with multiple challenges.
I needed a versatile artist who could create all the necessary assets and support me through the creative process.
Finding someone who aligned with my artistic vision and understood the game mechanics was difficult.
But once Martina joined the project, I saw remarkable improvements in my game!
The quality and coherence of the project have greatly improved, thanks to her valuable design advice.
Her understanding of my requirements, approachable personality, and quick, high-quality work made our collaboration a pleasure.
She is professional, decisive, and highly skilled. If you need an artist who can bring your vision to life, Martina is the one to hire.
Contact Me
If you've made it this far, it means you're interested in what I do — and perhaps you have a request for me! Whether it's a commission, a collaboration proposal, a job opportunity, or simply a desire to chat about movies, video games, or anything else, I'd love to hear from you.I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you!
. Jobs .
Roles: Concept Artist, Illustrator, Graphic Designer, Web Artist, 2D Animator
Period: April 2021 - Current
Software used: Photoshop, Illustrator, Affinity Publisher, Toon Boom Harmony, Bird Font, Notion, Webflow, Spine
Things Made:
- Collaborated with a designer to create the site layout
- Established the site's art style using an art bible
- Created most of the illustrations for the site, newsletter, and social media
- Designed logos for the site, newsletter, and individual team members
- Developed a custom KARA font using Birdfont
- Created various animations with Toon Boom and Spine
- Designed the layout of their ebook using Affinity Publisher
Role: Illustrator
Period: Jan 2022 - July 2022
Software used: Photoshop, Illustrator
Things made:
- Created 3 illustrations for his music album covers
- Made some concepts for the merchandise and finalized two of them
Role: Concept Artist, Illustrator
Period: Sep 2023 - Nov 2023
Software used: Photoshop
Things made:
- Developed the art style for the project
- Designed multiple concepts for the game's main characters
- Created illustrations for menus, in-game loading screens, and key art for marketing
- Produced mood renders to support the designer in crafting visually compelling boss fights
Role: Character Concept Artist, Illustrator, 2D Animator (Spine)
Period: Jan 2024 - Aug 2024
Software used: Photoshop, Spine
Things made:
- Developed the art style for the project
- Designed multiple character concepts
- Created idle animations in Spine for all in-game characters
- Designed the user interface (UI) for the game
- Produced illustrations and comic sequences for the project
- Created storyboards and mood renders to ensure team alignment on ideas
Role: Pixel Artist
Period: Jan 2024 - Current
Software used: Photoshop, Aseprite
Things made:
-Created different mockups for the game view
- Created 3 character portraits + 7 different emotions
- Created The UI elements for the game
. Personal Projects .
The Temple
The Temple is an animated short that we are carrying out with 3 people; I take care of Storyboard and Character Concept Art, Leesa Venturini takes care of creating Environment Concept Art and Props Design, and Jonathan Marsala takes care of everything related to 3D in our short."The Temple" deals with the adventure of our protagonist, Andrea, who plays the role of an artist in full creative crisis. Once he finds an old book of his grandfather with fantastic landscapes inside, he decides to leave on a journey in search of them to find his lost creativity.
Main Character Design
Line Art - Color Palette - Final Render
Turn Around - Mask Studies
Storyboard
Storyboard Act 1 Board 1
Storyboard Act 1 Board 2
Storyboard Act 1 Board 3
Storyboard Act 1 Board 4
Storyboard Act 1 Board 5
Storyboard Act 2 Board 1
Storyboard Act 2 Board 2
Storyboard Act 2 Board 3
Storyboard Act 2 Board 4
Storyboard Act 2 Board 5
Storyboard Act 2 Board 6
Storyboard Act 2 Board 7
Storyboard Act 2 Board 8
Storyboard Act 2 Board 9
Storyboard Act 2 Board 10
Storyboard Act 2 Board 11
. Personal Projects .
The Sinking Theater was the first game I participated in. It was a school project that I did with other classmates at Event Horizon School.
It was a very formative and exciting project.
The Sinking Theater is a Japan-themed endless game, in fact, in the game, we play as a Kitsune who through the power of inking, will have to chase away all the evil yokai who will try to break her balance.
During this project, I performed several tasks, but among the main ones, we found the creation of the Main character, the Kitsune, and most of the enemies we see in the game
Trailer and Screenshots
Trailer
In-game Screenshot
Characters Design
Kitsune
Malevolent
Normal
Armored
. Personal Projects .
I Shine in Silver
I Shine in Silver is part of a larger project focused on writing and illustrating a series of children’s books designed to raise awareness about sensitive issues that are often not addressed by parents due to concerns about psychological impact. These books will explore topics such as bullying, war, and loss through emotionally engaging stories.I Shine in Silver is the first book in this series. It addresses the theme of diversity from multiple perspectives: the person who feels different, the bully who mistreats them for their differences, and the family members who struggle with how to respond.The book doesn’t aim to provide definitive answers but seeks to raise awareness and encourage introspection. It invites readers to reflect on their own behaviors and consider whether their actions are right or wrong.
Main Characters Design
Ray Studies
Annerose Studies
Enemies Design
Garden of Desire Enemy
Fear of Judgment Enemy
Illustrations
Book Cover
Fear of Judgment Mood Render Illustration
Garden of Desire Mood Render Illustration
Deadly Contact Mood Render Illustration
. Jobs .
Kara is a game design blog that focuses on studying and teaching analytical game design to the younger generation through articles written by them, analysis of what is not working in the video game industry, a newsletter that shares all their reasoning and ideas about it, and soon through educational courses.I worked as a 2D general artist for this company, so I was in charge of everything related to the aesthetic and graphic part of this project, helping them express their ideals as best I could.
Art Style Creation
Created the Art Bible
Decided the Characters Style
Layout of the Website
Home Page Animation
Blog Page Layout
Newsletter Page Layout
Inside the Article Layout
Ebook Landing Page Layout
Logos and Font
Kara Logo
Newsletter Logo
Our Team Logos
Font Kara
Illustrations
Illustration 1
Illustration 2
Illustration 3
Illustration 4
Illustration 5
Illustration 6
. Jobs .
Gren_mp (aka Matteo Poletti) is an up-and-coming composer and singer for whom I worked for a short time.It was a very interesting experience working for him being that I had never created album cover illustrations before, but we hit it off and came up with some interesting cover ideas.
Illustrations
In Fiore?
Golden Ember
Gli Amanti
Merchandise Design
Design 1
Design 2
. Jobs .
Project Nomad's Dream
Project Nomad's Dream is a new video game company that opened a couple of years ago; they are working on their first game (yet to be announced).
I joined their group in September 2023 to work as a freelance concept artist and illustrator for the next three months.It was my first work experience in the video game industry, but I must say I did pretty well with the tasks I had to complete.After the three months I worked for them, they decided to change the games so I could share the work I did for them during that period.
Character Concept Art
Character Art Style Research
Main Character Studies
Greatest Knight Studies
Our Team Logos
Illustrations
Key Art Steam
Loading Illustration
Mood Render Boss Fight
. Jobs .
I've been working as a General 2D Artist and Animator at BitQuirky on our first game, Luminous Threads.This game is a cyberpunk visual novel in the investigative/crime genre.
In the game, you play as Juno, who has to navigate a corrupt society to help her brother, who has been wrongly imprisoned.You can check out the game's Steam page and try the demo by following this link: Luminous Threads Demo
BitQuirky Testimonial
BitQuirky
We are Magdalena and Colin MacLeod, a husband-and-wife team running Bit Quirky, an indie games studio.
Before hiring Martina, we struggled with finding an artist who could capture the unique aesthetic and emotional depth we envisioned for Luminous Threads.
We needed someone who could bring our characters and world to life with a cohesive and captivating art style.
We were hesitant to hire an artist because we were concerned about finding someone who could fully understand and execute our artistic vision.
Since Martina joined us, we have achieved a visually stunning game praised for its art direction.
Her contributions significantly enhanced the overall quality and appeal of Luminous Threads.
Martina's creativity, professionalism, and ability to translate our ideas into beautiful artwork made the development process enjoyable and productive.
Her readiness to speak her mind ensured that the art was always top-notch.
We highly recommend Martina to others. Her artistic skills, collaborative spirit, and dedication to quality make her an invaluable asset to any creative team.
Her work on Luminous Threads speaks volumes about her talent and dedication.
Trailer & In-game Screenshot
Game Trailer
In-game Screenshot
Character Designs
Juno Onishi
Kade Onishi
Tao Akira
Rayne Meiro
Michael Beyers
Dream Sequence (Comic Sequence)
Animatic
Final
Chasing the Intruder (Comic Sequence)
Firt Comic Board
Second Comic Board
Trailer Storyboard and Final Illustrations
Storyboard part 1
Storyboard part 2
Rendered Image 1
Rendered Image 2
Rendered Image 3
Rendered Image 4
Rendered Image 5
Rendered Image 6
Bubble Boxes UI Designs
Final Text Boxes
Character Talking Designs
Narrator Talking Designs
Character Thinking Designs
Multyple Choice Designs
Query Design
. Jobs .
Lume Dev
Lume Dev (Aka Lorenzo Pompei) is a programmer making a little game independently. For this project, I'm working as a General 2D Pixel Artist.This game is a Survival Narrative Game. In this game, you have to survive a long winter with different characters on your side. All these characters have their own stories and their problem.
Via each character, you will face different themes and messages. What will you do? Which choices will you make? Will you be able to make them all survive the winter?
Lorenzo Testimonial
Lorenzo Pompei
I'm Lorenzo Pompei, a software developer and hyperautomation specialist, currently developing my first video game.
In the beginning, I struggled with multiple challenges.
I needed a versatile artist who could create all the necessary assets and support me through the creative process.
Finding someone who aligned with my artistic vision and understood the game mechanics was difficult.
But once Martina joined the project, I saw remarkable improvements in my game!
The quality and coherence of the project have greatly improved, thanks to her valuable design advice.
Her understanding of my requirements, approachable personality, and quick, high-quality work made our collaboration a pleasure.
She is professional, decisive, and highly skilled. If you need an artist who can bring your vision to life, Martina is the one to hire.
Fake Screenshots
Fake Screenshot 1
Fake Screenshot 2
Character 1
Character 1 Different Emotions
Character 2
Character 2 Different Emotions
Character 3
Character 3 Different Emotions
UI Elements
Dialog Box
Action Box
Action Container Closed
Action Container Opened Element
Action Description Box
Day Recap Box
Event Box
Inventory Closed
Inventory Open
. Production .
. Production .
Concept Art
Tea Spirits (Sowing)(Harvest)(Combine)
In this project, I tried my hand at making 3 tea spirits. I wanted to use them as a study element to improve and establish my ideal render type, learning modeling and animating in 2D and 3D.
So, starting with the idea that I will learn about them well, it will be easier to leap into the subjects I don't know so that I can focus more fully on practicing and learning.
Software used: Photoshop
Process:
- Created character designs based on studies related to a theme (in this case, tea)
- After considering the characters, I chose a color palette for each one that complimented the others.
- Created a more in-depth study of characters through turnarounds and the study of different props
- I did several render tests until I arrived at the ideal and optimale one for me
Andrea
Andrea is a character I created for an animated short. He needed an optimal design that could be easily reproduced in both 2D and 3D styles.
Software used: Photoshop
Process:
- Created different sketches based on narrative constraints and limitations at the artistic level
- Made several studies related to the mask Andrea wears being an important and significant element
- Made several color palette studies to find the ideal match
- Created a render suited to our artistic needs, where we had set ourselves a cartoon style in shapes but with a semi-realistic render
Neel & Narelle
Neel and Narelle are two characters I had to create for an outreach project. Since my task would be to quickly create a large volume of illustrations, I needed to create a simple but very recognizable design, so these two characters were born.
Software used: Photoshop
Process:
- Made several studies regarding the best style and design for the characters
- Created dummies that would be used by other artists to create other characters following the same style and shapes (Two other characters, Lynn and Kai, were in fact subsequently created.)
- Decided the color palette of the characters
- Initially for simplicity our characters did not have a render (they only had a flat color), but then over time we opted to give them a little more three-dimensionality with some cell shading render
- I created simplified character versions for social media mascots to develop even faster illustrations (for social purposes).
. Production .
Tea Spirits
Sowing Design
Lineart - Color Palette - Render
Turn Around and Prop Studies
Harvest Design
Lineart - Color Palette - Render
Turn Around and Prop Studies
Combine Design
Lineart - Color Palette - Render
Turn Around and Prop Studies
. Production .
Andrea
Andrea Design
Lineart - Color Palette - Render
Turn Around and Prop Studies
. Production .
Neel & Narelle
Neel Design
Lineart - Color Palette - Render
Turn Around and Prop Studies
Narellle Design
Lineart - Color Palette - Render
Turn Around and Prop Studies
Simplified Versions & All Character Together
Character Simplified Versions
Illustration With all the Characters
. Production .
Illustrations Gallery
Sad Memories
Sleepy Bath - Sunset -
Sleepy Bath - Night -
Ampreh's DTIYS
Lost in Space
Inky Dagger
In Fiore?
Gli Amanti
Polo Nerd Sticker
Best of Beartober 2022
COD Bot
The Destiny of a Young Woman
A Mother Sacrifice
. Personal Projects .
Roles: Character Concept Artist, Storyboard Artist
Period: Nov 2022 - Current
Software used: Photoshop
Things made:
- Created the design of Andrea
- Created the storyboard
- Created the animatic of the storyboard
Roles: Writer, Storyboard Artist, Concept Artist, Illustrator
Period: April 2022 - October 2022 (Paused)
Software used: Photoshop, Unreal Engine
Things made:
- Wrote the story
- Made some studies for the art style
- Created the design of the main characters and enemies
- Made 3 Illustrations for understand the different moods of the 3 principal areas of the story
Next steps:
- Create the storyboard
- Clean up the lineart
- Color and render the illustrations
- Add the text and dialogues
Roles: Concept Artist
Period: Gen 2019 - Gen 2020
Software used: Photoshop
Things made:
- Created the main character design
- Created the design of 3 enemies
- Created the logo of the game