Paint Knight

Jonathan Larsen

Stratford, CT

BFA (Game Design)

Advisor: James Coltrain

Video Game
Link to Paint Knight

Paint Knight is a 2D platformer video game built in the Unity engine with the art being created in Adobe Illustrator. The game is heavily focused around art and the idea of returning color and by extension, creativity. This is something that I wanted to tackle because I, like many other artists, have had those spouts of creative block. While Paint Knight is light on these themes, it does make an interesting plot nonetheless. I made a game where you will literally hit the problem with a paint brush to make it go away.

I have been drawing and making art for as long as I can remember. Mainly doing physical illustrations, I only started digitally drawing within the last 4 years, mostly in one style for social media. Paint Knight provided an opportunity to try something that was familiar, yet quite different. I was heavily inspired by games like Hollow Knight and Paper Mario in this regard with their bold and cute styles. To use the Paint Knight character is almost like a coming full circle in my graphic design and game development path at UConn. My first real game project included a pixelated early version of the character, now fully realized for this senior project.

Game development has been an interest of mine since high school, I took all the classes offered (two full year and one half year) and joined the tech club to further my skills and compete against other schools. Though my true passion with game development has always been the art side. My intention is to focus more on the characters and graphics of the game while keeping the gameplay simple in scope. Even then, this has been the most complex project I have made. It was exciting and stressful.

Artist Bio

Jonathan is a senior at UConn who is majoring in Digital Media & Design. His concentration is Game Design where he focuses on the artistic side of development. He has taken multiple courses in Graphic Design and UX/UI to further his learning and expand his knowledge for opportunities outside of game development. Jonathan was heavily inspired by multiple series and styles, taking strong inspiration from complex sci-fi creations, cartoonish and bubbly designs along with minimalist designs.

Jonathan has used his artistic skills and abilities in the classroom and also taken advantage of multiple social media platforms over nearly four years for personal work. Creating digital illustrations based on existing characters and original works in a fun and cute style in Photoshop to graphic designs of scenes, characters or icons in Illustrator. This philosophy of bright colors, bold lines and overall simple style play a strong role in the intended aesthetic of his senior project Paint Knight.

Jonathan hopes to pursue work for graphic design within game design. To help create the simplistic and clear assets that have become increasingly important for larger titles while also carrying a whole art style for smaller games.

https://jonlarsenportfolio.com

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