Dev Log: Moonlight Peaks' Portraits

Introduction

Hey! It’s Konnie here, and I want to give you all a little sneak peek into the process of creating the portraits for Moonlight Peaks. We use these portraits whenever the player character interacts with NPCs. Initially, we just wanted a portrait to show the character in more detail, but early on we decided to have them emote as well, to emphasize certain lines in the dialogue. As the project evolved, the portraits began to play a much bigger role in the game, becoming little storytelling moments in themselves.

Each one is designed to offer a subtle glimpse into who the character is and what their everyday life might look like. We're not aiming to explain everything outright; the portraits are meant to speak for themselves and leave space for players to imagine and interpret. Steam post image Portrait variants of Evan Ambrosia

From brooding, introverted vampires who prefer to linger in the shadows to loud, energetic werewolves who wear their hearts on their sleeves, the portraits are crafted to reflect the wide range of personalities and stories found in Moonlight Peaks. In this post, I’ll walk you through a summarized version of the workflow we use to bring these portraits to life. Our models for today are Brook and Pumpkinhead—two very different characters with equally unique vibes.

The Process

Each portrait is its own little adventure. Some require extra steps or unexpected problem-solving along the way; it all depends on the unique needs of the character. Sometimes we already have a strong sketch from the concept art phase that just needs to be painted. Other times, the portrait has to be created entirely from scratch to really capture the essence of the character.

In this article, I’ll walk you through the general process and two different examples. One is a portrait that needed an update because it was created a long time ago. The other is for a unique character that needed a brand-new portrait from the ground up.

Even though every portrait has its own process, there is always a general outline to the workflow.

Getting to know the Character

When making a portrait, it’s very important to understand who the character is and what kind of story they bring to Moonlight Peaks—otherwise, their lines in the game won’t match the emotions shown in the portrait.

Steam post image ingame portrait of Dragan

First things first: I start by reading through the character’s story to get a feel for who they are and what kinds of emotions they need to express. That helps me understand how they experience and show their feelings. Do they try to keep smiling even when they're upset? Do they look you in the eyes in a moment of vulnerability, or do they look away? Do they use their whole body to express how they feel? How do they grow and change throughout the game?

Thinking about these small storytelling opportunities is one of the most enjoyable parts of the process.

Thumbnailing

After getting to know the character, I sketch out a few rough ideas and take some reference photos of myself acting out the poses and facial expressions I have in mind. At this step, I really try to focus on the big picture to ensure each emotion reads clearly and conveys the story I want to tell. In the game, all the portraits are accompanied by text, but I want the expressions to work on their own as well.

At this stage, I also have to plan for the portrait crop used in the game. That means being mindful of proportions. Characters can't be too tall or too wide, or parts of the portrait will get cut off.

After I’ve established the key elements of each expression, I start thinking about adding small details, like the storytelling elements I mentioned in the first step.

Steam post image Thumbnailing Dragan's emotes

Refining & Painting

If I’m happy with the quality of the sketches, I move on to refining them and properly constructing them on top of the base portrait. This is the part where I take my time to set the portrait up for success and ensure that I can make changes easily later on if needed.

Before I start painting, I like to create very clean shapes using the Paths tool in Photoshop. This gives me a solid base I can use with the selection tool. This step is often called a “clown pass” because it uses highly contrasting colors to make sure selections are clean and easy to work with.

After my initial setup, I block in the lighting and then move on to painting everything! During the rendering process, I focus on things like color temperature, edges, material definition, and texture.

Below, you’ll find a simplified walkthrough of how I applied these steps to Dragan’s base portrait. It’s a peek behind the scenes at how thumbnails evolve into a fully painted character, ready for Moonlight Peaks.

Various stages of the portrait

Feedback

Art thrives on perspective, so after I finish a portrait, I send it to my Art Director and Creative Director for their thoughts. Fresh eyes often catch things I may have overlooked—small mistakes or opportunities to push the design further. Their feedback breathes new life into the piece and helps ensure the final portrait resonates with every player who meets our characters.

The Portrait of Brook

Brook was the first character to receive a portrait. But as time went on and the game evolved, his portrait began to feel out of place. The overall style had shifted, and Brook’s look no longer matched the direction the game was heading in. When shown alongside the newer portraits, he stood out in a way that felt disconnected from the rest.

That said, not everything needed to change. The updated version keeps the same pose and a similar expression to stay true to who Brook is. However, there are a few important guidelines each portrait should follow to feel consistent within the game. Characters should appear to be at the same eye level as the player, rather than being viewed from above or below.

Steam post imageOld vs. new Brook Logan

In their neutral expression, characters should make eye contact with the viewer to create a sense of presence and connection. Another change that evolved over time was the addition of a blue rim light to evoke the feeling of being lit by moonlight.

The neutral portrait also serves as the base for all other expressions and emotional variants. It needs to be carefully considered and structurally solid, since every other version of the character will branch out from this starting point.

For example, with Brook, I had to make sure his arm could be easily removed for some of the more positive emotions. Otherwise, he would come across as distant all the time.

The Portrait of Pumpkin Head

Pumpkin Head was one of the trickier characters to design. He’s not human, so he doesn’t technically have human features. His mouth is hidden behind a large mustache, and his big leaf collar takes up a lot of visual space.

Steam post image Pumpkin Head with a soul

One of the most important elements in character design is the eyes. They’re the first thing we tend to look at. Especially in Moonlight Peaks, a cozy game with romance elements, we need to make sure the eyes look warm and inviting. Of course, pumpkins don’t have real eyes, and using simple cut-outs would make the character feel lifeless or even creepy. But Pumpkin Head is neither of those things. He’s a passionate, theatrical character, so he needed some kind of visible pupil inside his orange head.

That’s when I started thinking about how to portray pupils in a way that made sense. The solution was to place candles inside his head, like you’d see in a Halloween jack-o'-lantern. The flames would act as pupils! To add even more coziness and warmth, I surrounded him with little fireflies to enhance the comforting atmosphere.

Bringing Emotions to Life in Moonlight Peaks

One of our big focuses during development is creating emotional variants for all 33 planned characters. These expressions help bring the characters to life during dialogue—because nothing breaks immersion like a blank stare during a heartfelt moment.

Steam post image Brook and Pumpkin Head emotes

My Favorites

Now that we've covered all the serious stuff, I want to take a moment to share some of my favorite portraits I've worked on and why they hold a special place for me. At the time of writing this, we’re still working on giving all the characters the emotional variants they deserve, and that takes time. But I’d love to pause and reflect on a few that have really stuck with me.

Samael

Samael stands out to me because, at first, I didn’t feel particularly drawn to him. Until I was assigned to create his new portrait. I knew his general vibe: the brooding, elegant vampire type. But after reading his story, I found myself really connecting with his character.

He isn’t very expressive, which made him challenging to portray. I had fewer visual elements to work with. When approaching less expressive characters, I focus heavily on the eyes, since they communicate the most emotion. By the time Samael's portrait was finished, I was completely invested in him. I can’t wait for you all to meet him in the game.

Fiona

I don’t think I even have to say much. Just look at her, isn’t she gorgeous?! But seriously, Fiona was an absolute pleasure to paint. She already had a pre-existing portrait, so my task was to update and refine it.

Her personality is both expressive and guarded, she doesn’t let people get too close too quickly. Her design also reminds me a lot of my personal art style, so working on her felt like painting something just for myself.

Ludo

One of the most charismatic and fun characters in the entire town! Ludo is especially close to my heart because he was the first character I got to design. He was based on a quick sketch, that I took from concept art all the way to the final portrait.

Naturally, he holds a special place for me. But beyond that, he’s just incredibly fun to work with. He’s so expressive that capturing his emotions came naturally, and that made the whole process a joy.

I want to share one full sheet of expressions with you all before wrapping up this article. I wanted Ludo to feel playful but also genuine. He’s basically a green-haired puppy who’ll be very excited to welcome you to Moonlight Peaks!

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this behind-the-scenes look at how we approach character portraits. This isn’t meant to be a step-by-step tutorial, but rather a small window into our creative process. I hope it sparked a bit of inspiration for your own work.

Our team can’t wait for players to meet the full cast in 2026 and experience each of them in their full expressive glory!