Since World Art Day is today, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on something at the very heart of Vagrus: the works of visual and audio art through which the game’s world manifests. From the first sketches to the final brushstrokes, from the quietest ambient tones to the swelling notes of discovery, the Riven Realms exist because of the people who built them—piece by piece.

Today, we give you a glimpse into our art processes, as a small tribute to the artists and musicians whose work brings the wasteland to life.

Character Art

Designing and producing characters for Vagrus is a lengthy and complex process. It starts with the graphic artist working on the character (usually Szonja, but occasionally Beni or Bence) receiving a detailed description to be in alignment with the world’s lore and the story being told. The source of this is Geri, our Creative Lead, who is the source of all such processes as the custodian of the IP. The briefs often draw upon historical, mythological, or fictional references to provide inspiration. They may even include dreadful rough sketches!

Once these and other visual references are gathered and the general design direction and vibe is buttoned down, an unpolished concept sketch is created of the character in its default, “idle” pose. The drawing begins with lineart, followed by the creation of a flat color base, then shadows and lighting are added on separate layers. For shading, we use handcrafted texture brushes from a well-defined list following the specific artstyle of the game. Last but not least, the artist unifies color tones, corrects values, and overpaints extra details as final touches.

Following this first design, we usually iterate to achieve the final look of the character based on feedback from the Creative and Art Leads. Then, if the artwork is accepted, the final polish is concluded to get a clean idle character pose with the specific cell-shaded artstyle of Vagrus.

Animation is up next – we only animate idle poses of the characters, so we cut that pose to separate pieces to be able to make it move with the rig and animation system in Unity. Some underpainting is often required at this stage to fill the gaps when pieces move apart during animation. The idle pose is thus ready and is imported into Unity.

The process is far from over, however. The artist then has to paint the other, static poses for character skills, defenses, and miscellaneous actions, paying extra attention to make every detail match. To save time, we often morph parts of the idle (or other already existing poses) to fit the new pieces. Lastly, some characters require the creation of extra decals for skills – projectiles, elemental effects, spells, and more.

Evidently, quite a lot goes into the evocative characters of Vagrus, and we’re really proud of our artists for having created hundreds – if not thousands – of poses to diversify the enemies and allies of Vagrus.

Location and Combat Art

Over the years, the visual quality of Vagrus’s locations and especially its combat background art pieces have gone through a significant evolution. In the early days, these backgrounds were less methodical, relying on more traditional, fully hand-painted approaches that made consistency and iteration challenging, especially considering that several artists were working to fill out the game world with location art pieces. These paintings were key to the game’s evocative atmosphere and darkly compelling storytelling though, and were essential in forming a unified look and feel for Vagrus.

Today, thanks to our artist Bence, most location art pieces are built on 3D blockout foundations. Scenes are assembled from pre-made, modular elements, which are then brought into Photoshop, where various render layers, filters, and manual paintovers are used to achieve the final illustrated, painterly look. This approach is not only more cohesive but also far more efficient – after all, who would want to paint the same skull or environmental detail a hundred times? In any case, the result is that the later content packs (like much of Sunfire and Moonshadow and At the Heart of Ruin) are far denser when it comes to location art – so much so, in fact, that the last expansion has more location illustrations than all previous content combined!

Over the years, we’ve built up a robust 3D asset library, and combined with a well-practiced pipeline, this allows us to produce detailed backgrounds and illustrations much faster than before. The before-and-after images below highlight just how far this process has come:

Sound and Silence

But the Riven Realms are not only seen – they are also heard. Music, created by Dániel Sólyom and the Humming Composer, plays a subtle but essential role in shaping the player’s experience during their travels. Rather than overwhelming the journey, it accompanies it: underscoring long stretches of the wasteland, foreshadowing heightening moments of tension, providing an ominous atmosphere, and giving space to reflection. Just as important as the music itself is the use of silence. In a world as vast and unforgiving as the Riven Realms, absence of sound can speak volumes. It allows the weight of the journey to settle, making each note that follows feel earned. The result is a soundscape that feels inseparable from the world it inhabits – subtle, deliberate, and deeply atmospheric.

https://soundcloud.com/lostpilgrimsstudio

Celebrate Artists

Every comitatus that sets out, every ruin uncovered, every encounter faced is framed by the work of artists who poured their time and craft into this dark world. Their contributions go beyond aesthetics. They define how the world feels – its tone, its texture, its sense of history. They guide the player’s imagination, filling in the spaces between mechanics and narrative.

On World Art Day, we simply want to acknowledge that work.

We are really grateful for our art team for shaping the Riven Realms, for giving it its identity, and for making it a place players can lose themselves in. Until next time, celebrate great artists, encourage people to create, and conquer the wasteland!

- The Lost Pilgrims Team

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