Discord is a place where people love to hang out, relax together, and, most importantly, express themselves. And what better way to do that than with their magical Drops? We had the pleasure of creating the cutest set ever — in one word: Kawaii.
We started from the world of gaming to illustrate and animate 10 assets, blending a cute and cheerful style with the freedom of frame-by-frame animation to create cosmetics you can use directly in the app on Discord. Now, your friends will know you’re a bubble tea lover, or totally into those adorable Kawaii eyes!
Blending pixels together
The illustrations for the drop assets created a unique and consistent visual language, centered around three key words: cuteness, cuddliness, and funny.
We wanted to craft an irresistible style that fits perfectly with the Kawaii world, conveying a sense of calm, fun, and a touch of slowness. To do this, we chose subjects like plushies, plants with cute faces, and added a retro gaming vibe that couldn’t be missed. Perfect for those late-night movie marathons with friends, staying up until 2 AM.
the creative process
It took months of testing and close collaboration with Discord’s creative team to reach the final result. But where does it all begin? Great question! That’s why we’ve put together some of our initial explorations and a few of the animations that made it into the final presentation.
BUBBLY frame by fraME
Creating truly expressive animations becomes easy when you incorporate cell animation into the process. Each asset was first hand-drawn, then animated frame by frame to ensure maximum expression in both movement and acting.
By doing this, we enhanced the energy that this set of drops conveys. Don’t believe us? Just check out the bubble tea profile FX — soooo sweet.
