In order to work efficiently, I will be looking into the pipelines I will be involving myself into and looking at E-Jay’s to see where certain tasks would over lap. As I will be entering another aspect of 2D art, I need to be attentive with animation and doing this research beforehand will serve me great purpose.
My pipelines
For my pipelines, I will be using apps such as Procreate and ClipStudioPaint since they’re software I’m most comfortable with. But as I progress, I want to start using Photoshop since that is industry standard.
Game art pipeline
(RocketBrush Studio, 2025)
But what goes on in pre-production?
Pre-production is where all the research and conceptualisation happens. You need to settle on a software and the mood of the assets.
This pipeline although is used for 2D character design, this also applies to other 2D assets as it follows a similar pipeline.
2D character + asset design
(ediiie, 2025)
In the post below, I have done some concept thumbnails, although I haven’t done the finalisation part of this pipeline, it still follows the same path (scroll to the bottom of the post and watch the video).
Below is the workflow of an animator. I won’t be following this step for step as this is made for animations in general, not specifically game animation but the same principles apply.
2D animation
(Spectrum, 2022)
- Script writing – strong story telling comes first, define the characters, mood, and genre by using a 3 act structure, personal style, and emotion, finally, write a script to guide the scene.
- Concept development – bring the script to life through cohesive visual planning in your characters
- Story board – define key frames of the animation where there the energy is at the peak and pace the animation accordingly
- Dialogue recording – typically recording happens before the animation starts so the animators can sync up frames to the dialogue. Use any capable voice actor up for the job
- Animate – You will need to settle on a single tool for the animation process, like learning anything new, there will always be a learning curve. It’s best to nail down the basics.
- Post production – Usually adding the VFX and colour correction to ensure the product is polished. (Spectrum, 2022)
Where do these pipelines overlap?
For animation, I can’t start until I create an adequate turnaround to understand the basic logic of my character. I also can’t start with the asset creation until my partner gives me an exemplar level design. Without this level design, I won’t know what to make and the overall logistics of the island geography. For example, if I were to make a single cloud asset, there would have to be a tile somewhere mid air, it wouldn’t make sense if there was a cloud tile on the floor somewhere.
E-Jay’s Pipelines
In this project, E-Jay will be taking care of the programming and level design aspects of the game.
Level design
(Swiftorial, 2025)
Where I come into this pipeline is after he sketches out the layout. Once he gives me the necessary information of what goes on in a single level, I am able to create assets.
Programming
(エバープレイ編集部, 2025)
Where do his pipelines overlap?
The entire level design pipeline falls in the programming planning, prototype and production phases. In order to move on with the other aspects of the game, we need to nail down basic level design and aesthetics of the game, as its the aspect of the game that needs the most attention.
Gantt Chart
To show how our pipeline would fit in our project, E-Jay made a gantt chart which displays pre-production work, production, and finalisation with room for contingencies. I want to quickly point out that I will do some pre-production work before the term starts just so we can get a head start. Made using GANTTPRO
References
エバープレイ編集部 (2025). ゲームプログラマとは何か：役割・技術・キャリアを徹底解説（2025年版）. [online] EverPlay（エバープレイ） – 出張買取・宅配買取・不用品回収・遺品整理・生前整理ならエバープレイ！. Available at: https://everplay.jp/column/36556 [Accessed 9 Jan. 2026].
ediiie (2025). 2D Character Design Guide: How Artists Create Characters. [online] EDIIIE. Available at: https://www.ediiie.com/blog/2d-character-design-guide/.
RocketBrush Studio (2025). How 2D Art Studios Create Art for Games. [online] Rocketbrush.com. Available at: https://rocketbrush.com/blog/how-2d-art-studios-create-and-use-art [Accessed 9 Jan. 2026].
Spectrum, C.G. (2022). How to Create a 2D Animation — a beginner’s Guide | CG Spectrum. [online] www.cgspectrum.com. Available at: https://www.cgspectrum.com/blog/create-2d-animation-beginners-guide.
Swiftorial (2025). 2d Level Design | 2d Game Development – Swiftorial Lessons. [online] Swiftorial. Available at: https://www.swiftorial.com/swiftlessons/game-development/2d-game-development/2d-level-design [Accessed 9 Jan. 2026].
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