We’re looking for a talented 2D character artist / concept artist to help us refine the emotional appeal of the insect characters in Scarlet O’Beetle, a cozy narrative adventure game that blends whimsical storytelling, science communication, crafting, foraging and insect-world medicine.

Scarlet O’Beetle is a hand-crafted indie game set in a hidden world of insects, medicinal plants, pollinators and tiny dramas, where players step into the role of a ladybug doctor treating patients, building relationships, and uncovering a rich ecological world.

The mission

We are looking for an artist who can help us humanize and increase the emotional warmth of our insect characters, especially through:

• facial expression design 
• eye language 
• mouth and expression systems 
• emotional readability 
• charm and “cozy appeal” 
• subtle anthropomorphism without losing insect identity 

Our goal is not cartoon simplification, but a delicate artistic balance where insect characters remain recognizably insect-like while becoming:

• more expressive 
• more emotionally engaging 
• more lovable 
• more meme-able / shareable 
• more appealing to cozy game audiences 

Think:

• warmth 
• softness 
• personality 
• emotional readability 
• quirky charm 
• subtle humor 

You’ll work on

Refining existing insect character faces, by:

• Exploring anthropomorphic expression systems 
• Improving character warmth and emotional appeal 

We’re especially looking for artists who understand:

• cozy game aesthetics 
• expressive character design 
• anthropomorphic creature design 
• emotional readability in stylized characters 
• balancing realism with charm 
• visual storytelling through faces 

Ideal portfolio shows:

We would love to see work featuring:

• expressive creatures 
• animal or insect character design 
• cozy/fantasy art 

If you don’t have any relevant ork in the portfolio, we’d appreciate a sketch using any of the characters on our website, or any other insect.

Project details

• Type: Freelance / contract
• Remote: Yes
• Duration: Short-term contract
• Compensation: Paid (please include rate/head)
• Start: ASAP

To apply

Please send:

• portfolio link 
• relevant examples of expressive character work 
• rates/ head

If you’ve ever worked on animal, insect, fantasy creature or cozy game character design, tell us about it.