Illustrative Work
Illustrative Work
Due to my Japanese background, I am largely inspired by the culture and traditions and often incorporate these into my illustrations.
Below are some of my previous works, both commissioned by others and for personal use.
All work is drawn and coloured digitally using Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator or Procreate.
Due to my Japanese background, I am largely inspired by the culture and traditions and often incorporate these into my illustrations.
Below are some of my previous works, both commissioned by others and for personal use.
All work is drawn and coloured digitally using Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator or Procreate.
Power Upgrade Screen (Hub)
Overview
Between runs in Evercore Heroes: Ascension, players return to the Hub, where they can strengthen their heroes by unlocking or upgrading powers. I designed the Power Upgrade Screen, which went through several major iterations before arriving at its final form: a diamond-shaped grid representing the Evercore, where players could unlock, upgrade, and flip slots to build unique loadouts.
Design Evolution
The system originally began as a skill tree, where players had to unlock powers in a fixed order based on rank. While this gave a sense of progression, it quickly became clear that it restricted creativity. With such a diver cast of heroes and roles - from DPS to healers - players were being funnelled into rigid builds that didn't always fit their playstyle.
In response, we opened up the design so that any slot could be unlocked in any order. This gave players freedom - but almost too much. Without constraints, most players simply unlocked everything, and the system lost its sense of strategy.
To solve this, I introduced a flip mechanism inspired by systems like The Mirror of Night in Hades. Each slot contained two possible powers - one on the front, and one on the back. Players could flip the slot to choose which power to equip, forcing them to make meaningful trade-offs and creating space for build variety.
Examples of some earlier designs and explorations
Visual & UI Design
I designed the UI in Figma and then implemented it in Unreal, handling layouts, states, and supporting animations. The diamond grid not only gave the screen a unique identity but also tied progression directly to rebuilding the Evercore theme at the heart of the game's lore.
In addition to the functional layout, I designed icons for each power type, ensuring quick readability an animations for unlocking, upgrading, and flipping, making each action feel impactful.