WAR COMMANDER
Studio: Kixeye
Role: Concept Artist / 2D Production Artist
Team: Shared Creative Services
Overview
Set 30 years after civilization’s collapse, War Commander imagines a world rebuilt from the ashes of technology and conflict.
As a concept artist on the Shared Creative Services team, I helped define a visual language that balanced gritty realism with cinematic clarity for marketing and in-game assets.
Key Contributions
Concept art and 2D production design for buildings, units, and faction technology.
Visual development for 3D modeling, ensuring consistency of form, scale, and design language.
Iconography and event branding, creating visual cohesion across recurring player systems.
Marketing key art, translating in-game assets into cinematic promotional imagery.
Faction Architecture & Base Design
Zombie Lab
Early concept and final render for a post-apocalyptic research facility serving as the NPC base for event #8, Operation: Undead Harvest.
The design merges military engineering with bio-contamination aesthetics: glowing vats, industrial girders, and modular silhouettes inspired by vintage toy playsets such as G.I. Joe and Swamp Thing.
Result: a stylized structure blending realism with nostalgic pulp energy.
Verkraft Command Center
designed for silhouette clarity and gameplay readability.
Command hub for event #5, Operation: Hellfire. Designed for silhouette clarity and in-game readability, the structure channels NASA-inspired geometry to communicate authority and function through stacked forms and balanced visual weight.
Result: established the faction’s architectural hierarchy at a glance.
Missile Silo
Defensive structure concept modeled on Cold War missile architecture, grounded in realism yet exaggerated in proportion for immediate recognition from aerial gameplay.
Result: readable and cinematic defense landmark visible across the map.
Hellfire Command Center
Research and energy hub designed for modular expansion across multiple factions. Drawing inspiration from real industrial oil refineries, pipes, valves, and turbines were abstracted into game-ready, repeatable components.
Result: flexible production design adaptable to live-ops variations.
Mine Factory
From rough thumbnails to final production render, the Mine Factory evolved into a clear, resource-generating structure emphasizing material contrast and scale readability.
Result: delivered a functional, efficient design pipeline for modelers.
Ion Cannon
High-tech defensive turret concept built to repel heavy air and mech assaults. The visual goal balanced futuristic weaponry with grounded material logic.
Result: visual consistency across advanced defense systems.
Mechanized Units
Viper X Mech
Designed as a rapid-response strike unit, the Viper X combines hard-surface detail with mobile, aerodynamic armor. The target aesthetic was “near-future military”, functional yet cinematic.
Result: visually reinforced the game’s balance between technology and realism.
Hammer Mech
A brute-force counterpart to the Viper X. The Hammer’s layered armor and silhouette dominance communicate heavy impact and defensive power.
Result: complementary contrast between agility and strength across the unit lineup.
Systems & Iconography
Alliance Icons
Developed a unified icon set establishing the game’s visual identity system for alliances and factions.
Each emblem balances heraldic geometry and futuristic design language to communicate hierarchy, power, and precision.
Tech Components (Stinger Rocket, Raptor Pilot, Vulcan Cannon)
(Stinger Rocket, Raptor Pilot, Vulcan Cannon)
Created for the research and tech tree systems. Each asset translates high-tech equipment into legible iconography optimized for small-scale UI environments.
Result: consistent readability across device resolutions.
Operation Banners
Promotional key art blending cinematic composition with in-game assets to unify faction themes and seasonal content.
Each banner reinforced the tactical realism of War Commander while aligning with the broader visual direction of Kixeye’s military portfolio.
Studio Impact
This project helped define the cross-title visual continuity between War Commander, Backyard Monsters, and Battle Pirates, establishing a shared aesthetic vocabulary that influenced multiple live-ops campaigns across the Kixeye ecosystem.
All artwork created in collaboration with the Kixeye Shared Creative Services team.