TJ Trewin - Pixel Artist

Work Experience

Self Employed Artist & Designer

(2012 - present)

Pixel Artist

(2024 - present)

• Creating pixel art assets, animations, and illustrations for video games and TTRPGs, tailored to each project's unique style and lore.

Digital Artist & Graphic Designer

(2012 - 2024)

• Created fantasy maps, digital illustrations, logos, CSS themes, and book covers, managing projects from concept to completion while meeting tight production deadlines. Collaborated with clients to translate narrative concepts into cohesive design assets that enhance immersion and brand appeal for customers.

Multidisciplinary Designer - World Anvil

(2018 - 2021)

Responsibilities:

• Led the design and production of UI elements, icons, branded assets, and a cohesive style guide for a leading worldbuilding platform with over 2 million users, including mascot designs, merchandise, and achievement badges to strengthen brand identity and enhance user experiences.
• Coordinated live events and social media campaigns, boosting community participation and creating strong brand loyalty.
• Collaborated with cross-functional teams using Agile methodologies (Trello, Jira, Scrum) to deliver UX wireframes and community engagement strategies, increasing platform visibility and user retention.
• Produced SEO-optimized blog posts and tutorials, driving traffic and supporting user onboarding.

Key Achievements:

• Increased user engagement by developing visually compelling assets for ads, YouTube thumbnails, and social media.
• Streamlined content production workflows through documentation and efficient use of tools like Later and Dropbox.
• Created reusable design templates for the marketing team, improving efficiency and ensuring consistent, on-brand messaging across platforms.
• During the biggest DDoS attack in the platform's infancy, I coordinated team efforts at 3am to reach the founder and sole developer, Dimitris. When all channels of communication failed, I took the initiative to order a pizza to his house so that the delivery person would ring the doorbell and wake him up. Thanks to my quick-thinking, Dimitris got the site back online swiftly with minimal disruption to the growing userbase.

Skills Used/Acquired:
Graphic design, UI/UX design, icon design, illustration, CSS, Twig, Agile methodologies, project management, SEO, Shopify, analytics, and print-on-demand production.

Social Media Marketing - Igloosoft Games

(November 2019 - March 2020)

Responsibilities

• Contributed to the marketing campaign for Farworld Pioneers (working title: Outworlder) by collaborating with the Senior Marketing Manager and Community Manager to produce and schedule engaging social media content and Facebook ads.
• Provided valuable feedback as a playtester, helping refine gameplay and user experience.

Key Achievements:

• Optimized outreach efforts by coordinating and scheduling content across multiple platforms, ensuring accurate timing for global game announcements and release updates.
• Fostered a welcoming and inclusive online community by actively engaging with players through social media and forums, strengthening brand loyalty.

Skills Used/Acquired:
Google AdSense, social media strategy, Buffer, community engagement, playtesting, collaboration with cross-functional teams.

Public Speaking Engagements

Designing the Unforgettable
30min Virtual Seminar (September 2023) - Recording available on request.

• Delivered a seminar for core Sage-tier members of World Anvil, on presenting worldbuilding projects effectively, focusing on theme, mood, and immersive design.
• Designed custom slides and visuals to enhance engagement.
• Held a Q&A session to provide further tips and resources, received high praise from attendees.

World Anvil Livestreams (2020 - 2024)

• Returning guest speaker sharing insights on immersive storytelling and advanced worldbuilding techniques with live audiences.

Excellent presentation! That was an entire design course boiled down to less than an hour. - Scott, Creative Director of Story Studios

Awards

• HeroForge Worldbuilding Competition (2024) – Winner, Institutions of Learning
• The Worldbuilding Awards - Presented by World Anvil
  • Awarded:
    History Award (2022), Time and Space Award (2022), Best Timeline (2021), Most Informative Map (2021), Best of World Anvil Award (2020)
  • Nominated:
    Best World (2024, 2021, 2020), Most Beautiful World (2024, 2021), Cartography Award (2022, 2020), Best Timeline (2020), Best Worldbuilding Introduction (2021), Hearts & Minds Award (2022), Rise of Nations Award (2022)
• WorldEmber 10k Worldbuilding Challenge
  • Awarded:
    Best Article (2019, 2022), Best Language Award (2019), Best Item Award (2021), Best Tradition Award (2022)

I could see myself exploring this map forever! I want to BE there.
- Fox, Marketing Director of HeroForge

Certification

• Registered Font Vendor - Microsoft (2023)
• Fundamentals of Digital Marketing - Google Digital Garage (2019)
• FdA Graphic Design - Bath Spa University (2012)
• BTEC National Diploma in Graphic Design - Weston College (2008)

Pixel Art Skills

• Expert: Icon design, UI/UX, character design & portraits, item & material design, creation and use of limited colour palettes, concept ideation, use of reference
• Proficient: Sprite animation, top-down & side view / platformer tilesets, environment design
• Familiar: VFX, isometric tilesets, parallax, vehicle design, storyboarding

I'm actively developing my sprite animation and VFX skills through studying the fundamentals of animation and applying them in practise with personal projects and client commissions. My target is to reach advanced proficiency by the end of 2025!

Tools & Software Proficiency

• Art & Design: Aseprite, PureRef, Affinity Photo, Affinity Designer, Affinity Publish, Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, FontLab 8
• Project Management: Trello, Jira, ClickUp, Google Calendar
• Data & Organization: Google Sheets, Obsidian.md, Dropbox
• Game Development: Godot, itch.io

Complementary Skills

• Game design, concept art, digital illustration, worldbuilding, fantasy cartography, logo design, font design, wiki design & organization, documentation

Hobbies & Interests

• Game Design: Designed a card game (Gauntlet) and an interactive choose-your-path adventure (The Troublesome Tiara). Participated in Pirate Software's Game Jam 15, designing Gold in the Shadows earning a 4/5 star rating in both Theme and Artistic Style.

• Pixel Art Community: Active participant in Discord communities and art challenges (Pixel Dailies, Inktober, Swordtember). Created the melior64 palette on Lospec with 1100+ downloads.

• Google Sheets: Developing worldbuilding tools that earn me a passive income through Gumroad. My tools have amassed a combined total of 90+ 5-star ratings and 5,300+ downloads.

• Gaming: Avid gamer with a love for immersive worlds and comedic storytelling. Favourite pixel-aesthetic titles include: Day of the Tentacle, Rogue Legacy, Necromerger, Pokémon, and Theme Hospital.