The super minimalistic graphics used in Animal captain might seem fairly easy to produce at first glance. But a simple design solution doesn’t necessarily make one’s work any easier.  When going minimalistic, you leave it up to just a few lines to give the necessary information, to tell the story and to display emotion. What you cut away are all the effects – the smokes and mirrors that makes the game look tasty and shiny. In short – the more you simplify, the more important every line gets.

All the graphics in Animal Captain follow a strict underlying grid. This gives the game a very consistent look which is easy to recognize. Sadly, this approach also limits our graphic possibilities. It’s impossible to draw very small objects, like an ant or a bee, because it’s simply too small to be drawn within a grid.

Some animals fit better in a grid than others. Animals like the elephant, the cow and the dog have been fairly easy to draw, since they can be created using simple shapes. Other animals, like the snake, the rhino and the squirrel took forever to draw, because they have a few curves which somehow just doesn’t fit inside the grid.