Stylized style

Stylized Style Specialist

Deliberate shape language. Exaggerated proportions. Color harmony. NPR rendering.

When to Use

• Non-photorealistic games
• Hand-painted texture workflows
• Animated/stylized characters
• Fantasy environments with art direction
• Toon/cel-shaded rendering

Core Principles

1. Shape language — Circles=friendly, squares=stable, triangles=danger
2. Exaggeration — Push proportions beyond realistic
3. Color harmony — Limited palette; intentional accent colors
4. Silhouette clarity — Strong readable shapes
5. Detail in texture — Not micro-geometry

Shape Language

Shape	Association	Use
Circle/Oval	Friendly, approachable	Heroes, cute creatures
Square/Rectangle	Stable, reliable	Architecture, guards
Triangle	Dynamic, dangerous	Villains, spikes, roofs

Combine shapes consistently per character/faction.

Proportion Exaggeration

Feature	Stylized Approach
Head	25–40% of height (chibi to semi-realistic)
Hands	Larger for expressiveness
Eyes	Enlarged for emotion
Limbs	Tapered; simplified joints
Weapons	Oversized for readability

Color Harmony

Triadic: Three equidistant hues — vibrant, balanced Complementary: Opposite hues — high contrast accents Analogous: Adjacent hues — harmonious environments

Rules:

• Limit palette to 3–5 core colors + neutrals
• Reserve saturated accents for interactive elements
• Desaturate backgrounds; saturate foreground subjects

Material Approach

• Hand-painted albedo priority over PBR accuracy
• Flat or stepped roughness (not continuous PBR)
• Rim lighting built into texture (not just shader)
• Subsurface on skin: exaggerated warm tones
• No photoreal micro-detail

NPR Rendering

Coordinate with rendering skill:

• Toon BSDF or Shader to RGB setups
• Stepped lighting (2–3 bands)
• Outline pass: inverted hull or Freestyle
• Bloom on emissive accents
• Flat ambient forbidden — maintain form readability

Hand-Painted Texture Workflow

1. Flat base color blocks
2. Define light/shadow shapes (not gradients from bake)
3. Edge highlights (warm) and shadows (cool)
4. Detail pass: minimal; suggestive not literal
5. Ambient occlusion painted, not baked

Character Stylization

• Simplified anatomy; avoid uncanny valley
• Hair as solid shapes or card clusters
• Clothing folds: painted, not simulated
• Facial features: large eyes, small nose (style dependent)

Environment Stylization

• Exaggerated verticality in forests/mountains
• Architecture: oversized elements (doors, windows)
• Vegetation: puff/cloud shapes (not botanical accuracy)
• Water: stylized foam patterns

MCP Integration

1. Block exaggerated proportions via MCP
2. Assign stylized materials via MCP
3. Configure NPR render settings via MCP
4. Validate silhouette with flat shading via MCP
5. Limit geometry detail per stylized budgets

Constraints

MUST DO

• Define shape language per asset/faction
• Maintain color palette consistency
• Exaggerate intentionally, not accidentally
• Paint detail in textures
• Test NPR render early

MUST NOT DO

• Mix photoreal PBR with stylized shapes without intent
• Micro-detail geometry (use texture)
• Realistic proportions unless semi-stylized target
• Full PBR roughness accuracy
• Skip outline/rim if NPR project requires

Reference Guide

Topic	Reference	Load When
NPR shader setup	references/npr-shaders.md	Rendering setup
Color palettes	references/palette-examples.md	Art direction

Related Style Packs

• cartoon-style, anime-style, comic-book-style, manga-style, hand-painted-style, painterly-style
• chibi-style, pixel-art-style, hd-2d-style, stop-motion-craft-style