Freelance Illustrator | Katherine Elliott Illustration

KATHERINE ELLIOTT

Hello and welcome!

I'm Katherine, a game artist from Toronto, Canada. My education is in game design and I've been creating art for children's apps since 2018. I make it a habit to participate in local game jams and love to look at connections people make with NPCs.

Please feel free to contact me at elliottkat4@gmail.com

SAGO MINI

January 2018 - Present

Sago Mini is a Toronto-based company making apps and toys for toddlers. I’ve been an artist on Sago Mini’s World team since 2018. I’ve worked on 15 different apps during that time, 8 of which I have been Art Lead on.

I’ve trained several new artists and review others work on a regular basis. I work on characters, background, accessories, and more! My greatest accomplishment at Sago Mini is the Character Creator app for which I created an incredible mount of artwork that all works together interchangeably.

TRAINS

I was a production artist on the Trains app that was released in October 2019. I took direction from both the art director (Aaron Leighton) and the art lead (Katherine Diemert) to deliver artwork that was ready to be brought into the app.

I worked on all the train cars, pieces, Camp station, Farm station, and Chalet station for this app app as well as the app icon, title screen, and Sago World module.

DOGS

I was the lead artist on the Dogs app, an ambitious pet simulator when the players can feed, groom, bathe, dress, and play with a variety of dogs.

Making the art for the dogs was really exciting. The puppet animation is similar to the usual setup for Sago but the dogs' movements are more expressive so there were more considerations than usual. I also really enjoyed giving the dogs their own style while making the hats, glasses, and collars.

PLAYSET APPS

Playset apps are very similar to a digital dollhouse and one of Sago Mini's most successful products. Each one has a theme that the child can freely explore alongside a large cast of characters. I've worked on Big City, Zoo, Airport, Vacation, Camping, Fun Fair, Dinosaurs, Farm (Update) and TBA Spring 2023 release.

As an artist on these apps, I have made a huge variety of backgrounds, characters, vehicles, and objects while paying close attention to how each of these things looks along side each other. My first project as a lead artist at Sago Mini was on the Fun Fair app.

BLOCKS APPS

This is a smaller category of Sago Mini apps that work like a virtual Lego set. I had the pleasure of working as a production artist on the first blocks app, Village. More recently, I was the lead artist on both Neighbourhood Blocks' initial release and the Neighbourhood Blocks update a year later.

As an artist on these apps I had to have a careful eye for details, a keen sense for colours, and a lot of patience for figuring out sets that can work together. There is a careful balance of "boring" structural blocks that children will need and story blocks that add variety or magic into the play experience.

CHARACTER CREATOR

I was the lead artist on Sago Mini's Character Creator app. It was a massive undertaking that required a huge amount of work. This was the first time Sago would be depicting human characters in the apps. Myself and the team did a lot of research and testing to make sure this app would be as diverse and inclusive as possible.

We've got a lot of amazing feedback from this about how well it represents kids that are usually not represented well in character creator apps like this. It makes me so proud thinking about all the love and care that we put into this project.

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GAME JAMS

Since 2014 I've been participating in game jams on a regular basis. I find it exciting to get out of everyday patterns and try something new that doesn't have to be perfect.

Most recently, Global Game Jam and ToJam have been my favourites but during my college years Sheridan's Game Design program hosted a 5 day long jam every semester during which we would be assigned random teams. This allowed me to meet many of my peers with varying talents and learn to collaborate quickly.

GROWING PLANETS

Duration: 4 days

Team size: 5 people

Holland-Bloorview Children's Rehabilitation Centre collaborated with Sheridan College to host a week long game jam focused on creating games for their waiting rooms' unique ScreenPlay technology. The Children's Advisory Council, a group of children that frequent the hospital and lend their voice to help staff make decisions in the best interest of the patients, awarded us 2nd place!

CHUNGUS N' SONS

Duration: 1 day

Team size: 4 people

In late 2022, Sago Mini hosted an internal 1 day game jam open to anyone within the company. The theme was tiny machines and the results were showcased at the company holiday party.

Our game requires two players and a pair of Nintendo Switch joycon. The players are two mice delivering cheese to the inhabitants of an apartment build and they must pull the ropes of their side of the elevator in order to move. If you drop too many cheese wheels then you lose!

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EDUCATION

Art Fundamentals Certificate @ Sheridan College. Fall 2012 - Spring 2013.

While completing my certificate, I was introduced to many different mediums of art including painting, sculpting, digital art, and graphic design.

Game Design BA @ Sheridan College. Fall 2013 - Spring 2017

During my 4 year degree, I participated in 8 game jams, an internship, wrote a thesis on empathy in relation to NPC design, and showcase my capstone project at a variety of events and won a few awards for it.

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