Check Out The September Newsletter !
Alyssa Wichmann
Skills you'll Learn
- Professional Character Design – Create characters that feel alive, tell a story, and fit within a game or narrative world
- Worldbuilding for Games & Media – Design environments, props, and settings with gameplay, mood, and storytelling in mind
- Industry-Ready Visual Storytelling – Learn how to communicate ideas clearly through pose, composition, and design
- Efficient Sketching & Ideation – Master fast, effective sketching techniques for concept pitches and creative exploration
- Shape Language & Design Clarity – Make your designs stand out using strong silhouettes and clean, readable forms
Concept Design
This journey allowed me to become versatile with various art mediums. I’m familiar with core art fundamentals, color theory, composition, but primarily characters design, key art, and visual design. I also studied under Enoch and professionals from college classes, which taught me what teaching techniques work best—and which don’t. Everyone has their own learning style; not everyone works the same way. So it’s important to get to know a person first before deciding how to approach their education.
About Me
Hey there! I’m Alyssa — a freelance concept artist with a background in psychology and game development. I’m passionate about storytelling through visual design, and I love creating characters with depth, building imaginative worlds, and bringing ideas to life through art.
As your mentor, I’m here to help you build a strong foundation in concept art, understand the creative process behind professional work, and develop the skills you need to express your ideas with clarity and impact.
Purr Purr (Wayward Cats)
Purr Purr Overview
Purr Purr is a cozy, stylized cat adventure in development by indie studio
Wayward Cats. Set in a bright, handcrafted world of little villages, hidden
paths, and playful landmarks, the game focuses on simple exploration, gentle
quests, and personality-driven cats rather than combat, but puzzle platforming fun.
Game Development
For Purr Purr, Wayward Cats is combining expressive character animation,
environmental storytelling, and light simulation systems (needs, moods,
relationships between cats). The team works in small, focused sprints: blocking
out levels, testing movement and camera, then layering art polish, lighting, and
sound. Their pipeline emphasizes rapid prototyping, frequent updates, and
close collaboration between art, design, and code so each new area feels alive
and playful from the first pass.
Gaming Principles
Purr Purr is being developed around three core design values:
• Comfort & accessibility – low-stress gameplay, readable UI, and controls that
feel good on both controller and mouse.
• Delight in small details – tiny animations, environmental easter eggs, and
sound cues that reward curiosity.
• Player warmth over grind – progression that feels gentle and rewarding rather
than punishing or time-gated.
These principles guide every design decision Wayward Cats makes as they shape
Purr Purr into a cozy, character-driven world for players who love cats
Owner of Somnium Studios' John Gamel
Somnium Studios (Star Trek Scion Expanse)
“Although I have just recently begun working with LuxArk, my experience with them and their students has been nothing but exemplary. I have the highest respect for them, their students, and the dedication that they put in to everything that they pursue. - John J. Gamel CEO of Somnæum Somniorum Studios LLC”
Example Work
Presentation
Finished Concept prepared before presenting to Director of Somnium Studios to work on Star Trek Scion Expanse! I was hand picked by Enoch and Cecil to showcase my work and John the director absolutely loved it!
Development
Throughout the weeks would share highly valuable feedback which I added to each of my iterations preparing me for the I.P I would be assigned to work on.
Conception
The start of my character concept journey! Knowing I was being trained for Somnium Studios Jr.Concept Artist role was more than exciting so I chose a fitting prompt based on the brief and got started!
The feedback received was really helpful I wanted to thank Luxark and the mentors for their patience through all the mentorship and training me to become a Jr. Concept Artist for Somnium Studio’s
Maeve O'Carroll (Art Lead)
