Providing support with 2D Illustrations (Character Artist)

Volunteering

Overview

Develop cartoon-style characters and assets for an educational game.

You have:

• Strong 2D illustration and character design skills.
• Demonstrated experience creating cartoon-style characters.
• Ability to design expressive character poses and emotion sheets.
• Understanding of file preparation for digital integration (layer organization, export formats, resolution settings).
• Strong attention to detail and ability to follow a technical brief.
• Ability to collaborate effectively in a remote, multidisciplinary team.
• 100% hand-drawn artwork (strictly no AI-generated elements).
• Proficiency in at least one of the following tools: Adobe Photoshop, Clip Studio Paint, PaintTool SAI, Krita, Procreate.
• Ability to provide layered source files.

Contract

This is a UNV contract. More about UNV contracts.

The Tech Volunteers for Resilience (Tech4R) programme mobilizes skilled digital volunteers to co-develop open-source, technology-driven solutions that strengthen resilience, recovery, and sustainable development.

As part of its child-focused safety initiatives, Tech4R is supporting the development of an educational digital game designed to help children living in border regions respond appropriately in life-threatening or high-risk situations. The game aims to combine child-friendly storytelling, psychological safety principles, and practical life-saving guidance in an accessible digital format. The 2D Illustrator / Character Artist will play a key role in visually bringing the project’s main characters to life and ensuring that the game is engaging, culturally appropriate, and emotionally expressive.

Children in border and high-risk regions may face sudden emergencies and security threats. Providing them with age-appropriate, scenario-based educational tools can support safer decision-making and strengthen resilience. The project is developing a cartoon-style educational game with clearly defined characters and visual storytelling elements. The volunteer will receive a detailed technical brief and reference materials. The work must be fully hand-drawn and original, ensuring artistic authenticity and ethical production standards. The final illustrations will be integrated into a game engine; therefore, technical precision and proper preparation of source files are essential.

As an Online Volunteer, you will support the team with the following tasks:

• Develop two main characters in a cartoon style based on the provided brief and visual references.
• Illustrate one of the main characters in multiple game scenarios and poses.
• Create a set of interchangeable character attributes (e.g., clothing variations, backpacks, equipment).
• Design an emotion map / sprite sheet for one character (e.g., joy, sadness, surprise, fear, determination).
• Prepare and organize final source files properly for integration into the game engine.
• Coordinate with the development team to ensure technical compatibility of assets.

• Share work-in-progress files to demonstrate a fully hand-drawn process (no AI-generated elements permitted).

• Strong 2D illustration and character design skills.

• Demonstrated experience creating cartoon-style characters.
• Ability to design expressive character poses and emotion sheets.
• Understanding of file preparation for digital integration (layer organization, export formats, resolution settings).
• Strong attention to detail and ability to follow a technical brief.
• Ability to collaborate effectively in a remote, multidisciplinary team.

Technical requirements: - 100% hand-drawn artwork (strictly no AI-generated elements). - Proficiency in at least one of the following tools: Adobe Photoshop, Clip Studio Paint, PaintTool SAI, Krita, Procreate - Ability to provide layered source files.

Apply now

Potential interview questions

Added 3 months ago - Updated 3 months ago - Source: unv.org