01 The Project
What you are illustrating and why it matters
El Viaje del Jaguar is an interactive language-learning game set in the ecosystems of Colombia. A young female jaguar-spirit named Yaguará travels through rainforest, Andes, llanos, and Caribbean coast, meeting allies and facing forces of forgetting that are erasing the world's names.
The visual world draws from Colombian indigenous art, textile patterns, and natural landscapes. It is NOT Disney, manga, or generic fantasy. These are spirits, not cartoon animals. This world is alive, warm, and ancient.
"No todas las palabras se dicen. Algunas se cuidan."
Visual Identity Keywords
Warm, earthy, alive
Textile-inspired
Organic shapes
Circles & spirals
Illustrated, not photorealistic
Golden-hour light
Mola patterns (Kuna)
Wayúu woven textures
Pre-Columbian gold motifs
What this is NOT
No Disney/Pixar style
No anime/manga
No generic fantasy
No photorealistic 3D
No clip art or flat corporate
No AI-generated aesthetic
No hard geometric edges
No harsh/fluorescent light
02 The Story
The narrative arc that shapes every illustration
The game follows Joseph Campbell's Hero's Journey mapped across three worlds and six language levels. The story's central conflict: the world is losing its names, and things that are not named disappear. Yaguará must travel through Colombia to recover them. The student speaks them back into existence through gameplay.
Act I — A1–A2
El Mundo de Abajo
"Nombrar el mundo"
Roots, water, night, beginnings. Yaguará's family, her river, the sounds of the forest. Something goes silent. One sound disappears. Then another. The river says: things that are not named, disappear.
Ordinary World → Call to Adventure → Refusal → Meeting the Mentor
Act II — B1–B2
El Mundo del Medio
"Contar lo vivido"
Community, memory, history. Yaguará travels through Colombia's four ecosystems, meeting allies and facing forces of forgetting. She realizes she needs the stories behind the names, not just the names themselves.
Crossing the Threshold → Tests / Allies / Enemies → The Ordeal
Act III — C1–C2
El Mundo de Arriba
"Cuidar la palabra"
Dreams, stars, balance, destiny. Yaguará carries the recovered names back, but the world has changed. She must choose: restore what was, or let it become something new? The student writes their own myth.
Reward → The Road Back → Resurrection → Return with the Elixir
03 Characters
The beings who inhabit this world — every detail matters
Yaguará
The Protagonist — Priority 1
- Species: Young female jaguar-spirit. Not a cub, not fully mature. Not yet a guardian.
- Build: Lean, athletic, not massive. She is fast, not powerful (yet).
- Fur: Golden-dark with clearly visible rosettes. NOT orange like a tiger — study real jaguars (Panthera onca).
- Eyes: Green-amber, expressive, intelligent. The most important feature — these eyes carry the whole story.
- Distinguishing mark: A small constellation-shaped pattern on her left shoulder (this becomes important later in the story).
- Personality in pose: Curious, quiet, brave without knowing it. At early levels she mostly listens. Later she speaks with weight.
Expressions needed (6)
- Curious — ears forward, eyes wide, head slightly tilted
- Determined — eyes focused, jaw set, body low
- Worried — ears back slightly, eyes searching
- Joyful — eyes bright, relaxed posture, almost smiling
- Listening — completely still, ears turned, eyes half-closed
- Speaking — mouth slightly open, eyes connecting with viewer
Poses needed (5)
- Sitting alert — by a riverbank, looking outward
- Walking — through forest, mid-stride, confident
- Leaping — across water or between rocks, full extension
- Crouching by water — looking at her reflection
- Looking up at stars — sitting, head tilted back, constellation glowing on shoulder
Deliver: Character sheet (turnaround) + individual poses as separate PNGs with transparent backgrounds
Mamá Jaguar (Nakawe)
The Mother — Priority 2
- Appearance: Larger than Yaguará, darker fur. Calm golden eyes.
- Distinguishing mark: A scar across the bridge of her nose — from old journeys she doesn't talk about.
- Personality: Steady, warm, ancient without being old. Dignified and grounded.
- Voice lines (for tone reference): "El río no espera." / "Los nombres no se pierden. Se olvidan."
Poses needed
- Sitting regally — near the river, watching over her territory
- Nuzzling Yaguará — a tender moment of goodbye
- Looking toward the horizon — back to viewer, the weight of what she knows
Expressions: serene, proud, concerned
Deliver: 3 poses + 3 expressions, PNG transparent
Río
The Little Brother — Trickster / Heart — Priority 2
- Appearance: Smaller than Yaguará, lighter fur, wide playful eyes.
- Named after the river because he never stops moving.
- Key quality: Even his "still" pose should feel kinetic — tail flicking, paw mid-reach, weight shifting.
- Story role: Comic relief at A1, source of worry at B1 (does he follow Yaguará?), surprise hero at C1.
Poses needed
- Mid-leap — pure joy, chasing a butterfly or firefly
- Tumbling — tripped over his own paws, playful
- Hiding behind Yaguará — only eyes and ears visible, peeking
- Sleeping curled up — the only time he's still, tail over nose
Deliver: 4 poses, PNG transparent
Abuela Ceiba
The Mentor — Not a jaguar — Priority 2
- What she is: A massive ceiba tree (kapok tree) at the center of the forest. She speaks, but slowly.
- Visual reference: Look up real Ceiba pentandra trees — enormous buttress roots, wide crown, epiphytes covering the trunk.
- Face: Subtly visible in the bark — NOT a cartoon face. More like pareidolia — you see it if you look, but it could just be bark patterns.
- Crown: Fireflies (luciérnagas) gathering around her upper branches, creating a gentle glow.
- Roots: Spread outward like rivers or veins, connecting to everything.
- She knows all names because all roots pass through her.
Versions needed
- Day version: Warm green light filtering through canopy, moss and ferns on trunk
- Night version: Fireflies glowing, moonlight, mystical but not spooky
Deliver: 2 versions (day/night), PNG transparent + full scene versions with background
Colibrí (Zunzún)
Rainforest Guide — Ally — Priority 5
- Species: Hummingbird spirit. Iridescent green-blue plumage.
- Scale: Impossibly small. Emphasize the contrast with Yaguará — she could perch on her ear.
- Special effect: Trails of luminous particles when flying, like tiny stars falling from wing-tips.
- Personality: Fast-talker, knows every flower's name. Teaches that small things hold great power.
Poses needed
- Hovering in place — wings a blur, facing viewer
- Darting — mid-flight streak with light trail
- Perched on Yaguará's ear — whispering
- Wings spread — showing full iridescence, like a jewel
Deliver: 4 poses, PNG transparent + SVG simplified version for UI
Cóndor Viejo
Andes Guide — Ally — Priority 5
- Species: Andean condor (Vultur gryphus). Ancient, massive wingspan.
- Details: White collar ruff, weathered feathers showing age, one slightly clouded eye (left).
- Personality: Speaks rarely. Sees everything from above. Teaches perspective.
Poses needed
- Soaring — seen from below, wingspan fills the frame, mountains behind
- Perched on rock — high mountain ledge, wind ruffling feathers
- Head turned to look down — one clear eye, one clouded, wise and patient
Deliver: 3 poses, PNG transparent
Delfín Rosado (Boto)
Llanos / River Guide — Ally — Priority 5
- Species: Amazon pink river dolphin (Inia geoffrensis). Look up real photos — they are strange and beautiful.
- Color: Pale pink, almost translucent in places. Lighter on belly.
- Key quality: Always half-submerged — you never see the whole dolphin. Enigmatic "smile" (their mouths naturally curve upward).
- Folklore note: Shape-shifter in Colombian/Amazonian folklore. Playful but unreliable. Teaches that not all words mean what they say.
Poses needed
- Breaching — rising from murky river water, pink against brown water
- Peeking above water — just eyes and top of head visible, watching
- Swimming alongside a canoe — seen from above, shadow beneath the surface
Deliver: 3 poses, PNG transparent
Tortuga Marina (Carey)
Coast Guide — Ally — Priority 5
- Species: Hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata). Ancient.
- Shell: Has barnacles, tiny coral growths, maybe a small anemone — she carries an ecosystem on her back.
- Movements: Slow and deliberate. Every gesture is intentional.
- Personality: Has crossed every ocean. Remembers everything. Teaches patience — some stories take a lifetime to tell.
Poses needed
- Swimming in open ocean — turquoise water, light filtering from above
- Resting on sand — on a Caribbean beach at night, moonlight on shell
- Head emerging from shell — looking directly at viewer with ancient eyes
Deliver: 3 poses, PNG transparent
El Silencio Gris
The Antagonist — A force, not a character — Priority 7
- NOT a character with a body. This is an atmosphere, a condition, an absence.
- Visual concept: Grey mist / static / visual noise that erases color where it passes.
- Think: A photograph slowly losing its saturation from one edge. A landscape where the left side is vivid and the right side is dissolving into grey.
- Not evil. Not a villain. Simply the absence of naming. Natural, like entropy.
- Sound equivalent: The feeling of a word on the tip of your tongue that you can't quite remember.
Deliver: Overlay textures and edge effects — PNG with transparency, various sizes, seamless where possible
La Sombra de Yaguará
The Shadow Self — Priority 7
- Appears at B2 level. Looks exactly like Yaguará but wrong.
- Visual: Yaguará's silhouette, but edges waver like a reflection in disturbed water.
- Eyes: Mirrors — they reflect the viewer instead of seeing. No pupil, just reflective surface.
- Represents: The fear of making mistakes, of not being good enough to speak. Must be embraced, not defeated.
Deliver: Dark silhouette version of each Yaguará pose, with wavering edges — PNG transparent
Los Antiguos
The Ancestors — Dream Figures — Priority 9
- Appear as: Constellations, cave paintings that move, voices in water, petroglyphs that animate.
- Visual style: Luminous outlines, star-patterns, golden line-art on dark backgrounds.
- Reference: Colombian petroglyphs (Chiribiquete cave paintings), pre-Columbian gold figures (Museo del Oro).
- Speak in metaphor and poetry. Never give straight answers. They are the final teachers.
Deliver: 4–6 constellation/petroglyph figures, SVG + PNG with glow effects
04 Environments
The four ecosystems of Colombia — each a chapter of the journey
Each ecosystem needs the following deliverables:
3840 × 1080 px
Wide panoramic background (section headers, desktop)
1080 × 1920 px
Portrait background (mobile screens)
1200 × 800 px
Scene vignettes (3–4 per ecosystem)
Seamless tile (SVG)
Textile-inspired repeating pattern/texture
Selva (Chocó / Amazon)
green, water, rain, drums — Guide: Colibrí — Afro-Colombian & indigenous cultures
- Dense canopy, filtered green light, massive buttress roots, river visible below
- Rain. Always a sense of rain, even if it's not actively raining. Wet leaves, mist, droplets.
- Textile reference: Mola-inspired pattern border (Kuna/Guna layered appliqué)
- This is Yaguará's HOME — it should feel warm, safe, and alive
Andes
earth, stone, cold clear light, wind instruments — Guide: Cóndor Viejo — Highland communities
- Mountain valley, terraced fields (like Muisca agricultural terraces), stone paths
- Cold clear light, long shadows, clouds below the viewer (condor territory)
- Textile reference: Wayúu-inspired geometric pattern border
- Feeling: ancient, vast, quiet. You can hear the wind.
Llanos
gold, open sky, harp, endless horizon — Guide: Delfín Rosado — Llanero culture
- Vast golden grassland, enormous sky (sky should be 2/3 of the image), scattered moriche palms
- River cutting through the plain, heat shimmer on the horizon
- Textile reference: Sombrero vueltiao weave pattern border
- Feeling: freedom, exposure, nowhere to hide. The opposite of the sheltered forest.
Costa (Caribbean)
turquoise, salt, cumbia, intense heat — Guide: Tortuga Marina — Afro-Caribbean culture
- Turquoise water, mangroves at the edge, fishing boats (small, colorful, wooden)
- Coral visible underwater, intense saturated light, cumbia energy
- Textile reference: Filigree / gold-inspired pattern border (Momposina goldwork tradition)
- Feeling: vibrant, rhythmic, warm. Life at the edge of land and sea.
05 Color Palettes
Exact hex values for each world
El Mundo de Abajo (A1–A2)
Forest, water, night, beginnings — "Nombrar el mundo"
El Mundo del Medio (B1–B2)
Community, memory, journey — "Contar lo vivido"
El Mundo de Arriba (C1–C2)
Stars, dreams, transformation — "Cuidar la palabra"
06 Technical Specifications
Formats, sizes, naming — non-negotiable requirements
File Formats Required
For every illustration, deliver these versions:
| Format |
Use Case |
Requirements |
| SVG |
UI elements, icons, patterns, borders, simple scene elements |
Vector format. Clean paths, no embedded rasters. Scalable to any size without quality loss. |
| PNG-24 |
Characters, complex scenes, overlays |
Transparent background (RGBA). Minimum 2048px on longest edge. 300 DPI. No white backgrounds. |
| Source file |
Future editing, animation, adaptation |
.ai, .psd, .procreate, or .kra — with all layers organized and named. |
Layer Organization
- Character body separate from background
- Facial expressions on separate layers (for potential animation)
- Special effects (glow, particles, mist) on separate layers
- Layer names in English or Spanish — consistent throughout
File Naming Convention
character-world-scene-variant.format
yaguara-abajo-familia-happy.png
yaguara-abajo-river-crouching.png
nakawe-abajo-horizon-serene.png
rio-abajo-leap-playful.png
ceiba-abajo-forest-night.png
colibri-medio-selva-flying.svg
condor-medio-andes-perched.png
delfin-medio-llanos-breaching.png
carey-medio-costa-swimming.png
silencio-gris-overlay-edge-01.png
sombra-yaguara-sitting-distorted.png
pattern-mola-selva-border.svg
pattern-wayuu-andes-border.svg
env-selva-panoramic.png
env-andes-mobile-portrait.png
ui-progress-seed.svg
ui-progress-tree-flowering.svg
fragment-01-river-awakening.png
What NOT to deliver
- No JPG files — we need transparency
- No flattened files — we need editable layers
- No white backgrounds — all character art must be on transparent
- No tiny source files — "300 DPI" means nothing if the canvas is only 500px wide. We need large pixel dimensions AND high DPI.
07 UI Elements
SVG only — the interface vocabulary of the game
Progress Indicator (6 stages = 6 language levels)
A living plant that grows as the student advances. NOT a progress bar. NOT numbered steps.
| Stage | Level | Visual |
|---|
| 1 | A1 | A seed in dark earth — potential, beginning |
| 2 | A2 | A small sprout breaking through soil — first growth |
| 3 | B1 | A sapling with a few leaves — finding form |
| 4 | B2 | A young tree with branches reaching — strength |
| 5 | C1 | A flowering tree — beauty, expression |
| 6 | C2 | A fruiting tree with roots visible underground — full cycle, giving back |
Navigation
- Navigation dots: Constellation pattern (not a linear row of circles). Stars that connect as you progress.
- Border frames: One per ecosystem, textile-inspired (mola, wayúu, vueltiao, filigree)
- Button shapes: Rounded, organic — leaf-shaped, stone-shaped, water-drop-shaped. No rectangles.
Skill Icons (5 core skills)
| Skill | Icon | Style Notes |
|---|
| Listening | Ear | Organic, with sound waves as concentric leaf-shapes |
| Speaking | Mouth | Stylized, with words flowing out as small birds or seeds |
| Reading | Eye | Jaguar eye with text/glyphs reflected in the iris |
| Writing | Hand | Hand (or paw) touching earth, leaving a mark/glyph |
| Culture | Heart | Heart shape formed by two rivers meeting, or two roots intertwining |
Story Fragment Collectibles
Small, detailed, precious illustrations — one unlocked per module. Like pages from a lost book.
- Approximately 20–30 needed for the full game
- Style: more painterly and detailed than the UI art
- Size: 800×800px minimum, square format
- Think: botanical illustration meets indigenous codex meets magical realism
08 Style References
Show these to the illustrator — this is the visual universe we live in
DO Reference
- Mola textile art (Kuna/Guna people) — layered color, bold organic shapes
- Pre-Columbian gold figures (Museo del Oro, Bogotá) — stylized animal forms
- Remedios Varo paintings — magical realism, organic forms, mystical light
- Hayao Miyazaki backgrounds (Princess Mononoke forest scenes) — living, breathing nature
- Shaun Tan (The Arrival) — wordless storytelling, atmospheric, emotional
- Charley Harper animal illustrations — stylized but zoologically accurate
- Carlos Jacanamijoy — Colombian artist, color, nature, indigenous perspective
DO NOT Reference
- Disney / Pixar animal character style — too commercial, too "cute"
- Anime / manga style — wrong visual language entirely
- Generic "fantasy game" aesthetic — no elves, no medieval, no dark-fantasy
- Photorealistic 3D renders — we want illustration, not simulation
- Clip art / flat corporate — no "startup illustration" style
- AI-generated imagery aesthetic — no Midjourney / DALL-E look
09 Suggested Delivery Schedule
Priority order — what we need first to start building
Phase 1 — Highest Priority
Yaguará character sheet
Turnaround (front, 3/4, side, back) + 6 expressions + 5 key poses. This is the foundation — everything else flows from her design.
Phase 2
The A1 Family: Nakawe, Río, Abuela Ceiba
These characters appear in the very first modules. Needed to build the opening experience.
Phase 3
Selva environment
Yaguará's home. Panoramic + portrait + 3 vignettes + mola pattern tile. This is where the game begins.
Phase 4
UI elements (full SVG set)
Progress indicator (6 stages), navigation constellation, border frames, button shapes, skill icons.
Phase 5
The Four Allies: Colibrí, Cóndor, Delfín, Tortuga
Each with their poses as specified. These populate Act II.
Phase 6
Remaining 3 environments: Andes, Llanos, Costa
Each with panoramic + portrait + vignettes + textile pattern tile.
Phase 7
El Silencio Gris + La Sombra de Yaguará
Overlay effects, desaturation textures, shadow silhouettes. For B2+ content.
Phase 8
Story fragment collectibles (20–30 pieces)
Square format, painterly style, botanical-codex-magical realism blend.
Phase 9
Los Antiguos — constellation / petroglyph figures
Dream-world characters for C1–C2. Luminous outlines, star-patterns, animated petroglyphs.
10 Rights & Usage
Settle this before any work begins
Important — Please Discuss Before Starting
- This is a free game monetized through advertising — this means commercial use. All artwork must be licensed for commercial use.
- We prefer work-for-hire or full license transfer — we need the right to use, modify, and distribute all artwork across web, mobile apps, and promotional materials.
- If royalty-based compensation is preferred, agree on exact terms before any work begins.
- The illustrator will be credited in the game (e.g., "Illustrations by [Name]") and in project documentation.
- Future adaptations (other languages, merchandise, print) should be covered in the agreement.