Illustrator for a calm, gamified math-learning app — build our world

Illustrator for a calm, gamified math-learning app — build our world Fixed-price starter project, with strong potential for ongoing work. About us We're Sabaki Courses, building a mobile app that makes high-school mathematics feel like a calm, rewarding journey — think the craft of Duolingo, but quieter and more grown-up, for teenagers. Product and screens are designed; we need an illustrator to bring the world to life. The concept you'd be illustrating Each chapter is a winding road the student travels. The signature idea: the world grows as you understand it. A chapter starts barren and comes to life in five stages as the student learns: barren land → greenery → flowers → a small settlement (lamps, cottage, bridge) → culture & art. There's no character/mascot — the environment carries the personality. Progress and celebration are shown through the world itself and through light: lanterns lighting along the road, a landscape blooming, warm light and gentle fireworks at key moments. Creative direction (important) "Calm but alive." Warm, inviting, and quietly beautiful — not an energetic arcade game, not childish. Restraint over stimulation. Palette: deep navy + beige/cream, muted natural greens, with warm gold as the "light" accent. Low saturation. Please avoid neon, heavy purples, and visual noise. Motion (if you do it): gentle — a bloom, a lantern lighting, soft fireworks — never confetti bursts. Reference feel: the serenity of Alto's Odyssey and Monument Valley, the nature-as-progress of Forest, the grown-up elegance of Brilliant. Inspired by, not copied. Build it as a reusable system — the same road structure repeats every chapter, and the growth "grammar" should later re-skin into other worlds (a city, an underwater reef). We'll share a detailed direction doc and rough stage sketches. Starter project (fixed price) One themed world — "Nature" — across its 5 growth stages (barren → greenery → flowers → settlement → culture). The hero deliverable: the same road coming to life. The road & node art — the path and node states (locked / active / mastered), plus the stone lanterns that light up. A set of celebration / light effects — lantern-lighting, a blooming moment, gentle fireworks, warm-light overlays for key milestones. A few key UI illustrations — e.g. a welcome/hero screen, a celebration screen, an empty state, and a small set of icons/badges in the same style. (Bonus, if it's your strength) 1–2 simple Lottie animations of the celebration moments. Deliverables & formats Editable vector source (Figma preferred, or Illustrator / SVG). PNG exports at @1x/@2x/@3x for mobile. Lottie JSON for any animations. Clean, named, reusable layers/components. To apply, please include Your portfolio — especially illustrated worlds / environments / landscapes (and any motion work). 2–3 samples most relevant to this calm, nature-led style. Your fixed price for the starter scope above, and an estimated timeline. One line on how you'd approach building it as a reusable, re-skinnable set. Budget & timeline Fixed-price starter project — please quote based on the scope above Strong work leads directly to ongoing work: the additional themed worlds (city, reef), the full map, more effects, and the rest of the app's illustration. We'll share our screen designs, the growth-stage sketches, and a brand/direction document with the selected freelancers.