Pixel Artist & Combat Animator — 16-32-bit Social+Combat Game

We're building a 16-to-32-bit social + combat pixel game that extends a professional-grade music hardware device launching on Kickstarter in early 2027. Looking for a pixel artist with real combat animation experience to join us long-term. About the project wav! world is a persistent online space where players hang out, share music creations, unlock items, customize characters, and engage in side-scrolling combat with musical-instrument-inspired weapons — microphone nunchucks, guitar that swings and shoots notes, violin + bow archery, percussion mallets, and more. Aesthetic direction is industrial, hip-hop, dystopian — grimy near-future with the swagger of underground music culture. Castle Crashers structural feel, styled darker and grounded in modern-day America. Full reference deck sent to shortlisted candidates. What we're looking for Real, shipped experience in: Combat animation with weight, timing, and impact Pixel-art character animation (walk cycles, attack sequences, hit reactions) Character customization systems that work alongside combat animation (layered sprites, LPC-style rigs, or your own approach — this is a real design problem we need help solving) Long-term collaboration — this role scales with the project post-Kickstarter Test task We'll send a reference deck + character sprites. Produce: A walk cycle for one character A combat animation with a musical-instrument weapon Not shipping-quality — a solid test that shows how you approach combat feel. Paid; you quote the rate in your proposal. On budget — straight up Most of our current funds are dedicated to the hardware Kickstarter launch, which is where our runway sits until the campaign runs. We're shopping quotes right now to find someone we can go long-term with. If we match on price for the test task, the door is wide open for characters, items, accessories, and animation across the whole project. That's the real scope, not the test. To apply, please include: Your quote for the test task above Links to previous combat / character animation work One-paragraph opinion on how you'd solve the customization + combat animation challenge (layered sprites, split catalog, combat uniforms, other?) What excites you about pixel-art game animation Serious applicants only. If you have shipped combat animation work at a professional level, let's talk.