My name is Shihan (Alicia) Zhou, and I am a Game Artist whose work is powered by a multidisciplinary foundation in animation, cinematic directing, and engine-side implementation, allowing me to build immersive, production-ready narrative worlds.
Divine Agent: Meet the Gonjis
Full-Pipeline Visual Authorship Showreel
Role: 2D Game Artist & Independent Game Developer
Tools: Unreal Engine 5, Blueprints, Photoshop, Aseprite
Timeline: July 2025 - Dec 2025
Environmental Storytelling
Lore-Driven Design Content
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This project is inspired by the industrial landscape of my upbringing in Shenyang, a manufacturing city in China. My goal was to architect an original IP that juxtaposes the “solemn, harsh steel” of industrial frameworks with the organic,c spontaneous biology seen in influences like Scavengers Reign.
In this world, tEnvironmental Storytelling is the narrative. I designed the “Gonjis,” spirits of imagination, to reflect a state of self-destruction following systemic labor exploitation. To reflect this narrative loss of control, I designed Reactive Environment Assets that communicate their own entropy. Instead of a traditional combat-driven aesthetic, the conflict emerges from the environment itself as tiles randomly transition into Bespoke Destruction Sequences.
Gonji
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Gonji 〰️
Benoit
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Benoit 〰️
World Composition & Tilemap Production
Synthesizing industrial motifs with surreal spiritual biology
I developed an integrated 2D Production Pipeline, utilizing Aesprite for character/prop design and Unreal Engine 5 for world composition.
I established a Dual-Layered Feedback Loop where animation and UI design function together to drive player engagement. I used bespoke destruction sequences for every tile type to Visually Telegraph Navigational Shifts, while a customized HUD provides real-time clarity to ammo expenditure. Together, these systems provide a holistic Visual Guidance system: the in-world animations alert the player to structural hazards, while the HUD incentivizes strategic decision-making, motivating the player to dynamically adapt their behavior based on visual cues.
I chose a 2D pixel art style to distinguish Gonji’s imaginative world from the human-ruled real world. While the human-ruled reality is anchored in 3D Industrial Brutalism, this 2D Space represents Gonji’s Imagination, liberated from human control. Upon entering, the 3D harsh reality flips into 2D joy, transitioning from a solemn structure into a vibrant interior. To reinforce this juxtaposition, I utilized Non-Traditional Color Zoning, favoring surreal spirit-realm palettes over natural landscapes. This ensures environmental readability while communicating a dual identity: a recognizable industrial site that functions simultaneously as a dynamic spiritual realm. Every asset was designed to incentivize a restorative player experience: guiding the viewer away from the cold reality of exploitation toward a vibrant, wonder-world of restoration.
Technical Art & Asset Implementation
Visual State Management:
Developed a modular event-driven system in UE5 to manage transitions between different sprite states.
Dynamic UI/UX Hookup:
Scripted the logic to sync HUD elements with dynamic gameplay values (such as ammo count and repair quota), ensuring clear visual communication of player progress.
Asset Optimization:
Implemented performance-conscious logic by disabling CPU ticks on idle objects, allowing the world to feature higher density, 2D environment art without runtime lag.
Visual Development: The Expanded Divine Agent IP
My design language utilizes Industrial Brutalism to represent a world of rapid technological growth and the rigid, human disregard for faith in favor of absolute rationality. In contrast, the Zen-minimalist elements embody the spiritual essence, meditative yet inherently uncontrollable.
Pre-Production Style Targets & Architectural Studies
While the 2D Gonji world represents a stylized realm of imagination, the following Photoshop works establish the visual for Slabmonk, a metropolis defined by the tense coexistence of humans and spirits in Divine Agent.
When A Dream Comes True
Festival Selected 2D Hand-Drawn Animation
Utilized traditional 2D hand-drawn technique to master Frame-by-Frame Timing and Character Performance. This foundation allows me to create Fluid, Responsive Character Sprites and “action states” (Walk/Attack/Damage) that provide clear, punchy visual feedback within a game loop. Additionally, I used After Effects to prep and composite assets, a skill directly applicable to VFX sprite creation and 2D cinematic Implementation.
Role: Director & 2D Animator
Tools: Procreate Dreams, After Effects, Premiere Pro
Timeline: Dec 2023
Role: Visual Development & Lighting Artist
Tools: Unity
Timeline: Dec 2023
Floating Coffin
Atmospheric LookDev & Visual Staging
Leveraged Unity as Visual Development tools for establishing world-depth and perspective. By blocking out scenes in 3D, I was able to test Lighting Gradients and Camera-Pacing for early-stage LookDev. This multidisciplinary workflow allows me to author complex 2D Environments with Correct Atmospheric Perspective and Parallax Layers, ensuring the final 2D scene feels three-dimensional and immersive.
Fine Art Gallery
My Oil Painting practice focuses on traditional Color Theory and Texture, informing my digital painting techniques in Photoshop. My Cinematic Photography explores real-world Lighting, Framing, and Value Contrast, providing the technical references for building grounded, immersive game environments.
Wizards
Cinematic Art Direction & Visual Staging
Served as the Visual Lead for a story-driven 16-minute production, establishing the Art Direction, Color Palette, and Environmental Mood.
I communicated the project's 'Visual Language' through Detailed Storyboards and Blocking Diagrams, ensuring that camera composition and spatial layout guided the viewer's eye through key narrative beats. This role required intense Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration across lighting and camera departments to maintain visual consistency under strict budget and schedule constraints—a workflow that directly mirrors a high-fidelity game art pipeline.
Role: Director, Camera Assistant, Co-Editor & Co-Producer
Tools: Adobe Premiere Pro, Blackmagic Camera, Procreate Dreams
Timeline: Aug - Dec 2024
Level Designer
I am a Multidisciplinary 2D Artist with a unique perspective born at the intersection of Analytical Logic and Cinematic Drama. With a background in Economics and Film, I treat World Building as a holistic ecosystem—where a world’s visual identity is anchored by its internal rules and historical logic.
My artistic foundation is rooted in the traditional mastery of oil painting and photography, which I leverage to bring a sophisticated understanding of Light, Color, and Composition to digital environments. From directing a festival-selected 2D hand-drawn animation to authoring the full 2D asset pipeline of my independent game, Divine Agent, my work focuses on Visual Narrative—ensuring every character, prop, and sprite communicates a specific narrative tone.
Currently Obssessed With:
Game: Outer Wilds
Film: The Fall
Book: Higher than the Mountains (In Chinese)
Activities: Surfing & Climbing
