Playbook · Cozy / Wholesome / Life Sim
Cozy / Wholesome / Life Sim Steam capsule art: four directions from your own assets
Farming, crafting, life sim, relaxing, wholesome, cute.
Make my cozy / wholesome / life sim sheet
First sheet free. Paste a Steam link on the home page instead.
The four directions every cozy / wholesome / life sim sheet gets
One panel each, in this order, so the four are built to disagree: commercial, atmospheric, poster, and one swing.
Direction 1
Warm Illustrated Scene
Storybook cover: characters in their world, inviting.
- ·Main character or pet in a warm inviting scene
- ·Soft illustrated rendering with clear shapes
- ·Rounded friendly logo
- ·Golden or dappled light
Direction 2
Diorama World
The whole place as a charming miniature.
- ·Isometric or tilted-down view of the world
- ·Lots of readable little details but one focal cluster
- ·Title floats in sky or on a wooden sign
- ·Feels collectible and toy-like
Direction 3
Flat Graphic Poster
Modern pastel design poster with confident type.
- ·Bold flat shapes, two to four pastel colors
- ·Big rounded or friendly serif type as the main element
- ·Single iconic object or character
- ·Feels like a design studio made it
Direction 4
Intimate Close-Up Concept
The wildcard.
- ·Pick ONE: hands holding a warm mug, a pet asleep on a windowsill, a seasonal split (spring/winter), a table full of made things, a lantern in rain, a letter and a key, an overhead shot of a garden bed
What the art director is told
The playbook below is the actual guidance the model receives for cozy / wholesome / life sim games, minus your brief and assets.
Compositions that work
- Character left, logo right
- Isometric centered
- Object hero with big negative space
- Window frame vignette
Lighting
- Golden hour
- Soft overcast
- Warm interior lamp
- Dappled sunlight
- Lantern glow at dusk
Palettes, one per panel
- Harvest: warm cream, terracotta, sage, honey
- Pastel Morning: mint, blush, butter yellow, sky blue
- Twilight Cozy: deep plum, warm amber lights, soft pink
- Storybook: paper white, forest green, cherry red accent
Typography
- Rounded friendly sans
- Soft chunky serif
- Hand-lettered but clean
- Retro signage script used once
Typography to avoid
- Comic Sans energy
- Sharp aggressive type
- Outline-heavy 'game' fonts
- Illegible cursive
Texture that helps
- Paper grain
- Soft brush texture
- Risograph dots on poster concept
- Gentle vignette
Texture that hurts
- Dark grunge
- Noise
- Plastic 3D sheen
Never
- Dark or horror grading
- Aggressive contrast
- Clutter
- Generic blob characters
- Muddy colors
Your cozy / wholesome / life sim game, four ways, in about a minute.
Built from your own screenshots and logo. Sizes Steam actually uses. No key, no account for the first sheet.