Cosmo · pixel v2
Five pixel-art directions in the locked Carbon / Paper / Signal palette. The v1 explorations (lavender / paper-cream / Fraunces brand context) are archived. Hero-scale plush still routes to the freelancer per ILLUSTRATOR_BRIEF.md — this exploration is the small-scale UI mark (favicon, sidebar avatar, status indicator).
Catalog
Five distinct silhouettes. Pebble is most reduced; module most explicit. Pebble + Signal integrates the brand accent as a single status pixel — that's the strongest cut by my read, but you pick.
Scale
Each character at native 16×16, plus 24 / 32 / 48 / 96 / 240 px renders. Designed at 16, holds at every larger size with crisp pixel edges (not antialiased). Below 16 px the character collapses — switch to the Signal block alone for favicons under 16.
Grounds matrix
Same SVG, four grounds. The Carbon outline disappears against Carbon; the Paper interior carries the silhouette. Each character behaves differently across grounds — pick one whose behaviors you like across all four.
In context
How each direction reads inside actual product chrome — sidebar avatar, status pill, browser tab favicon. Showing direction 04 · Pebble + Signal as the working candidate; swap by changing the SVG path in your editor of choice.
Skill ready
Fired 14:02
Eval running
Enact — Library
Build notes & what's open
Five directions to pick from before refinement. Once you pick, I tighten that one (asymmetry, refine eye placement, draw a few gesture states like the bible specifies — at-rest / listening / working / delivering / active-recall / sleeping — all in pixel form).
What works in all five
Each character renders cleanly on Paper, Mist, and Signal grounds. On Carbon the outline disappears (Carbon-on-Carbon), but the Paper-fill body and Carbon eyes stay visible — the silhouette inverts to a Paper-shape, which is acceptable but reads differently than on Paper. This is the trade-off of single-file SVGs that work across all grounds.
If you want the character to read identically on Paper and Carbon, we need two file variants per character (on-Paper canonical + on-Carbon inverse). Trivial to produce once a direction is picked.
What's deliberately missing
None of these have asymmetry yet — eyes are perfectly mirrored. The bible says "asymmetry encouraged — slightly tilted poses, off-center features, small imperfections." Refinement step adds: one eye drops one row, one foot tilts, a stitch line breaks a pixel. Wait until a direction is picked.
None have gesture states yet. The bible's six gestures (at rest, listening, working, delivering, active recall, sleeping) need pixel-art interpretations. Wait for direction lock; then build the six.
My read on the strongest cut
04 · Pebble + Signal. Reasons: the Signal pixel integrates the brand's accent as a single hand-applied detail (matches the bible's "made-by-hand" principle and the brand's "one Signal per surface" rule). The pebble silhouette is most reduced and survives every ground. The Signal dot doubles as a status indicator at favicon scale — so it earns its existence both on the character and as product chrome.
Runner-up: 02 · Pebble + feet. The feet add presence — Cosmo "stands" instead of floating — which fits "veteran-companion" register better than a disembodied blob. If you preferred the feet, I'd try a 4b variant: pebble + feet + Signal pixel.
What I want from you to lock
Pick a direction (or ask for a 4b variant — pebble + feet + Signal). Once locked, I do three things:
1. Refine asymmetry on the chosen direction · 2. Build the six gesture states · 3. Update ILLUSTRATOR_BRIEF.md to point the freelancer at the locked pixel direction as the small-scale reference (their hero plush should still be the larger-scale character, but having a pixel companion they can study makes their job easier).