CONCEPT DESIGN, SOUND DESIGN, MUSIC, GAMES DESIGN, POETRY, CREATIVE WRITING, WORLD BUILDING AND PHOTOGRAPHY
charlie watts
(or september)
i'm a brisbane based character and concept design artist, author, photographer and game maker. i specialise in horror content and queer media.
BACHELOR OF ANIMATION 2025 (STUDENT)
BACHELOR OF GAMES DESIGN 2026 (STUDENT)
art and games design
focus on concept and development
2024 GRIFFITH GRADUATE FILM
BACKGROUND AND PROP ARTIST, FINAL RENDERS, MUSIC CONSULTANT AND SOUND TECHNICIAN
elephant
an animation i was part of as a final film in the bachelor of animation 2024 cohort at griffith university.
this film explores a story about dementia, using a metaphysical elephant as a visual representation of the characters memory.
this film is within the magical realism genre, and is in a 2D painterly style.
sound work in collaboration with vanessa lorensia atmodjo (@vanlo._) and alvin agung (@shardoak)
music consulting for the compositions done by marcus henville (@marcy_melon)
ENVIRONMENTAL AND PROP WORK
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sketches and style examples
sketches and style examples ahead, my passions align with tradition art using ink and copic markers, and horror work.
TRADITIONAL SKETCHES
LIFE DRAWING WORK
STORYBOARDING
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background art
background art in multiple different styles, my passions align with horror and using atmospheric perspective.in multiple styles including pixel art and traditional work with markers.
CONCEPTS FOR A HORROR ESCAPE ROOM (TEXT BASED VERSION AVAILABLE HERE)
ENVIRONMENT WORK FOR GRADUATE FILM ELEPHANT (2024)
MISCELANEOUS TRADITIONAL ART
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prop design
prop designs in multiple different styles, my passions align with strong linework and, in contrast, lineless painterly styles.in multiple styles including realism, semi-realism and traditional ink-based graphic novel style.
SCULPTURE CONCEPTS FOR GREECE-INSPIRED OPEN WORLD GAME
SWORD AND KNIFE CONCEPTS FOR THE ABOVE GAME
GUN IDEAS FOR RADIOACTIVE WASTELAND CONCEPT
PROP WORK FOR GRADUATE FILM ELEPHANT (2024)
MISCELANEOUS PROP DESIGNS
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character design
character designs in multiple different styles, my passions align with strong linework and using black to create contrast.in multiple styles including pixel art, strong contrast and linework and black and white based styles.
CONCEPTS FOR A POST APOCALYPSE RADIOACTIVE WASTELAND BOUNTY HUNTER
CONCEPTS FOR A GOREY HORROR STORY ABOUT DEATH AND THEIR APPRENTICE
CONCEPTS FOR AN '80'S INSPIRED ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE SET DURING A ROLLER DERBY AROUND THE LONDON PUNK SCENE
CONCEPTS FOR A COMEDIA-DEL-ARTE INSPIRED STEAMPUNK CIRCUS
PLATYPUS CHARACTER CONCEPT FOR A CYBERPUNK BRISBANE
MISCELANEOUS CHARACTER DESIGNS
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rendered final pieces
final art renders in multiple different styles, my passions align with colour contrast and world building through visuals.in multiple styles including harsh contrast ink-inspired work, painterly semi-realism and comic-book inspired cartoon work.
CONCEPT FOR A RADIOACTIVE BOUNTY HUNTER CONTROLLED WORLD
CONCEPTS FOR A MEDUSA INSPIRED OPEN-WORLD VIDEO GAME ABOUT ARCHEOLOGY AND WOMANHOOD
CONCEPTS FOR A CYBERPUNK BRISBANE-BASED WORLD
MISCELANEOUS RENDERS
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photography
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creative writing
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music and sound design
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WHO IS CHARLIE?
about me
twenty-one year old creative, based in brisbane and interested in horror and queer media.attended queensland academy for creative industries with a focus on theatre and music (2020), studied a certificate III of visual arts (photography) at tafe (2021), currently studying bachelor of animation (2025) and bachelor of games design and production (2026) at griffith university.
published work in:elephant (2024) - animationsensory: life on the spectrum: an autistic comics anthology by andrews mcmeel publishing (2022)
nominee for the will eisner comic industry awards under best anthology - comicsthe home issue by g r a p e f r u i t s o u p (2020) - poetryissue III: skin by ang(st) (2020) - poetrysolidarity issue zine by the lady garden publications (2020) - poetrychanges by robot with anxiety (2018) - music
charlie watts: experiences and education
a resume
freelance poet
2018 - CURRENT
i am a freelance poet, focussed on horror poetry, and am recognised within three zine publishings in 2020 and as part of a comics anthology in 2022 (more information on my published work in my about me section).skills - poetry and creative writing, social media management
freelance photographer
2018 - CURRENT
i am a freelance photographer, focussed on cosplay with some experience in concert photography, and have become recognisable within the cosplay space.skills - photography, time management, team communication, social media management
teaching assistant - code camp
2021
i was a teaching assistant during a code-teaching holiday camp for middle-schoolers.skills - coding (css, html, javascript), working with children
teachers aide - western suburbs special school
2020
i was a voluntary teachers aide at western suburbs special school, mainly working within the drama classes, of all ages.skills - working with children
radio host - 4ZZZ
2019 - 2020
i was a radio announcer and producer for the radio program "teenagers with opinions", a program i started and ran with my co-host jo on monday nights at seven. this show was live online and was focussed around young peoples opinions on the music industry. i also worked as the social media manager for the show.skills - radio hosting, time management, social media management
DIGITAL RADIO BROADCAST SPECIALIST CERTIFICATION FROM 4ZZZ ISSUED APRIL 2019
music composer and pianist - studio oracle
2015 - 2019
i was the main instrumental composer and pianist for the musical theatre studio, studio oracle, until the company shut down due to internal issues and the covid pandemic.skills - music composition, piano, team collaboration
bachelor of games design and production (art direction) - griffith university
2026 COHORT
i am going to be studying a bachelor of games design and production at griffith university, as of 2025, and am participating in game jam in november 2024.skills - games design, coding (unity, twine), game development, studying
bachelor of animation (art direction) - griffith university
2025 cohort
i am currently studying a bachelor of animation at griffith university, and have participated in a final graduate film (elephant (2024)), as well as being the treasurer of the griffith theatrical society in 2023, and participated in the campus consultancy leadership training by john farr in 2023.skills - art direction, animation, studying
certificate III in visual arts (photography) - TAFE
2021 COHORT
i previously studied a certificate in visual arts with a focus on photography in 2021. this taught me how to work with a photography studio including lighting set ups and shooting in manual mode, as well as working with physical film photography and how to edit different types of photos.skills - photography, lighting, editing, studying
queensland academy of creative industries
2020 COHORT
i previously studied at the queensland academy of creative industries (QACI) for my high school diploma, where i studied the international bacheloreate (IB). my high level subjects were theatre, music and english. i also learnt spanish here, which i can still speak at an intermediate level.during my schooling here i learnt the following:
suzuki training, viewpoints training, physical theatre, ritual theatre, absurdism, butoh, balinese topeng dance, post-dramatic theatre and epic theatre, within the theatre classwithin the music classes, i specialised in singing and piano, with an interest in composition and jazz, i also played saxophone and ukelele in my spare timeas well as this, i was part of the media team and the school musicalskills - theatrical arts, music composition and instrumentals, spanish, studying
Charlie Watts - Personal Portfolio 2025
Bachelor of Games Design and Production, cohort of 2026
Below the Surface
First Draft of Background 1 - Dark Version
This was the first draft of the style of the game, which falls into a storybook-type style, akin to a graphic novel or interactive picture book, but with a darker intent.
First Draft of Background 1 - Saturated Version
By using saturation to show importance of objects over specific colours, this makes the game a lot more accessible, as does highlighting over important objects, both useful for players with low vision or colour-blindness. This saturated concept is what the lighting of the game will look like. By making the lighting a seperate layer rather than in-system reliant, it allows more control over the look of the lighting.
Final Draft of Background 1 - Dark Version
In the final iteration of the environment, I focussed on a visually appealing and engaging initial environment, that was also able to utilise the parallax scrolling method to create depth. After an initial thumbnail, we decided on five layers to showcase the depth of the work without needing to implement 3D elements. The dark backgrounds were monochromatic blues and muted specifically, to show the darkness, as contrast to the saturation that comes from when the lights are used (such as the player’s lantern or internal areas of the map like stores and inner town. This is to show contrast visually between the darkness and light, as well as create a sense of lifelessness within the light itself.
Final Draft of Background 1 - Saturated Version
The initial visual style was sketchier, but we decided on a finer linework to make the world easier to process, especially with the multiple moving parts. We also further used atmospheric perspective to emphasize depth. These colour choices also emphasize the ideas of fear in the narrative, and the feelings of the unknown.
Greybox Version of Background 1
Main Character Turnaround
The use fantastical and quirky creatures is a contrast with the human-style visuals of other detective games one may see. Due to this, I also decided to use the concepts of both a plague doctor and a heron to both use a sense of uncanniness to the character as well as utilising masks as a signifier of the main protagonist. They are also a neutral protagonist, with an unspecified race and somewhat unspecified gender (evidently uses he / him in game but design-wise is gender neutral) as this not only makes the world feel less human, but also allows more people to enjoy it without having to play as another typical white male protagonist.
Main Character Profile (with and without Lantern)
Breakdown of Colour Choices for Further Elaboration
Object Orthographics
I purposefully designed all of the objects in a similar, neutral yet warm, colour palette - not only to make it easier for the player to know which objects are interactable, but also to interlink with the saturated lighting of the game, notably with the lantern, thus making a more universal colour palette in regards to interactivity.