Laura Vatovani

Illustrator | Pixel artist | Graphic designer | Digital concept developer

Hi, my name is Laura. Some of you might also know me under my artist name Sanaia.Welcome to my page.
Feel free to explore and if you have any questions, please reach out.


Who is Sanaia?

My little avatar online, she is a snowflake cat angel, who enjoys reading, drawing and playing games.
Often introverted but wishes to help anyone she meets.


The Sphere world

The place my avatar lives in is an original world created for her and my other original characters. It is as the name suggest sphere shaped and lies within a crystal ball.
What to know more? Visit the lore page.


Links and socials

© 2024 Laura Vatovani. All rights reserved.

Portfolio


Content

This portfolio includes personal works and projects done individually or in groups.
Some cases are from assignments we received during study, that we later presented to the companies or organizations as part of the project. All of those were group projects and my personal contributions are clearly stated.


Concept art


Pixel art


Graphic design projects

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Digital design projects

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Game art design projects

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Links and socials

© 2024 Laura Vatovani. All rights reserved.

Sanaia art and design

Sanaia art and design is a company I created to try myself at freelancing. As of 2024 it will cease to operate.For the company I created a logo incorporating a signature I have used for several years to sign my artworks. I created a round shape that would embrace it with a secondary circle which can be extended outwards.

Logo design

For my presence online I have also created an avatar, that would represent me and the company. Her name is Sanaia and she is a snowflake cat angel girl, with some features matching my own.

Mascot design

To get more views on my work I decided to try myself out at streaming on Twitch. I have created a pngtuber model I use instead of a live webcam.
I have also created assets for my stream, raging from overlays to alert animations to emotes and badges.

Stream assets

Another skill I have tried myself at has been animation. Like the alerts, I have created the below starting screen with an old style frame by frame animation.

© 2024 Laura Vatovani. All rights reserved.

Kitika, Vilma Vatovani s.p

Kitika is my mother's sole proprietorship company, she started a long time ago. After we expanded her business into the souvenir market for our country, we established the brand name Kitika for our lines.My role in the company was quite vast. I have created all of the print designs that we created merchandise for. Some where created exclusively for stores in certain Slovenian cities.Besides print designs, their file and order management, I was also responsible for textile and sublimation mug printing.

The logo

I created the logo for the company that represents the family run, home made, Slovenian products. The logo was also created with the main trade of the company in mind. They deal with printing and crafting, mainly sewing.


The mascot

Due to the company name being an iteration of the family pet a mascot was created in its image to represent the company.


Print designs

Children Slovenija designs


Lavender pillow designs


Ljubljana dragon designs

Children Ljubljana designs


Children Postojna designs


Postojna designs

Here are some examples of the designs printed on several differnt kinds of merchandise

Photographs of merchandise

During my employment I would also participate in purchases of material, coming up with new business ideas and what areas we could expand further, as well as coming up with new or update old design as well as adjusting current designs for new products.
Other graphic design tasks were to also create the design for our textile tags, business card, stand posters and more.

Other designs created for the company

© 2024 Laura Vatovani. All rights reserved.

Ink To Pixels I/S

Ink To Pixels was the company I did my first internship with. I was tasked with creating their company logo
which was an interesting experience as they needed it in a very short period of time.
Here is the documentation of my process of how I got to the end result.


Ideation

After the brief with my boss, I have gone to the drawing board and created a lot of variations and ideas I have gotten through my first week at work and seeing how they operate and what their values are.I had a lot of different directions I wanted to explore and see where the designs would take me.
I used keywords related to the company and its name and tried to visualize them within the logo mark.


First elimination round

After looking at all the options we had my boss and me talked over which ideas he was most satisfied with and added the company name to then, to see how the logos would work as a whole.We then had a meeting with everyone in the company and decided to talk and have a vote as to which logos they felt was the best at conveying what the company is and what they do.I will note here ideas 15 and 16 were created by my boss.


Further development

After the vote we had two designs that were left and I was now tasked to develop the logos further.I played around with the general ideas trying different approaches and styles.Both ideas were very different from each other so it was very challenging yet extremely interesting to see how things will end.


Fonts

With the logos being as limited it was time to also explore the font options. I took into consideration the brief and wishes from my bosses. I also tried fonts that would complement the logo marks and work well together.


New round of elimination

With the font exploration in progress it was time to reach a decision on which logo mark would be the final for the company logo. The end pick from my boss were 1 from each design.With that we had a company meeting to discuss the pick of the final logo mark, before I start working on the colours and the selection of the final font.


Font selection

The final pick was then developed a bit more to match my boss's vision of it.When that was complete it came time for the final font. My last pick where 9 different options with subtle variations.


Colours and final logo pick

I have alternatively received a colour palette to work with for the logo with some other pointers to consider.I tried different combinations and ultimately landed on two options, which were then put into a final logo pick.


Final logo

In the end we have ended the journey with a logo that was professional but still fun as they are a gaming studio.
The colours show their calm nature and the technology behind it, while giving a hit of adventure and luxury.

© 2024 Laura Vatovani. All rights reserved.

Musician To Musician

Part of a group study project I was tasked to create a logo for our app idea Musician to Musician.
Due to our limited time available it was a rather fast process, but we still didn't skip steps.


First drafts

For starters I put down some keywords I would use when creating ideas. I wanted to explore as many options as I could in the small time frame available.The first ideas were done on paper due to me being faster at sketching than using a program.After they were created we went over them with the group and selected which are the most solid ideas and best convey the name of the app and it's purpose.Musician to Musician was an app developed as an assignment in group formation. We decided to take the niche group of musicians and create an app where they could meet each other, create bands, look for members or look to join one.We also included possibilities of events be it sponsored by the app or those organized by users and wished to have a place to advertise.


Further development
and new selection

As we were 5 in the group each of us selected a logo we would like to see created and coloured for better representation.Some of the picks ended up with more variations when further explored.


Final logo

The final pick then received a full version with text and an app icon, which would be used in the app stores if developed and launched.

© 2024 Laura Vatovani. All rights reserved.

Editorial work examples

Here I am showcasing some Editorial work examples I have created throughout my study.
Please note we used existing real magazines for our study, but these were never published or pitched to the magazine itself.

Magazin covers and article pages

© 2024 Laura Vatovani. All rights reserved.

Brochure and flyer examples

Here I am showcasing some brochure, flyer and poster designs examples I have created throughout my study.
Please note we used existing real companies for our study, but these were never published or pitched to the respective company itself.

Brochures, flyers and posters

© 2024 Laura Vatovani. All rights reserved.

Kitty Girls collection - print patterns

I have always been fascinated by patterns on textile. The way different elements combined create this endless play of colours and shapes.I have always wanted to try and create such patterns myself as I was always intrigued as to how they make the designs sections fit into each other so seamlessly.


Kitty girls icons

The first ever pattern I have tried was created out of icons that represent 12 of my original characters.


Gallery

Photo mock-ups taken from Redbubble.


Valentina pattern

Pattern created based on my original character Valentina.I used her cat form and chocolates designs I created for her.


Gallery

Photo mock-ups taken from Redbubble.


Bianca pattern

Pattern created based on my original character Bianca.I used flowers and butterflies to create a nature assortment design.


Gallery

Photo mock-ups taken from Redbubble.


Winter warmth pattern

I really love winter and the old knitted sweaters with the winter themed ornaments and shapes.So I came up with a sequence I turned into phone and desktop wallpapers.


Gallery

Photo mock-ups taken from Redbubble.

© 2024 Laura Vatovani. All rights reserved.

Nova Zascita - mascot design

I was approached by the company Nova Zascita to create their mascot.The owner has seen my works and came in contact with me to request the mascot design.We had a meeting and discussed the details and what they were imagining and how I can provide my services to bring their vision to life.

Mascot and vinyl design

© 2024 Laura Vatovani. All rights reserved.

Book cover design

My cousin created a learning book for the Slovene language targeting children.
She asked me at first if she could use my artworks for the cover and I agreed.
Later on she called me asking to help as the cover the publisher created was not to her liking and they had a limited time to make a new one.I created 4 different options for her to choose from.

Book cover designs

© 2024 Laura Vatovani. All rights reserved.

Sanaia art and design - website bachelor project

For my bachelor project in the digital concept development education program, I decided to work in a group with a fellow student, to create a website with an integrated commissioning system for an artist needs, working with Sanaia art and design.

I was in charge of research, help with survey analysis, the first design ideas and lastly creating working prototypes for both desktop and mobile screens.

The whole design was created based on a survey we conducted at the start of the project as well as a few interviews.The design incorporated the current brand feel and assets. We wanted to show the artist's taste and style from the moment the person enters the website, to the moment they leave it.The website was divided into sub pages. We decided to create a page about the artist, a prices page, a commission page where orders are processed, a portfolio page that would hold extra examples, a contact page and lastly a tracking order page, where customers could track how far the artists is with their commission.

© 2024 Laura Vatovani. All rights reserved.

Kitika - website design

A future development design for Kitika, Vilma Vatovani s.p., a shop website to expand their souvenir business into the online setting. This was created as a prototype with AdobeXD

© 2024 Laura Vatovani. All rights reserved.

Valtech lunch - group study project

As part of our study assignment we worked with the company Valtech_ where they were searching for a solution to address their company's lunch.


The premise

They wanted a solution that would improve the employee experience, make sure there is enough food ordered for everyone as well as to deal with any excess food that would remain and as a result be thrown out.


My contribution

In the group my main task was creating the prototype. It was the first time working with Figma, but I soon caught the grasp of how it works and was able to create a quite accurate working prototype. Due to the programs limitations though I was not able to achieve everything I wanted.
I was also tasked with creating the file for the concept description and all the mock-ups used in it.


How it works


The details

We have really worked hard to create an app that was intuitive, worked well with the brand design wise and would approach a problem in several ways, hopefully making the difference the company was looking for.


© 2024 Laura Vatovani. All rights reserved.

Aalborg Kommune intranet - group study project

As part of our study assignment we worked in groups with Aalborg municipality to create a new intranet based on their employees needs.I later reworked the mobile version for my exam, to fit better with the research and data we have received and accumulated during our group project.

My presentation of the redesign

© 2024 Laura Vatovani. All rights reserved.

System under Surveillance - logo, UI, assets & advertisement

During my internship and final exam on my AP program Design, Business and Technology I worked with a start up studio on their first game called System Under Surveillance.
The game is a new type of adventure puzzle game with a threat system instead of the conventional heath point system.
S.U.S is currently available on Steam.


The logo

My first task for the game was to create its logo, where we decided to feature one of the main characters Turbo.


Custom font

While working on the logo I created a custom font that could also be used in game. It was an interesting experience and thought me a lot about font creation.


Character outfit design

While working on the new banner for the website, I was asked to make a new outfit design for the main character as they did not have a fully developed idea for his outfit and they wanted to see what I will come up with. Theme was futuristic casual and I received several references to use in my process.


Banners

Another part I worked on with S.U.S was their social media banners and the website banners at the time. I was later contacted to update one of the banners as the character design was readjusted before the official release.


Holo-tree design

I got to work on one element that was implemented in the game to break the concrete and buildings and make it feel a bit more like cities today, which was the holographic tree.
It was a challenging experience and for the task I had to learn some basic skills within the Godot engine, so I could test the model in the game environment while creating it.


Video clip of Holo-tree's implementation.


UI design

For my final exam right after the internship I was tasked with the creation of a new User Interface for the game. I created it using element already existing in the game design itself and incorporated it into the UI design.


Game menu

During my final exam I was also tasked with creating the main menu screen for the game. The idea was that the game would start by the player opening the comic on the desk in front of them.That idea was later scrapped, but I still want to include my work here.


Advertisement & more

I received a follow up request a year after my internship to help with the creation of a new thumbnail and advertisement background for the game to boost its sales on Steam.I was also asked to update the old website banner as they have adjusted the design of the main character.

© 2024 Laura Vatovani. All rights reserved.

Game graphic assets examples

I created these as a task for a job interview for a lead artist position on a pixel game.I worked on the character design, the walk cycle and environment assets (trees, grass, animals).

© 2024 Laura Vatovani. All rights reserved.

Card game - icons

I helped create icons for a card game that is still under development.
They are icons representing the races in the game and for energy cards.

© 2024 Laura Vatovani. All rights reserved.

About me

Hi!
I'm Laura Vatovani also known as Sanaia. I'm an illustrator and graphic designer, with a big love for fantasy and games. I have been drawing since a young age and pursued art throughout my whole life. I started digital art in 2011 with my first ever tablet learning to do anime style with it.
Today I work on a Xp-pen Artist 16 Pro 2nd gen screen tablet, using Clip studio paint as my main drawing program.
My design work is done within the Adobe CC and Affinity programs.
Education
I have completed the secondary school of design and photography in Ljubljana, Slovenia.
I have an AP degree in Graphic design from UCN in Denmark and a professional bachelor degree in Digital concept development from UCN as well.

Work experience

Sanaia art and design
Period: Aug 2021 - Dec 2023
My own company through which I conducted my freelance work, this includes custom illustration work and pixel art. See more
My tasks within the company were:
- illustrator, working on custom illustration commissions
- graphic designer, own brand development and outside work
- social media manager, creating new posts, engaging with my audience
- content creator, creating engaging posts, commission information posts
- web designer, creating and maintaining my own website
- marketing, to find new business opportunities


INK TO PIXELS - S.U.S:
Period: Jan 2021 - April 2021
I did my internship with the start up studio Ink to Pixels and helped with their game System Under Surveillance. I was in charge for creating graphic design in the company and game under the mentorship of one of the founders A. Nedelcu. See more
As an intern I was tasked to:
- created the company logo,
- create the game logo,
- create a holographic tree design to use in the game,
- create banners for social media and website,
- I volunteered to create a custom font for the game.
I was also familiarized with the game engine Godot in the process.After the internship I worked with them for my final exam creating a new UI design.


KITIKA - art&craft:
Period: Sep 2016 - Jan 2018
I have started a business with my mother, within the souvenir market in Slovenia. I was responsible for the designs and production and also help with sales.See more
I was specifically in charge of:
- generating ideas for the business,
- creating illustrations and designs for printing,
- preparing print files,
- communicating with our production partners (notebooks, postcards, etc),
- printing on different textile products and mugs (our own production),
- working in sales,
- providing customer service.


F. A. Q

When did you start drawing?
Since I can remember. My mom tells me stories of my drawing in kindergarten and other kids being around me looking.
I started digital drawing in 2011 when I got my first non screen tablet.
How did you learn to draw?
I went to school and learned traditional realism, while I'm self taught in digital anime style.

What program you use to draw?
I use Clip studio paint for my illustrations and I use Aseprite for my pixel drawings.
Do you take requests?
No at this time I do not take requests.
Do you do art trades?
I have not tried it yet, but if your skill level is the same as mine I'm willing to consider!

Links and socials

© 2024 Laura Vatovani. All rights reserved.

Sphere world

My original world that I created to house my original characters.

The lore

Guarded by a dragon outside and a high priestess inside, the Sphere world situated inside a crystal ball, that is nested on a stalagmite pedestal.
The light and day inside the sphere matched the daylight with the outside world. Through an opening just above it the sun would shine in every day and the other crystal shell would help disperse it around the inside world, creating an interesting and unique environment inside.

The parts of the world

Sphere world contains a lot of landmarks and unique places. It's a world where rocks are crystals, the grass is in different shades between a light green and orange colour. Often in the grass would grow purple and pink field flowers, with pink cottoncandy like clouds above them.Below you can explore the different parts of the sphere world.

© 2024 Laura Vatovani. All rights reserved.

Pixel gallery

Chibi characters

Pixel beans

Badges and other

© 2024 Laura Vatovani. All rights reserved.

Sanaia
the snowflake cat angel

First idea

Before Sanaia became who she is today, the first spark of the idea where actually her wings design.
All the way back in 2015 I was inspired by the wings in the MMO I was playing at the time and thought of "Oh what if there were wings with some feather that resemble a part of the snowflake." I have always had a love for winter and snow, and snowflakes have always been really fascinating to me. So small so perfect.
So I sketched this very rough idea of the wings and was met with the dilemma: "Well who is gonna wear them?"
And so the first drawing of Sanaia became a thing.

First design

Her design was based on my own appearance, from the hair style to the colour choices.
Her dress was designed simple with the theme of snowflakes in mind. The colour palette was also left very basic with only two colours: white and light blue.
Another detail here was that the wings would create dropping snowflakes and white feathers.


New character: Leopold

Based on my partner I created a new character with his help, to be Sanaia's love interest.
With a wish of being a dragon I created the first draft of Leopold with Sanaia.
Since he is based on my partner I likewise took his likeness to come up with the colour palette and outfit, with the special traits he has in real like translated onto his avatar of Leopold.With every subsequent drawing the exploration of their relationship and interaction was explored, to show their love in different ways within different situations.

Couple drawings

With the introduction of Leopold the creating of many couple drawings has happened, exploring different outfits, some based on real life, while others designed from scratch.


First reference sheet

In 2022 I finally decided it was time to create a reference sheet for my character, so I could use it when drawing my character.
One reason was consistency, another was that I just changed my hair colour and decided to do the change on my avatar design as well.
I also wasn't fully happy with all the current outfit designs so I created a new outfit set that could be drawn in different ways.
In the "Thank you banner" drawing I introduced a new colour to Sanaia's palette: a darker blue shade. This was utilized as an accent colour on the new design.


2023: the new look

Towards the end of 2023 I have finally made the decision to give streaming a chance. I decided since I have a very limited budget to create a pngtuber model, as I can create it myself.I brainstormed poses and how I wanted her to look. Since she has wings I wanted her to be floating in the air.
When researching pngtubers and programs to animate them, I noticed a lot of them had a 3/4 so I kept that design feature for my first pngtuber.
After the sketch was made I realized that I even though the pose was cute it looked as if she was sitting on something invisible. Since I really liked the pose despite that I created a cloud chair for her, so it would look like she's chilling and having a good time. This aligned very well with the general idea of how I wished my streams would be perceived.


All outfit designs

Since the creation of Sanaia, she's had many outfits designs over the years and with 2024 I decided to redraw all the outfits into one big compilation, to see my design choices and revisit old outfits that I to this day like.


The creation of the lore

With the use of my avatar for streaming came the realization: she needs a lore, a story about her life, about her past, her personality and so on.
At this time I have already created an original world: Sphere world, where all my original characters reside.
This was the perfect opportunity to give Sanaia a concrete role in the Sphere world. She became the divine guardian of the Sphere world. She works in tandem with the outer guardian a dragon she met once a year at the annual meeting to discuss the safety and security of the Sphere world.

© 2024 Laura Vatovani. All rights reserved.

Cloudkittens

Cloudkittens are live clouds shaped like cats. They come in 4 basic forms: cottoncandy, purple rain, thunder and snow.
They are born from the cloud tree at the top of the sphere world.

Main cloud cat Cottoncandy

Cottoncandy is the main cloud cat character and the oldest of them all. He is the best friend of the high priestess and always curious like a cat he follows here around the Sphere world while she performs her duties.They also like to play together when she has tine and cuddle together sometimes when she needs a nap.


cottoncandy and thunder

A cottoncandy is a the normal cloud kitten. She come in a light pink colour and is very tame and curious in nature.A thunder is a thundercloud kitten. He is a dark purple with lightnings shooting around his body. He is a goofball, a little mischievous but also clumsy.

purple rain and snow

A purple rain is a rain cloud kitten. She is a gorgeous purple colour, and while very timid and calm she likes to snuggle.A snow is a snow carrying cloud kitten. Sporting a sparkly snowy white colour, it is a very energetic creature that also likes snuggles.


© 2024 Laura Vatovani. All rights reserved.

Blueleaf forest

The blueleaf forest is an ancient forest in the Sphere world. It covers a big chunk of the land and houses a lot of different creatures and magical places.

The name of the forest comes from its trees who sport the distinctive blue leaf. It is said their colour comes from the reflection of the light that comes through the crystal, while other speculate it is actually from the crystal the roots come in touch with.In the night time the guardian dragon's shadow can be visible on the night sky as the crystal shell becomes a bit see through and reveals a night sky covered in fake stars.


In the 4 seasons

The tree grows its rich blue coat in spring where it depends during summer and as fall approaches the leaves start to turn violet, then purple, till they reach a striking magenta tone before falling to the ground and hibernating in winter.

© 2024 Laura Vatovani. All rights reserved.

Mushroom forest

Due to how the sphere world functions, its structure created the perfect conditions at the bottom for giant mushrooms to grow. With a massive Mother mushroom in the center the entire bottom part of the sphere world is covered in what they call a mushroom forest.

At first there was the Mother mushroom. And then with time more and more sprout emerged, morphed and now are the building block of the Mushroom forest on the south pole.
The lack of light and high humidity and moisture, created the perfect conditions for the mushrooms to grow. The floors are also layered in a giant carpet of extra soft moss, that would make a great bed for any adventurer.


Mother mushroom

The Mother mushroom is the first and biggest mushroom that grew at the bottom of the Sphere world. It is rumoured that it possesses a will and it is a sentient being, but no one has been able to confirm that.

© 2024 Laura Vatovani. All rights reserved.

Other landmarks

Other important landmarks from the sphere world.

Purple rain shrine

First of the four shrines to the cloudkittens, purple rain's shrine sits atop an island, which create a paw print shape together with the close by little islands.


Pond of life

A mysterious pond who's water can heal any would.A concept for a landmark within the blueleaf forest which I still intent to explore deeper.

© 2024 Laura Vatovani. All rights reserved.

Contact

Contact form

Links and socials

© 2024 Laura Vatovani. All rights reserved.