Developer interview: Nik Scarr (Character artist🎨) | 'Below Deck' May 2025

Ahoy mateys, welcome Below Deck!

This month we’re chatting to an important member of the small Cass Bay Games team, character artist Nik Scarr! We’re excited to share a bit more about Nik and his awesome contribution to the game.

Nik has not only been responsible for the rendering of character sprites, but also the concepts and designs of many of the weird and wonderful characters in the game. He’s injecting so much personality Davy Jones’ Deckhand, and we’re blessed at Cass Bay Games to be constantly surprised by Nik’s inventiveness.

The interview

What’s one interesting fact about you from outside of game development/art?

I originally trained and worked as a structural engineer, which was a safe financial decision but was ultimately unsatisfying. I changed course and studied art and animation which so far has been a lot more creatively fulfilling.

What drives you as an artist?

I am always looking to improve my skills as an artist. There are a lot of very talented artists out there, and when I see the incredible work they are producing, it motivates me to work harder. I am a visual thinker and am inspired by all kinds of visual media including comics, anime, games, movies and TV shows. I plan on improving my skills to the point where I am able to produce my own games and animations to a very high standard, and anything that gets me closer to that reality is a step in the right direction.

What is some of the work you are most proud of?

My most recent personal project was a new 2D animation reel featuring a strange combination of characters including Waluigi, and Ellie from The Last of Us.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HM4L1IcnTPE

Another project I am very proud of is my 2D platform browser game “The Captain”, a project I made as an animation student in 2019.

Link to the itch page: https://nws92.itch.io/the-captain

What’s your ideal environment/conditions for doing your best work?

I am a serious introvert. I work from home on a desktop PC with a drawing tablet and two monitors. I like to listen to podcasts or music while working.

What drew you to Davy Jones’ Deckhand?

The art style that Ben and Tepene wanted to utilise for Davy Jones’ Deckhand was very much within my skillset, that is, 2D digital art in a cartoonish classic comic book style, with black outlines and simple colours. I also am a big fan of the pirate genre. I had been looking for opportunities to break into video game art, and this project felt like the perfect fit. It’s exciting to think about my art being featured in a great game that will be played by a lot of people.

What’s been your favorite work on Davy Jones’ Deckhand so far?

I have really enjoyed designing the enemies for DJD. I have been given a lot of creative freedom during this process which has been fantastic. I get to design characters of all different shapes and sizes, taking inspiration from all over the place. The Biologist and the Strongman are a couple of my personal favourites.

How did you get into doing art for games?

While studying animation we had a class that required us to make a simple browser game. I made a pixel art style platform game about an undead pirate called “The Captain”. This was unexpectedly one of my favourite student projects to work on, and it really stoked my interest in working on art for games.

What’s your advice for aspiring artists?

Anyone can do this. If you want to develop art skills you just have to put in the practice hours. For me, the most effective way to practise is by working on long projects that have a clear end goal, so that every time I work on them, I am practising the skills I want to improve, just by default. I stay motivated by picturing the finished product. For example, as a hobby I really enjoy drawing comics, which can take weeks or months to complete, but the only way to finish them is by doing hundreds of drawings.
Pick a project that interests you, and then just do your best to finish it to the best of your abilities. Ideas are cheap, what matters is execution. There is tremendous value in finishing a project, even if no one sees it. This will train your brain to believe that you can get anything done if you put the time in. Also, the more projects you finish, the more likely it is that you will produce a body of work that will be seen and enjoyed by prospective clients and employers.

A sneak peek at our first cinematic cutscene

To just stay on the Nik train a little while longer, we’re going to give you a sneak peek at our first cinematic cut scene. Nik has been storyboarding the game’s introductory scene that sees our carefree protagonist's naval ambitions dashed by a brutal pirate attack—launching players straight into the tutorial, armed with nothing but a mop!

Another playtest on the horizon?!

We are working towards yet another playtest very soon! This time we’ll be running it through Steam and even include Steam achievements. If you’ve already signed up for playtesting you’ll get an email with a Steam key once we are ready. If you haven’t signed up yet and would like to, you can do so here: Playtest sign up form

The new playtest will include achievements, new status effects, several new artefacts and enemies, and some lovely polish and quality of life improvements.

Join the crew!

If you'd like more regular updates and to chat with the team then please join our public Discord server, we'd love to have you join our growing community. You can also follow us on social media at the links below.

Discord invite: https://t.co/sBqCnmZi9T

Previous editions of 'Below Deck' can be found on our Itch Devlog.

Playtester sign ups: Fill out this form to access the playtest

Until next time me hearties, yo ho!

Wishlist now: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3544900/Davy_Jones_Deckhand/