Rhys Hayden – Digital Illustration & Game Art Design

Corporate & Book illustration | 2D Concept Art • Character Design • Diegetic props & items • UI art [HUD & menus]

I am Rhys Hayden a London based Digital Illustrator and 2D Game Artist, with frequent stays in Basel, Switzerland.

Shaped by the contrast between London’s energy and Switzerland’s quieter rhythms, my work blends atmosphere with character-driven storytelling.

Interested in my Game Design?

Checkout my current project: Ino’s Odyssey – a queerfriendly space adventure visual novel on Rhycicle.studio (external link).

Kinetic artworks – visiting the Tinguely Museum in Basel

February 20, 2026

In the last week of my study trip to Switzerland, I visited the Tinguely Museum in Basel. One reason was…
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Portfolio

A curated selection of my projects, experiments, and finished pieces #noAI #humanArtist #handmade

pride_2025 — Pride 2025
A digital semi-realistic artwork featuring visible chalk linework and expressive brushstrokes.

Sofa Gang
A collection of my original characters in a painterly style. Robin, Freja, Dot, and Arden. ➡️ also see my redraw project

Redraw Study 2024
An evolution of skill and style throughout the years.

Peabis The Perky and Goo Paduu
Capturing the dynamic duo from a DnD campaign. The Elf wizard wielding arcane power, and a steadfast dwarf cleric.

spooky_animation — Last Stop
A Halloween themed animation. Designed to set a spooky tone with it’s audio and visuals.

Merchants of the high seas
Original characters in a fantasy world, set in the Golden Age of Piracy.

Flush
Original characters Freyja and Dot pause for a toilet selfie.

Oraxidus corp
A new point and click Sci-fi adventure game in the works. Featuring the main protagonist Ino Anda on a dystopian terminal.

Beans
A cel-shaded, slice-of-life interior vignette—muted room tones punctured by pop-poster chroma, with diegetic clutter and a languid feline adding narrative subtext.

The Dragon Of Icespire Peak camapign
Depiction of a DnD Party, in a cel-shaded style. OCs Jyan, Grigi, Gruul and Pazuzu.

Season's Greetings! — Season’s Greetings!
A piece that captures the warmth of the winter holidays, featuring OC Arden.

Abandonment
A dimly lit decaying room. This was created as a background for a visual novel, designed to enhance mood and narrative immersion.

Journey start
The interior of a moving train, It was created to set the tone for transitional scenes in a visual novel.

Nocturnal Platform
A dimly lit train platform at night, evoking solitude. Environmental artwork for a visual novel.

Group Stats
First three residents – Arden, Taylor and Dot – of Port Periwinkle, an experimental visual novel project.

Spooky Dot
A Halloween themed digitally painted portrait of OC Dot.

The Deep
Taking a unique take on Mermay. Replicating the lights of a deep sea camera with hidden shapes in the background.

The 50's experience... 3050's — The 50’s experience… 3050’s
Inspired by the late 90’s game *The Feeble Files.*

Feeling crabby
A close up look of OC Crabby the crab character.

eggs
A playful stick-figure sketch of a chicken defying nature—proudly laying a perfectly square egg.

I create clear, engaging visuals that tell stories — from instructional graphics and educational materials for companies, to expressive characters and environments for games, and captivating illustrations for books.
My work combines design, storytelling, and emotion to bring your ideas to life.

Rhys Hayden – Digital Illustration & Game Art Design

Interested in my Game Design?

Kinetic artworks – visiting the Tinguely Museum in Basel

Portfolio

Like what I make? Help me keep creating.