When I first set out to design Willow, our goblin lover from Minions of the Dragon, in Dragon's End... I thought it was going to be a simple task. After all, I already had a free baseline goblin sprite. Of course, though, it was a male goblin. "No problem," I told myself, "just tweak it a little to make it look female." Easier said than done.

What I quickly discovered is that small details make a huge difference when it comes to character design. I couldn’t just slap long hair on the male goblin and call it a day. I had to think about proportions, and also the fact that her clothes can't be "sexy" because she's at work... and of course the fact this game is PG13.

The biggest challenge was walking the fine line between creating a recognizable female character and avoiding over-exaggeration. I didn’t want Willow to fall into a cartoony or stereotypical look; she needed to feel like a genuine goblin who just happened to be female. Adjusting the face and muscles were especially tricky: subtle changes in her arms and jawline completely shifted her vibe, sometimes making her look too human, other times not distinct enough.

On top of that, I’m not really an artist. I was working with pixel art edits, experimenting with shading and outlines, and I lost count of how many times I scrapped a version because it just didn’t feel right. A single misplaced pixel could make her look like she was scowling instead of smiling.

But after lots of trial and error, Willow finally started to come to life. Giving her a slightly softer face, blonde hair, and just the right muscular tweaks made her feel authentic — someone who belongs in the weapon and armor shop, ready to see her adventurer children off and share how proud she is.

This was one of those unexpected challenges that reminded me game development isn’t just about coding or mechanics. Even tiny details, like making a goblin sprite look right, can take hours of creative problem-solving. And honestly? I’m really proud of how Willow turned out.