Friday, November 14, 2025

Your Class Rep: Redrawing My Main Character for a New Era of the Project

Your Class Rep: Redrawing My Main Character for a New Era of the Project


Every project has at least one character who quietly becomes “the one”, and for Your Class Rep, that character has always been Michael Lawson.

This week, I finally sat down to redraw him. It didn’t go exactly as planned, but I think you'll enjoy walking through the process with me...

He was the very first kid I ever designed in pixel art for the game — tall, confident, full of energy, laughs and smiles! And as you can see, he’s rocking a suit and an afro too. Some people have compared him to me... but I'm not sure I see the resemblance. I can assure you there are no smiles here guys!

I thought this looked cool, ha!

Michael's early sprite was one of my favorite things I’d drawn at the time. But as the art for the rest of the project grew more polished and expressive, Michael started to feel a little out of sync with the newer designs.

Where We Started

Where we started

The original version of Michael has a lot of charm, but he no longer matched the overall look I’ve been building recently, especially after updating Naomi’s design. My first plan was simple: “Just tweak the head and hair a bit.”

That… is not what happened.

Tweaking the Head at First

Starting with the head

I went in intending to only adjust the afro shape and facial proportions. But once I got started, I realized the problem wasn’t just the head. The silhouette needed to be clearer, and Michael needed that same smoothness and softer edges the newer art direction uses.

It didn’t take long to realize I’d need to rethink the whole pose.

Updating the Body to Match the New Style


Once I committed to reworking the sprite, I focused on giving him a cleaner stance and softer edges. I drew the hand giving a thumbs up separately because there was a lot of guess-and-check involved in finding a combination of the four shades of gray that would read clearly. I planned to attach the arm afterward so I could really dial in the posing.

Getting Closer


This version is closer, but not quite there. Two things stood out:

  • The hand on the hip looked a little more feminine than what I envisioned for Michael.

  • He felt stockier than intended. Michael is supposed to be tall, slim, and a little lanky in that middle-school-growth-spurt kind of way.

Time for another round of refinements.

I kept adjusting the proportions, experimenting with arm placement, and trying to bring that “optimistic, energetic leader” vibe through in a simple sprite.

And then…

Landing on the Final Look (For Now)


Here’s where we landed. I may come back and tweak a few small things later, but this version finally feels like Michael — updated, cleaner, and fully in line with the newer art style.

A Few Intentional Details I Want to Call Out

• The highwater pants
Michael is a middle schooler who just hit a growth spurt. His pants shouldn’t fit quite right. It’s a tiny detail most people won’t notice unless they read this blog, but it was fun to include.

• “Always ties”
Someone pointed out that the card ability is “always ties,” and Michael always wears a tie. And without thinking I realized… so do I. Yeah… yeah I totally intended that!

• The smile
Michael is meant to be fun-loving, high-energy, and genuinely compassionate. The smile is a big part of who he is. Getting that expression into a tiny pixel-art face was tricky, but it felt non-negotiable.

• His overall energy
He’s a leader, but not in a bossy or overbearing way. More like the kid everyone roots for. I tried to get that across through his posture and gesture in the final pose.

How to Follow the Project

If you want to stay connected and watch Middle School Class Rep come to life, here are the best places to follow along:

Whether you love art, game design, or just the nostalgia of old-school manuals, I’d love to have you along for the journey.

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