ABOUT JOSENYLSON

Josenylson is a Brawl Stars fan artist from Brazil who discovered the game in 2020. He was drawn in by its simple but fun gameplay and the strong connection between developers and the community, especially in Brazil. He creates fan art because he enjoys inventing his own characters and ideas, and because Brawl Stars’ cartoonish art direction matches his own style.

He does not consider himself self-taught: he regularly takes courses and seeks feedback from professional artists, including people who have worked with Supercell. His workflow follows an industry-like process - briefing, thumbnails, sketch, color sketch, flats, and render - usually taking 2–3 weeks. His most challenging project was the Bad Randoms piece, made with help from Flav, one of the original Good Randoms artists. He prefers working alone but values maturity in teamwork.

His most important feedback has come from established industry artists, often about reducing environmental contrast so the main character reads clearly. Developers once accidentally used his Toyland prop design as official artwork; the situation was resolved with Dani, who compensated him. Josenylson encourages artists to love the process, focus on portfolio quality over likes, and keep studying art fundamentals. His future plans include continued mentorship, practice, and possibly a YouTube channel about Brawl Stars art.

INTERVIEW

Q: Hi Josenylson! Tell us a little about yourself: how long ago did you learn about Brawl Stars, and what still keeps you in the community?

Josenylson: I discovered Brawl Stars in 2020. I'm not an OG player, but the game's simple yet fun gameplay completely won me over.
I think what keeps me in the community is the connection between the developers and the players. It gives me a strong sense of belonging, especially because I'm from Brazil, which has a huge Brawl Stars player base and receives a lot of attention from the devs.

Q: At what point did you start making various creative works about Brawl Stars?

Josenylson: I started creating Brawl Stars fan art for two reasons. First, I really enjoyed imagining my own additions to games and cartoons: my own characters, my own artwork, and my own ideas. I've always enjoyed creating things, even more than playing games themselves.
The second reason is that Brawl's art direction is very similar to the drawing style I already had before discovering the game. I've always drawn in a more cartoonish and toy-like style, so it was an instant match for me.

Q: What helps you make such crazy works? Are you a self-taught artist?

Josenylson: What helps me create my work, besides having good ideas, is getting professional feedback from artists who have already reached the level I want to achieve. I frequently take courses and ask for feedback from artists who have worked for Supercell to understand which direction I should take with my projects.
This also leads into the next question: I'm not a self-taught artist, mainly because I don't believe that pure self-teaching actually exists. You'll always need materials provided by teachers and mentors, such as books, videos, classes, feedback, workshops, and tutorials. I think all of these things "break" the concept of learning something entirely on your own. I don't believe that exists, so I wouldn't consider myself self-taught.

Q: Have you tried expanding and making similar works not only about Brawl Stars but also about other games by the company?

Josenylson: I really enjoy mobile games in general, and I try not to limit myself to games from a single company. However, my relationship with art is much more focused on building a portfolio for professional work than treating it as just a hobby.
If I knew that, for some reason, I wouldn't be able to work with Brawl Stars, I would have absolutely no problem focusing on any other game I enjoyed more. For now, everything is going well, so my interests are focused on a single game at the moment.

Q: Tell us about the creation of one of your medium-sized works. How does it all start, and how much time does it take from start to finish?

Josenylson: I've spent some time developing a step-by-step workflow for my projects, very similar to the one used in the game industry:
Briefing (description of the idea and references) → Thumbnails (quick composition explorations) → Sketch (refining the idea) → Color Sketch (rough painting of the sketch) → Flats (separating elements for rendering) → Render (final polishing and adding effects).
This is the process I've been using the most lately, and it's the one that tends to give me the most efficient final results. It usually takes around 2 to 3 weeks.

Q: Tell us about your most difficult work that you have made - what was difficult about it, and was it intended for someone?

Josenylson: My most challenging project was definitely the Bad Randoms project. The idea was to create my own reinterpretation of the official Good Randoms loading screen artwork, but featuring the Bad Randoms instead.
The biggest challenge wasn't related to colors, perspective, or anything like that. It was simply having the patience to keep polishing a very large image with multiple characters until it reached the same quality level as an official piece. I don't think I quite managed to achieve that hahaha, but it was a valuable study.
I also have a special appreciation for this piece because I received help from Flav, who was one of the artists responsible for the original Good Randoms artwork in the game. Without him, I definitely wouldn't have been able to bring the image to the quality level it has today.

Q: What do you prefer more: making a work on your own or collaborating with someone?

Josenylson: Definitely working alone. I don't completely dismiss teamwork, and when necessary, it's extremely important to have the maturity to listen to other people. However, whenever I have the opportunity to work on something independently, that's what I choose.
I feel like my creative side works better when I organize my ideas in my own way. I'm leaving the collaborative side of things for professional work only :)

Q: You have many beautiful loading screen concepts! What was the strongest feedback you received from the community, and have the developers noticed your works?

Josenylson: Thank you! I've never really received significant feedback from the non-artistic community. My most important feedback has come from established professional artists in the industry, such as SulaMoon, Marco Alvares, Ivo Campelo, Flaviano Pivoto, Roberta Paz, and a bunch of people from the Alla Primes community. I'm definitely very grateful to all of them.
Most of the feedback I used to receive was about excessive contrast in the environment. When it comes to mobile games, the artwork, and especially the main character, needs to be easily readable. That's why they would always recommend removing more details from the surrounding areas to draw more attention to what actually matters.
This can seem quite contradictory to less experienced artists: how can an artwork become better by having fewer details? Well, that's the reason hahaha.

And yes, developers have noticed my work before, and they've even used it in the game because they thought it was official artwork! Absolutely crazy.
Before the new Trophy Road was introduced, I had developed a personal environment art project for the Toyland environment. One of the props I designed for that environment was a little red character resembling a puzzle piece.
When the new Trophy Road arrived some time later, the icon representing Toyland on the Trophy Road featured the exact same character I had designed. I was absolutely confused when I saw it.
Some time later, I messaged Dani so we could sort out the situation. He revealed that one of the game's UI designers had accidentally used my design because they thought it was official Supercell artwork. We both found the situation quite unusual, but he congratulated me on the technical quality and compensated me for the equivalent of what had been used.

Q: What do you think distinguishes you from other artists?

Josenylson: It's difficult to talk about this without sounding like I'm bragging, and I really don't want to give that impression. But I rarely see other artists trying to create complete Brawl Stars illustrations while also studying the fundamental principles of art.
I'm not someone who studies religiously or follows a strict routine, but I see many artists trying to create artwork resembling Brawl Stars loading screens or promotional illustrations without getting very far simply because they don't understand basic illustration principles, such as contrast relationships.
Everything I've studied so far has helped me tremendously in achieving the results I produce today, and there's a very clear difference between my work before and after I started studying art fundamentals.
Trust me, it makes a difference.

Q: Do you have a creative dream that you are striving for?

Josenylson: Creative dream... That's a difficult one. As someone who loves art, there are so many goals I want to achieve hahaha. But one of them is finding my own personal art style: the art I create for myself, rather than for Supercell.

Q: What do you think a beginner artist should focus on to reach a high level?

Josenylson: If you don't intend to work in art professionally, learn to love the process of creating art, not the likes and followers. If you care more about likes and followers than the art itself, you're not an artist, you're an influencer.
If you're planning to enter the art industry, the mindset is quite similar. Spend less time on social media, stop scrolling so much, and focus more on improving the quality of your work. Likes and follower counts won't get you a job, your portfolio will.
For a beginner artist to reach a high level, there's no secret: immerse yourself more in the artistic community, practice more, and constantly ask for feedback. Comparing yourself to professionals and asking yourself what's missing from your own work is a great exercise. However, it won't be a quick process.

Q: What qualities should a good artist have?

Josenylson: Basic soft skills already put you ahead of a lot of people: clear communication, punctuality, being open-minded when receiving feedback, questioning your own decisions, feeling comfortable asking questions, not imposing your personal preferences over your clients' needs, and not disappearing in the middle of a project are all great starting points.
Basically, don't be a jerk.

Q: How do you plan to continue delighting and surprising your audience?

Josenylson: I don't think too much about my audience. The purpose of my artwork is always to raise the quality of my portfolio. If my audience enjoys it, that's a bonus!

Q: What are your future plans? What do you plan to do next?

Josenylson: My future plans are simple: I'll keep practicing, keep listening to more experienced people above all, spend a few more months doing mentorships and studying, and keep going until the opportunity I'm waiting for finally comes along.
Aside from that, I have some plans to create a YouTube channel talking about Brawl Stars art. I have absolutely no experience with video creation or management, so that's something for the distant future!
But it's something I eventually want to do. I love the idea of documenting my journey and contributing a little of what I know to other people who are just starting out, because I know how useful that would have been for me :)

Josenylson’s social networks and links

If you’d like to see more from Josenylson, you can follow him on his official social medias:

X (Twitter) - (x.com/josenylsonseraf)

Instagram - (www.instagram.com/josenylsonserafim/)

Artstation - (www.artstation.com/josenylsonserafim)