Womenize! – Inspiring Stories is our weekly series featuring inspirational individuals from games and tech. For this edition we talked to Nadja Clauberg, 2D Game Artist at Studio Fizbin. Nadja speaks about her creative process, and the contrasts between freelancing and full-time studio work. She also addresses the importance of design theory, networking, and tailoring portfolios to specific goals. Read more about Nadja here:
Hi Nadja! Can you walk us through a typical day as a 2D artist at Studio Fizbin? How do you manage your creative workflow, and how do you collaborate with other team members to bring a project to life? Additionally, you‘ve been both a freelancer and a full-time artist. How do these two roles differ for you, and what have you learned from each experience?

My workday always begins with a daily team meeting that includes all departments. This routine helps align everyone on the current progress and sets a clear focus for the day ahead. After that, I dive into my tasks, which we plan out in advance during regular meetings. Having a solid plan means I can often get started right away, but I’ve learned that asking questions if something is unclear is still essential. Early in my career, I was worried about asking “too many questions”, but in a good working environment, communication should be encouraged.

Especially as a 2D and concept artist, you often rely on input from other departments, like game design or narrative, so avoiding misunderstandings through clear communication is key. After all, as a game artist, you’re visualizing the ideas of many people and bringing them to life. This communication is even more crucial because Studio Fizbin operates remotely without a central office. The studio has found effective ways to keep us all connected, like the daily meetings I mentioned earlier. From my own experience of co-founding a previous company, I know how important good project management is, even in smaller teams – it might feel like extra work at first, but it definitely pays off. In the art department at Studio Fizbin, collaboration is another important part of our process. We try to constantly exchange feedback with each other (“Peer reviewing”) and use tools like Miro for brainstorming. That collaborative element is something I particularly enjoy about working in a team compared to freelancing: the opportunity to learn from others. Another key difference is that as a freelancer, I often worked only on the early stages of projects, like creating initial concepts. Working at a studio allows you to see projects through to completion, which is an entirely different and interesting process. It also gains more insight into other departments. Freelancing, on the other hand, involves a lot of administrative work – like handling invoices, taxes, and insurance – which means you spend much less time actually drawing than you might expect. For newcomers to the industry, I’d probably recommend gaining experience in a team before freelancing. I actually did the opposite myself, and would change that if I could. But of course, freelancing does have its perks. I loved the variety of working on multiple projects and adapting to different styles, which broadened my artistic range. I also appreciated the independence of choosing where and when to work, like sitting in a cafe with my iPad. However, one crucial lesson I’ve learned in my career, not only as an artist in the games industry, but also as an illustrator for different kinds of media, is that being a professional artist isn’t about self-expression. You’re primarily a designer, working to fulfill a vision rather than creating for yourself. I think people who primarily like to express themselves in their art should consider that. For this reason, I always try to make time for personal art, even if it can feel draining after a day of work. But to me it’s important to keep my hobby and the reason I started as an artist alive. After all, most people in the industry pursuing that professional path did because drawing was their hobby from a young age. To me, it’s important to stay connected to that passion.

Every artist has their own unique approach to starting a project. Can you share how you typically begin your creative process when working on a new game or concept? Do you have any rituals or specific techniques that help you get into the right mindset for creating?

I do have a few techniques, though they might not seem particularly special, haha! When starting a new project or designing a character, my priority is always the conceptual phase. Design isn’t just about drawing – it’s about thinking. I often create mind maps (in a notebook, not digitally) or similar brainstorming tools to generate ideas visually. In my experience, the ideas that come later in this process and are born from associative thinking and combining ideas, tend to be more unique than the first ones, so I put a lot of emphasis on this theoretical stage. When designing a character, for example, I try to answer key questions “who, what, where, when, why” to fully understand and “feel” the character and their context. I think of this as an “emotion and function-based” approach to design. I do this before collecting any visual references, creating mood boards and starting to sketch out rough ideas.

To get into the flow, I like to do warm-up sketches before work. Just as you warm up your body before exercise, I find it helps to prepare both the creative mind and the physical act of drawing. If I ever feel stuck, I take a break. Whether it’s a walk or simply stepping away from my workspace, a short pause helps me return with fresh eyes, making it easier to spot mistakes, often also having gained new ideas during the break.

I also rely on audio to keep me focused and get into the flow (maybe I just can’t handle quietness.) Sadly, I can only listen to instrumental music such as lofi for the thinking process and design decisions, so basically during the whole concept phase, because otherwise I would get distracted too much.
But when I’m doing repetitive tasks like coloring or rendering, I like listening to music with lyrics, audio books, podcasts and YouTube videos.
Speaking of distractions, I also like having a tidy workspace to be able to think! I am actually glad that I have to keep it clean because of that.

In your teaching role, what is one piece of advice you always give to your students, and what do you believe is the most important skill for an artist breaking into the game industry?

Funnily, most of what I emphasize on as a teacher, I already mentioned earlier in the previous questions.

I always stress the importance of the theoretical side of design before diving into drawing. My students might find it tedious at first, but reflecting on the process is crucial to creating thoughtful, effective designs.

In our program, we also encourage students to network as early as possible. The game art field is highly competitive, and building connections can help a lot. Fortunately, Hamburg has a thriving indie game scene with many social events, making it easier for students to meet other industry members. Even if you don’t have these options, having a social portfolio where you showcase your work online is important as well! I actually use Instagram for that.

One specific tip I often give is to tailor your portfolio to your goals. If you’re targeting a particular studio, create pieces that reflect their style. If you’re unsure or aiming for versatility, focus on showcasing the style you’re most comfortable with and passionate about. Ideally, studios will hire you for your unique style! However, demonstrating that you can adapt to different styles or fulfill different roles (such as UI, 3D…) is especially valuable in small indie productions.

Thanks for this interview, Nadja!

Nadja’s links: LinkedIn

Womenize! – Inspiring Stories Feature by Madeleine Egger