Isometric City Illustration for a Real-Time AI System

Isometric City Illustration for a Real-Time AI System Project Overview

We are building a real-time AI operating system (Elixir/Phoenix) — and instead of dashboards, we visualize the entire system as a living isometric city.

This is not just decoration.

Every building represents a real, running subsystem Data flows through the city in real time The city “breathes” based on system activity

Your role is to create the definitive visual reference artwork that our PixiJS renderer will follow.

Think:

SimCity meets a live AI system — where every building has a real job

What Makes This Unique

This is not a generic city illustration.

You are deg:

A functional metaphor for a complex AI system A visual language that will define the entire product A scene that must feel alive, purposeful, and reactive

The final artwork will directly influence:

real-time animations (light trails, activity glow) system visualization inside a production application future UI/UX design decisions The City Concept

The city is built on a 30 × 30 isometric grid, divided into four distinct districts:

District Overview District Mood Description Stadtmitte (City Centre) Warm, active, welcoming User-facing AI services Hafen / Logistik (Harbour) Industrial, efficient System infrastructure & data flow Sicherheitsviertel (Security) Controlled, serious Security & system health Cortex-Hügel (Cortex Hill) Futuristic, dominant Central AI brain Buildings (24 total)

Each building is a 1:1 representation of a real subsystem.

Examples:

Postamt (Post Office) → Email ingestion system Wohnzimmer (Living Room) → Chat system Börse (Stock Exchange) → Autonomous trading Kraftwerk (Power Plant) → AI model inference (GPU/LLMs)

Buildings must be recognizable real-world structures, not abstract shapes Each should visually hint at its function and activity level

Living Data Flows

The city is connected by animated data flows:

Light trails moving between buildings Energy intensity reflects system load Flows must feel logical and believable

Examples:

Chat → Memory & knowledge

Your layout must support these connections naturally

infrastructure Layout

The city includes:

Two main roads (crossing at center) A diagonal river dividing north/south Three bridges District-specific parks/green zones Sidewalks throughout

Layout clarity is critical — this is used for real-time rendering

Visual Style Core Direction Isometric 2:1 projection (SimCity-style) Clean, optimistic, high-tech Functional — not abstract, not dystopian Color Language

Each district has a distinct tone:

City Centre: warm, civic (#FFF8E7) Harbour: cool industrial (#E7F0FF) Security: subtle alert tones (#FFE7E7) Cortex: deep purple, slightly bioluminescent (#F0E7FF)

Accents:

Electric cyan Neon green Amber LEDs (used sparingly for activity) Key Requirement

The city must look like it actually works

Not: static illustration

But: alive reactive purposeful

Deliverables Required Final illustration Full city view (bird’s-eye isometric) Minimum 6000px width High enough detail for zoom & slicing Layered source file PSD / AI / Affinity Clean, structured layers: buildings (each named) roads river districts parks Layout guide Which building is where District boundaries Road & bridge structure Optional (nice-to-have) Individual building sprites for use in renderer Workflow

We work iteratively and fast:

Layout sketch grid, districts, roads, river Color & lighting concept Full detail pass all 24 buildings Final polish glow hints, readability, atmosphere

Feedback is fast (same-day)

Context (for better understanding)

This illustration is part of a larger system:

AI backend: ~900k lines of code Live system metrics: visualized in real time Multiple visual layers: outdoor city (this project) indoor agent office (pixel-art) 3D interactive environment

Your work defines the visual identity of the system

What We’re Looking For Strong portfolio in: isometric illustration city / architecture / game environments Ability to work with: structured, layered files UI-integrated visuals (readable at different zoom levels) Tools: Photoshop / Illustrator / Affinity / Procreate / Clip Studio To Apply

Please send:

2–3 relevant portfolio examples your preferred tool estimated timeline for a project of this scope Final Note

This is not a one-off illustration.

This is the foundation of a product’s visual language

We are looking for someone who wants to build something unique and memorable, not just “another city scene”. Budget: EUR 250–750 Skills: Graphic Design, Photoshop, Illustrator, Animation, Illustration, 3D Modelling, 2D Animation, 2D Game Art, Visual Design, 3D Illustration