Dean Wilson
@playtonicdean.bsky.social
Art director and 10 year veteran at Playtonic. Previously 10 years at Rare. Passion for graphics and fine art. Not bad cook, I met Arnie once….
Found a couple of old Kameo 2 concepts/level models I did back in 2007, found in an old box, nicely printed onto A4 before the internet existed, probably.
November 21, 2025 at 11:02 AM
Found a couple of old Kameo 2 concepts/level models I did back in 2007, found in an old box, nicely printed onto A4 before the internet existed, probably.
For anyone interested in painting or fine art, I decided to make my first video ‘how to’ on photorealistic oil painting which is a bit of a hobby of mine when I’m not noodling in bats and lizards…
www.instagram.com/reel/DQO_l73...
www.instagram.com/reel/DQO_l73...
Login • Instagram
Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.
www.instagram.com
October 25, 2025 at 3:49 PM
For anyone interested in painting or fine art, I decided to make my first video ‘how to’ on photorealistic oil painting which is a bit of a hobby of mine when I’m not noodling in bats and lizards…
www.instagram.com/reel/DQO_l73...
www.instagram.com/reel/DQO_l73...
As it’s #sonicthehedgehog ‘s birthday today, seems like a good time to shamelessly plug a little oil painting I did recently. Who needs AI when you’ve got oil, pigments and canvases ;)
June 23, 2025 at 7:17 PM
As it’s #sonicthehedgehog ‘s birthday today, seems like a good time to shamelessly plug a little oil painting I did recently. Who needs AI when you’ve got oil, pigments and canvases ;)
Yo! in a sad turn of events this past 2 weeks, Playtonic lost a number of talented individuals across various disciplines. If any of my contacts/Rare alumni in senior/hiring positions around the globe have space for eager and gifted talent in 3D art,production,design,UI or narrative let me know.
May 29, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Yo! in a sad turn of events this past 2 weeks, Playtonic lost a number of talented individuals across various disciplines. If any of my contacts/Rare alumni in senior/hiring positions around the globe have space for eager and gifted talent in 3D art,production,design,UI or narrative let me know.
Reposted by Dean Wilson
Hi to all you lovely new followers (and old) 👋🏼. Whilst I dig through my files to dig up interesting yooka Laylee tidbits from the past in the run up to #yookareplaylee, please enjoy the weirdest crap that I’ve ever actually been paid to do….
m.youtube.com/watch?v=Yzw2...
m.youtube.com/watch?v=Yzw2...
Trowzer Sales Pitch ASMR
YouTube video by Playtonic
m.youtube.com
January 17, 2025 at 8:17 PM
Hi to all you lovely new followers (and old) 👋🏼. Whilst I dig through my files to dig up interesting yooka Laylee tidbits from the past in the run up to #yookareplaylee, please enjoy the weirdest crap that I’ve ever actually been paid to do….
m.youtube.com/watch?v=Yzw2...
m.youtube.com/watch?v=Yzw2...
With the (going to be…) amazing #yookareplaylee on the horizon, here’s a peak at how the spangly new key art came about. As with everything in #gamedev, things go through process, with only the final iterations being what the players usually see. Anyway, here’s a few early sketch ideas…
November 22, 2024 at 11:50 PM
With the (going to be…) amazing #yookareplaylee on the horizon, here’s a peak at how the spangly new key art came about. As with everything in #gamedev, things go through process, with only the final iterations being what the players usually see. Anyway, here’s a few early sketch ideas…
Happy Friday folks. Sooth your eyes from the Vendi hoodie debacle with a couple of not-seen-before early concepts of impossible lair’s overworld :)
November 22, 2024 at 6:54 PM
Happy Friday folks. Sooth your eyes from the Vendi hoodie debacle with a couple of not-seen-before early concepts of impossible lair’s overworld :)
Quick hi to new followers 🙋🏻♂️. I’ve dug up loads of old #YookaLaylee development trivia and images that no one’s seen before. I’ll post some, to whet your appetites for the wonderful #yookareplaylee next year. A lots happened on the journey to get here…
November 10, 2024 at 6:56 PM
Quick hi to new followers 🙋🏻♂️. I’ve dug up loads of old #YookaLaylee development trivia and images that no one’s seen before. I’ll post some, to whet your appetites for the wonderful #yookareplaylee next year. A lots happened on the journey to get here…
For anyone interested in painting and fine art, I dabble in a bit of oil painting from time to time. Here’s a shameless plug of my insta page. I’m currently trying to paint my #sonic #lego. Turns out Lego is hard to draw :)
www.instagram.com/deanwilsonar...
www.instagram.com/deanwilsonar...
November 7, 2024 at 8:30 PM
For anyone interested in painting and fine art, I dabble in a bit of oil painting from time to time. Here’s a shameless plug of my insta page. I’m currently trying to paint my #sonic #lego. Turns out Lego is hard to draw :)
www.instagram.com/deanwilsonar...
www.instagram.com/deanwilsonar...
Reposted by Dean Wilson
Hello folks, I'd like to do a bit of community building here!
Who'd be interested in, and interested in being on, a "Playtonic Community Fan Art" Starter Pack?
I'd like to support and promote the incredible folks making beautiful art from our worlds! 🫶
Who'd be interested in, and interested in being on, a "Playtonic Community Fan Art" Starter Pack?
I'd like to support and promote the incredible folks making beautiful art from our worlds! 🫶
November 7, 2024 at 10:36 AM
Hello folks, I'd like to do a bit of community building here!
Who'd be interested in, and interested in being on, a "Playtonic Community Fan Art" Starter Pack?
I'd like to support and promote the incredible folks making beautiful art from our worlds! 🫶
Who'd be interested in, and interested in being on, a "Playtonic Community Fan Art" Starter Pack?
I'd like to support and promote the incredible folks making beautiful art from our worlds! 🫶
More unseen bits from the history of #yookalaylee. Unused concept art from the #impossiblelair. Originally we toyed with the idea of 2d versions of the original levels. I was keen to explore more of Galleon Galaxy’s junk aesthetic by having a rusty junk planet. Maybe in future ;)
November 5, 2024 at 7:24 PM
More unseen bits from the history of #yookalaylee. Unused concept art from the #impossiblelair. Originally we toyed with the idea of 2d versions of the original levels. I was keen to explore more of Galleon Galaxy’s junk aesthetic by having a rusty junk planet. Maybe in future ;)
More lost stuff from the archives of #yookalaylee. Here’s the key art from Impossible Lair and how it started out. Trust the process 💚💜
November 4, 2024 at 6:31 PM
More lost stuff from the archives of #yookalaylee. Here’s the key art from Impossible Lair and how it started out. Trust the process 💚💜
Little surprise here but felt like posting - back in 2020 I caught up with Steve Ellis and David Doak whome I’d worked with in the past.Before Free Rad was reformed they asked me to knock up some pre-vis for the sadly cancelled Timesplitters 4. Thought I’d share these before they’re lost to time x
November 3, 2024 at 8:01 PM
Little surprise here but felt like posting - back in 2020 I caught up with Steve Ellis and David Doak whome I’d worked with in the past.Before Free Rad was reformed they asked me to knock up some pre-vis for the sadly cancelled Timesplitters 4. Thought I’d share these before they’re lost to time x
Going through some old pics and found my entry into the 2020 Playtonic Easter egg decorating competition. ‘Yooka-LayMe’. I was young and foolish at the time…..
November 3, 2024 at 1:06 PM
Going through some old pics and found my entry into the 2020 Playtonic Easter egg decorating competition. ‘Yooka-LayMe’. I was young and foolish at the time…..
Some more original #yookalaylee cutting room floor pics from tribalstack tropics. The level was still half whitebox at this point. Toyed with some sunset lighting, image of the minion arena with a totem (plus red gates) and a 3D skybox, which I had to remove as it tanked the framerate ;)
October 27, 2024 at 4:33 PM
Some more original #yookalaylee cutting room floor pics from tribalstack tropics. The level was still half whitebox at this point. Toyed with some sunset lighting, image of the minion arena with a totem (plus red gates) and a 3D skybox, which I had to remove as it tanked the framerate ;)
Taster of how this is shaping up…plenty more nice things to come that you’re probably not expecting too…
Beaming after watching this #YookaReplaylee vid by @antdude.bsky.social!
We are working hard to make Replaylee a true delight 🩷
youtu.be/oDGOi6NDxrQ?...
We are working hard to make Replaylee a true delight 🩷
youtu.be/oDGOi6NDxrQ?...
I Got to Play Yooka-Replaylee Early!
YouTube video by AntDude Plus
youtu.be
October 27, 2024 at 1:30 PM
Taster of how this is shaping up…plenty more nice things to come that you’re probably not expecting too…
Some more very early, first art pass WIPS of ‘Galleon Galaxy’ from way back. You can see some of the whitebox designer areas in the distance. At some point there was going to be a ‘skull island’, but we ran out of time. I think this was Clara’s head with a rock texture slapped on… #yookareplaylee
October 27, 2024 at 10:04 AM
Some more very early, first art pass WIPS of ‘Galleon Galaxy’ from way back. You can see some of the whitebox designer areas in the distance. At some point there was going to be a ‘skull island’, but we ran out of time. I think this was Clara’s head with a rock texture slapped on… #yookareplaylee
Ok, one last ‘never seen before’ dive into the history of #Yookalaylee, for today
Here’s Galleon Galaxy as a day-lit mars-like barren wasteland. This was about 1 day into its first art pass. My old mantra was ‘make the rocks and grass first and figure out the cool theme after’. It normally works 😬
Here’s Galleon Galaxy as a day-lit mars-like barren wasteland. This was about 1 day into its first art pass. My old mantra was ‘make the rocks and grass first and figure out the cool theme after’. It normally works 😬
October 26, 2024 at 9:36 PM
Ok, one last ‘never seen before’ dive into the history of #Yookalaylee, for today
Here’s Galleon Galaxy as a day-lit mars-like barren wasteland. This was about 1 day into its first art pass. My old mantra was ‘make the rocks and grass first and figure out the cool theme after’. It normally works 😬
Here’s Galleon Galaxy as a day-lit mars-like barren wasteland. This was about 1 day into its first art pass. My old mantra was ‘make the rocks and grass first and figure out the cool theme after’. It normally works 😬
Another possibly interesting Glitterglaze Glacier fact - I loosely based the palace on a level I made for Kameo II around 10 years prior. The ‘Sanctum of the Kings’ level now only exists on this A4 printout (and possibly a server somewhere…). However it spiritually lives on in YL and YR….
October 26, 2024 at 9:10 PM
Another possibly interesting Glitterglaze Glacier fact - I loosely based the palace on a level I made for Kameo II around 10 years prior. The ‘Sanctum of the Kings’ level now only exists on this A4 printout (and possibly a server somewhere…). However it spiritually lives on in YL and YR….
I’ll start with these from around December 2015…. Glitterglaze Glacier around 3 days into development. I originally toyed with the idea of having giant prehistoric bones everywhere. Here are some test model shots. Never made the cut in the end ;)
October 26, 2024 at 9:06 PM
I’ll start with these from around December 2015…. Glitterglaze Glacier around 3 days into development. I originally toyed with the idea of having giant prehistoric bones everywhere. Here are some test model shots. Never made the cut in the end ;)
Hi! 👋🏼 Thought I’d migrate to here as Twitters gone a bit bonkers. Maybe I’ll start by posting (old) random Yooka Laylee stuff that some may find interesting… especially with the lovely #yookareplaylee on the horizon…
October 26, 2024 at 9:00 PM
Hi! 👋🏼 Thought I’d migrate to here as Twitters gone a bit bonkers. Maybe I’ll start by posting (old) random Yooka Laylee stuff that some may find interesting… especially with the lovely #yookareplaylee on the horizon…