Bringing character to Themify with animator Thom Mack

I first met Thom (one of my closest friends now) several years ago in a draw.io room set up by a friend. He had just sketched out a drawing of Toad from Mario with long human legs in fishnets and high heels. Almost as soon as he had drawn it, he had erased it and moved on to the next sketch. At that moment I knew, someday, I wanted to work on a project with him

While working on Themify 2 last year, I began to feel that it was lacking a spirit. I was beginning to be happy with the overall UI direction, but it was missing a spark that made it feel individual and fun for the user. I identified a handful of areas where the UI just felt boring. The album art placeholder (for when there is no art to show, or when things load in), the USB screen when connecting to a computer, and then some various Lockscreen related features (before it was scrapped for a future update). Each were a place where the UI was rather minimal, where I wanted it to be playful instead.

So setting aside money from my ko-fi supporters, I messaged Thom proposing a commission to make a mascot for Themify and create some illustrations for the UI. He was just as enthusiastic about it as I was! So we started to figure out a direction we wanted to go in.

In the end, he wouldn't accept any payment. In his own words it was a job for a friend so he couldn't. Thankfully, he was happy for me to get him dinner in a really nice duck restaurant. I also really want to shout out his website because god is he skilled. Check his work out at thomodoro.com