Stellaris Dev Diary #426 - The Art of Stellaris: Nomads

Hello there!A tradition like no other! It's time for the Art of Nomads!We know you might want to head straight for the artwork, which is fair because what the team has been able to pull off for Nomads is nothing short of amazing.But before you do, we wanted to take this opportunity (grabbing the mic and/or embracing our inner Iggy, if you will) to talk about the last year for just a short bit.On Nomads, we spent 682 days just creating art. That’s quite impressive for a period that only had 187 workdays.This obviously resulted in a lot of art, and while we would like to show a lot of it we felt like around 150 (!) images and videos had to do for this time. And since the forum only allow for about 50 files per upload, we had to split this up into three parts.A bit into that production, we changed direction quite drastically. It was for the better. And even if this led to better results in the end, it wasn't an easy thing to do - a lot of darlings were killed. A lot of good ideas were scrapped. A ton of good designs were “saved for later” (this is a term we like to use when something probably won’t be used later, but it’s easier to say that it’s “saved for later” rather than “will never see the light of day”, but who knows).Anyways, that change of direction also came with a lot of questions: how do the Arkships look? What’s their purpose? How do they move? How big should they be? How should the Paragons look? What’s unique about them? What’s their backstory? These are all questions we always ask ourselves for every expansion, but this time we needed to figure out the answers faster.The team answered the questions fast and efficiently, and with brilliant results.One of the biggest creative decisions on Nomads was what kind of Arkships we were actually going to build. We landed on three main categories: Civilian, Military, and Science.When you give three different roles their own visual identity, you get ships that actually say something. The Civilian Arkship feels like a home first, a vessel second. The Military carries weight and threat even at tier one. The Science Arkship reads as curious and outward-facing. We were going for showing genuinely different design philosophies wearing the same nomadic DNA, and we think you can feel that when you see them side by side.The tiers were important too. A tier one Arkship should feel like a beginning. A tier three should feel like a civilization that has been moving through the galaxy for generations and shows it. That visual arc is something we are really proud of, and we did not want to lose it.If you want to hear more about the processes, the thoughts behind the designs and direction we went with, check out the Art of Nomads video that we posted on our YouTube channel a while back.To the Art Team; Lloyd, Felix, Tim, Emma, Mia, Erik, Cass and Gabs - Thank you for your fantastic art and your hard work on Nomads.To the community, and to you who read this: Thank you for your continued support, during this and the last 10 years!While we in the art team might not be the most active on the forums, Reddit or Discord, we read and see everything you write - so whenever you express appreciation for the work the team has put in it truly brings us so much joy in our little corner of the office here in Stockholm.We can genuinely say that creating art for this game, your game, is an amazing honor, a privilege and a responsibility that we don’t take for granted. So thank you!With that being said, we’d like to quote one of the best pilots in the history of the galaxy: “This is where the fun begins!”Let’s look at some art!/Anton Wittberg Letoff - Art Manager & ProducerScott Austin - Art DirectorThe Art of Stellaris: Nomads - Part 2 of 3The Art of Stellaris: Nomads - Part 3 of 3Lloyd Drake-Brockman - Concept ArtistDefender of the Galaxy Concept ArtFelix Englund - Concept ArtistCharacter ArtIllustration ArtShip ArtTim Wiberg - 3D ArtistStellar CannonDestroyed ArkshipCivilian ArkshipEmma Quer - 3D ArtistScience Class ArkshipHero ShipArkship ModulesMilitary Class ArkshipMia Svensson - AnimatorSee some of Mia's work here!Cassandra Lindquist - UI ArtistArkships schematics and UI ArtSacred Path Event ImageMiscellaneous UI ArtGabrielle Rodrigues - UI ArtistDefenders of the Galaxy UI ArtEvent Image & Arkship UI ArtMiscellaneous UI ArtScott Austin - Art DirectorThe Princess - Paragon ConceptsThe RevenantDesigns Saved for LaterDiplomatic Rooms

Jun 25, 2026 - 19:02

Stellaris Dev Diary #426 - The Art of Stellaris: Nomads

Hello there!

A tradition like no other! It's time for the Art of Nomads!

We know you might want to head straight for the artwork, which is fair because what the team has been able to pull off for Nomads is nothing short of amazing.

But before you do, we wanted to take this opportunity (grabbing the mic and/or embracing our inner Iggy, if you will) to talk about the last year for just a short bit.

On Nomads, we spent 682 days just creating art. That’s quite impressive for a period that only had 187 workdays.

This obviously resulted in a lot of art, and while we would like to show a lot of it we felt like around 150 (!) images and videos had to do for this time. And since the forum only allow for about 50 files per upload, we had to split this up into three parts.

A bit into that production, we changed direction quite drastically. It was for the better. And even if this led to better results in the end, it wasn't an easy thing to do - a lot of darlings were killed. A lot of good ideas were scrapped. A ton of good designs were “saved for later” (this is a term we like to use when something probably won’t be used later, but it’s easier to say that it’s “saved for later” rather than “will never see the light of day”, but who knows).

Anyways, that change of direction also came with a lot of questions: how do the Arkships look? What’s their purpose? How do they move? How big should they be? How should the Paragons look? What’s unique about them? What’s their backstory? These are all questions we always ask ourselves for every expansion, but this time we needed to figure out the answers faster.

The team answered the questions fast and efficiently, and with brilliant results.

One of the biggest creative decisions on Nomads was what kind of Arkships we were actually going to build. We landed on three main categories: Civilian, Military, and Science.

When you give three different roles their own visual identity, you get ships that actually say something. The Civilian Arkship feels like a home first, a vessel second. The Military carries weight and threat even at tier one. The Science Arkship reads as curious and outward-facing. We were going for showing genuinely different design philosophies wearing the same nomadic DNA, and we think you can feel that when you see them side by side.

The tiers were important too. A tier one Arkship should feel like a beginning. A tier three should feel like a civilization that has been moving through the galaxy for generations and shows it. That visual arc is something we are really proud of, and we did not want to lose it.

If you want to hear more about the processes, the thoughts behind the designs and direction we went with, check out the Art of Nomads video that we posted on our YouTube channel a while back.

To the Art Team; Lloyd, Felix, Tim, Emma, Mia, Erik, Cass and Gabs - Thank you for your fantastic art and your hard work on Nomads.

To the community, and to you who read this: Thank you for your continued support, during this and the last 10 years!

While we in the art team might not be the most active on the forums, Reddit or Discord, we read and see everything you write - so whenever you express appreciation for the work the team has put in it truly brings us so much joy in our little corner of the office here in Stockholm.

We can genuinely say that creating art for this game, your game, is an amazing honor, a privilege and a responsibility that we don’t take for granted. So thank you!

With that being said, we’d like to quote one of the best pilots in the history of the galaxy: “This is where the fun begins!”

Let’s look at some art!

Anton Wittberg Letoff - Art Manager & Producer

Scott Austin - Art Director

The Art of Stellaris: Nomads - Part 2 of 3

The Art of Stellaris: Nomads - Part 3 of 3

Lloyd Drake-Brockman - Concept Artist

Defender of the Galaxy Concept Art

Felix Englund - Concept Artist

Character Art

Illustration Art

Ship Art

Tim Wiberg - 3D Artist

Stellar Cannon

Destroyed Arkship

Civilian Arkship

Emma Quer - 3D Artist

Science Class Arkship

Hero Ship

Arkship Modules

Military Class Arkship

Mia Svensson - Animator

See some of Mia's work here!

Cassandra Lindquist - UI Artist

Arkships schematics and UI Art

Sacred Path Event Image

Miscellaneous UI Art

Gabrielle Rodrigues - UI Artist

Defenders of the Galaxy UI Art

Event Image & Arkship UI Art

Miscellaneous UI Art

Scott Austin - Art Director

The Princess - Paragon Concepts

The Revenant

Designs Saved for Later

Diplomatic Rooms

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