Indie Animators and Series

Not only fan tributes, but wholly original stories are being told in the low-poly style. Several independent animators on YouTube and Newgrounds have cultivated followings by crafting their own characters and worlds with a deliberate PS1-flavored look. These creators often cite both technical nostalgia (love for old games) and artistic freedom (low-poly as a stylistic choice) as inspiration. Their works show that beyond games, low-poly can thrive in animated storytelling and music videos.

Brawlers World (@brwlers) – An indie 3D animator who creates short films and sketches in a low-poly style. One of their prominent works is “ONE REGULAR SANDWICH,” a 2025 animated short that mixes everyday silliness with meta, game-inspired humor.

The video’s premise follows a character named Miao Miao trying to find a new favorite sandwich after her go-to burger chain is bought out and promises that “nothing else weird happens” (only for weird things to indeed happen). At one point, the low-poly protagonist ends up in the animator’s old project files on a computer, which was a tongue-in-cheek nod to the creator’s other works and a breaking of the fourth wall (a door labeled C Drive). Visually, it features chunky 3D characters in brightly textured environments, very much like a lost late-90s game cutscene, complete with intentional audio roughness. “One Regular Sandwich” was actually made as a celebratory piece for Low Poly Day 2025 on Newgrounds. It’s an online event where creators upload low-poly themed content (movies, games, art, music). In a description, the animator noted they crunched in just two days to finish this tribute to low-poly art. The short was well-received on the platform, praised for the “soul” put into the character interactions and its detailed retro-3D environment design. Brawlers World even released a small Mario 64-inspired game demo, Brawlers World 64, on itch.io, further showing their commitment to authentic low-poly vibes. This creator’s work captures the playful, experimental spirit of the low-poly community; they blend nostalgia (old file directories, retro game references) with fresh original humor.

Mike Motion (@MikeMotion) – Another animator known for a series of original shorts featuring a robot maid with a wind-up key rendered in PS1-style 3D (example 1, example 2). Mike Motion’s animations are often comedic sketches with an anime twist, but presented with deliberate 32-bit console aesthetics: low-res textures, angular models, and a 4:3 “CRT” aspect ratio. The creator tags many videos with fPSX and flowpoly, explicitly aligning with the PlayStation nostalgia. The wind-up maid herself has an intentionally retro character design (reminiscent of an NPC from a 1997 game), demonstrating how artists use low-poly to accentuate charm and character. Mike Motion’s content showcases the positivity that can be conveyed with this art style. It feels like watching a little-known PS1-era anime game come to life. The low-poly treatment gives the animations an innocent, toy-like quality.

MallBat (@mall_bat)

MallBat is a prominent creator pushing the low-poly medium toward longer-form storytelling and music projects (Mall City).

They helm an ongoing YouTube animated series called “Mall City,” which is described as “a story about growing up in an uncaring world and finding beauty and love in the age of the apocalypse.” The series takes place in a surreal, decaying shopping mall world and follows a cast of young characters (the Mall Bats) trying to find meaning and friendship amid dystopia. Despite the heavy-sounding premise, the execution feels both heartfelt and stylistically unique: MallBat renders this world in lo-fi 3D that looks like a forgotten PS1 adventure game, complete with flat-shaded characters and minimalist scenery. The juxtaposition of emotional, coming-of-age storytelling with the retro graphical style gives Mall City a special nostalgic gravity, as if we’re watching a lost late-90s animated game with surprisingly deep themes. MallBat’s work shows how the low-poly aesthetic can convey cozy nostalgia and emotional resonance at once. In addition to the series, MallBat collaborates with other artists on low-poly music videos. Notably, they animated the official music video for YouTube musician Tanger’s song “IMPULSE!” (video), rendering the entire music video in a stylish PS1-like 3D universe. These collaborations demonstrate the cross-media appeal of the aesthetic: musicians and animators teaming up to leverage low-poly visuals for a distinct vibe. MallBat’s growing body of work underlines how far the PS1-style revival has come. It’s not just one-off jokes; it’s being used to tell new stories and meld with other art forms, all while uniting audiences who love that retro feel.