Digit Artwork Optimization for Mobile App

NUMBER ASSET CLEANUP & STANDARDIZATION — PRODUCTION BRIEF (initial testing - three numbers)
1. Objective

I have several complete families of number artwork (0–9). The visual design of the numbers is already established.

This job is not to redesign the numbers. The objective is to professionally clean, isolate and standardize the existing artwork so that the numbers can be used as consistent digital assets in a mobile application.

The final result should feel like a coherent 0–9 glyph family, while preserving the original visual character, faceting, materials, reflections and proportions of the supplied artwork.

2. Background Removal & Transparency

For every number:

Completely remove the black/studio background.
Remove the floor reflection and any shadow/reflection beneath the number.
Create a true transparent alpha background.
Clean all exterior edges carefully.
Clean all interior openings/holes, especially in 0, 4, 6, 8 and 9.
Preserve fine crystalline, metallic and translucent edge details wherever possible.
Avoid black/dark halos left by the original background.
Do not simply use an automatic background-removal tool without manually checking and refining the result.

The final asset should contain only the Number Object floating on transparency.

3. Preserve the Original Design

The artist should not reinterpret or redesign the numbers.

Preserve:

silhouette;
faceting;
internal reflections;
colors;
highlights;
crystalline/metallic details;
original depth cues.

Minor retouching is acceptable when necessary to clean AI artifacts or produce a professional transparent asset, but it should not visibly change the approved design.

4. Family Scale & Proportions

All ten numbers should feel as though they belong to the same designed glyph family.

The primary normalization should be based on visual height and scale, not by forcing every digit into exactly the same width.

As a starting principle:

1 should remain clearly narrower than the other digits.
0 and 8 may naturally be among the widest digits.
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 9 should generally occupy a similar standard visual width.
Small variations are acceptable where required by the natural geometry of the glyph.

Do not horizontally stretch a narrow number simply to fill the same width as an 8.

The objective is:

Consistent visual mass and scale, not identical bounding-box width.

5. Height & Alignment

The numbers should have a consistent apparent height when displayed next to each other.

Please establish:

common visual height;
common vertical alignment;
consistent top line;
consistent baseline;
consistent scale across the complete 0–9 family.

Any optical adjustment should be subtle. For example, curved shapes such as 0 or 8 may require tiny scale differences to appear the same height as flatter/angular glyphs.

6. Standard Canvas

The APP-READY assets should all use exactly the same canvas dimensions.

The number should be positioned consistently within that canvas while preserving its natural width.

Therefore, the transparent empty space on the left and right will naturally vary:

1 → more transparent horizontal space
2–7/9 → normal amount
0/8 → less horizontal space

This is intentional.

This will allow the application to control spacing and composition consistently when constructing multi-digit numbers such as:

47 or 258

7. Two Deliverables per Number

Please provide two final versions of every number.

A — CLEAN MASTER

Highest practical resolution.
Lossless PNG with transparency.
Maximum preservation of the original artwork.
Clean isolation and edge treatment.
No floor/reflection/background.
Minimal unnecessary cropping.
Intended as the archival/source-quality asset.

B — APP-READY MASTER

Transparent PNG.
Standardized canvas dimensions shared by all ten digits.
Standardized visual height and alignment.
Correct optical sizing within the family.
Ready for direct testing/composition in the application.

The CLEAN MASTER ensures that future sizing/canvas decisions can always be changed without returning to the original image.

8. Quality Control

Each asset should be inspected at high zoom, particularly:

exterior silhouette;
sharp tips/corners;
translucent edges;
small crystalline facets;
interior holes;
areas previously adjacent to the black background;
bottom edge where the original floor/reflection was removed.

The asset should also be checked against both dark and light backgrounds to identify unwanted dark halos or masking artifacts.

9. Initial Test

Before processing the complete collection, I would like to approve a test using:

1, 8, and 9

These provide three useful cases:

1 — narrow glyph and scale/width normalization.
8 — broad glyph with two complex internal openings.
9 — asymmetric glyph with an internal opening and more complex silhouette.

Once these three establish the correct cleanup, sizing and canvas system, the same rules can be applied consistently to the rest of the family.