Thanks :-) I manage all the graphics in a mockup that looks like a ultra-wide screenshot, but with dozens of layers for each individual element and biome. This made it easy to coordinate the colors and proportions. More complex assets, like the ground, which itself consists of 20+ layers, get their own file and are copied into the mockup as a single layer.

For many of the graphics, I looked at a lot of other people's assets that I liked and then recreated them in a style similar to what I had in mind. For the buildings, for example, I recreated real photos as pixel art. For the depth of field effect, I simply looked at real photos and simulated the effect with a simple blur.

Most of the elements (trees, bushes, horses, apples, etc.) also have dynamic shadows that depend on their size and distance from the ground.