Portfolio
This first character design project features the character design of Aaliyah, a character I created for the Ni No Kuni universe for a school assignment. We had to work out a backstory, a complete 2D character design including a turnaround sheet, and then a 3D model optimized for a game engine. I have mainly focused on the first half of the project, since I am a 2D artist, but I will also show you my finished 3D model.
Solo Project
role: all
Project Runtime
1 month
Software Used
firealpaca, maya, unity, zbrush
Aaliyah is a young, traveling merchant moving around the Summerlands, selling and buying anything; from rare provisions and ingredients to accessories and a wide variety of weapons. She is upbeat and chatty and is always up for pranks and other harmless mischief; this makes her immensely popular among children, and often disliked by adults.
I have put together several silhouette sketches of Aaliyah. She is supposed to be energetic and positive; I have mixed several of the silhouettes together to create the best pose for her.
For her face and hair, I have focused again on that playful side of her, which I've tried to show through some asymmetrical design. For her hairstyle, I went with what is playful but also practical for her, and easiest for me to translate into a 3D model.
In order to design fitting clothes, I've worked with a couple of keywords. Based on these I sketched a bunch of different outfits, of which I picked my favorites; I then combined my favorite aspects to create her final outfit.
For the colors of Aaliyah's clothing, I once again made a bunch of color schemes. I picked my own favorites and also asked feedback of other students on which ones they liked best. I made a combination of my favorites and looked at the values to see which color scheme had the best balance; I tweaked it a little bit to create a bit more contrast, and then added some small patterns as details to the clothing.
I created the blockout for my model of Aaliyah in Maya, then ran the model through ZBrush for detailing; finally, I put it back in Maya to optimize it for a game engine. The pose is done with an automatic rig.
The final model is incredibly low poly, because this was one of the requirements of the assignment; I ended up putting too much detail into things, causing some parts of the model such as the hair, the scarf and the bandages to lose too much of their original shape. That's why it looks a little weird.
Because of this project, I was able to practice with creating more meaningful characters; I've put thought into every little detail of Aaliyah's design by linking it directly to her backstory. I've also practiced with creating a humanoid model; I've practiced with Maya and I have taught myself how to use ZBrush, considering this is the first time I've used the program.
