Liquid Space Explorer
3d model breakdown
Roles: Modeling Textures
I modeled a character in 3D as an exercise to get better at blender. The goal was to try my hand at simple rigging and posing. I also aimed for optimized polycount and texture space. I learned a lot, 3D character modeling is fun!
![](liquid-space-explorer/ref.jpg)
The original 2D concept is by Heikala. I had to interpret missing details and resolve inconsistancies that make a great drawing but a weird 3D model. I tried to be as close as possible to the original 2D drawing. it can be improved but I'd say it's reasonably accurate.
![](liquid-space-explorer/front-side-back.jpg)
The original design caught my attention with its unique silhouette. The peculiar, inverted diving suit was so intriguing, I had a good time clearing up what it meant. I felt hoses on the back were a fitting addition to improve the side-silhouette. It would stay close to the shape vocabulary.
To better understand the needed topology for animations, I wanted to stay in a mid-poly budget. I modeled the body & face first, and the suit on top of it.
![](liquid-space-explorer/topology-refs.jpg)
I had lots of fun trying poses. The suit design limits movements (specifically shoulders!!), it was a good example of how to work around pose constraints.
![](liquid-space-explorer/pose-sexy.jpg)
The hair was tricky to do. Using smooth shading, it's possible to keep the geometry very simple. I slowly came to a nice hair structure by moving each vertex until it felt right. The process was long but paid off.
I can't draw conclusions on the face topology because I didn't rig it. Maybe next time.
Texturing was done in Photoshop. After unwrapping the UVs, first I painted the lines I want in the texture, and checked how they're rendered on the model. Some lines can appear jagged because of the low-poly model, so I need to decide now if I'm ok with this, or if I adjust the model a little to prevent this.
Painting always reveals things that didn't work out in the model, but weren't obvious to me before. So I come back a few times on the geometry while I paint. It's cumbersome because I have to change the UV. I cut, paste, scale and rotate parts & rework already painted areas because the texel density has changed.
I'm pleased I took the time to model a character like this. The base design is fun, I learned a few things on topology, rigging & skinning. I love mid-poly aesthetics, PS2 era is my jam.
![](liquid-space-explorer/entrance.jpg)
![](liquid-space-explorer/workspace.jpg)
Next step is to animate. Problem: I think I hate blender animation tools.