Dinner Is Ready
I initially wanted to step outside my comfort zone of creating polished, stylized characters and explore something more grotesque while still maintaining a stylized, game-ready design. I began with a simple idea: a butcher. From there, I wrote a short poem that shaped the story of a mother living alone in a quiet cottage, welcoming stranded travelers with the promise of her special pie. What they don't know is that the previous guest is the filling, and they are next. With only a week of pre-production, I kept the initial concept rough and focused my research on the character, story, materials, and how the idea could potentially function within a game.
Once I moved to Zbrush,I focused first on establishing her overall form, weight, and silhouette, exaggerating her proportions to create a strong and imposing presence. Her smile became a key focus of the sculpt. I wanted her to appear warm and welcoming at first glance while still feeling subtly unsettling. Over two weeks, I refined her anatomy, facial structure, and forms in ZBrush until her personality and story began to come through in the sculpt.
After the character was retopologized in Maya, I moved into Substance Painter and focused on building depth through subtle skin variation, discoloration, and irritated areas. Her clothing was textured with dirt, stains, and uneven wear to reflect her messy working environment. To keep the character optimized, I used alpha maps to create torn fabric and wear rather than adding unnecessary geometry, allowing me to add more detail without increasing the poly count.
I used Maya's skeletal system to skin and pose the character, focusing on simple poses that complemented her size and proportions without causing major deformation. Since the goal was a cinematic presentation rather than animation, I kept the rig straightforward and focused primarily on achieving the final pose rather than developing a complex facial rig.
I created the pie prop using the same production workflow, beginning with the base model in 3ds Max before refining the forms and sculpting the creature in ZBrush. After retopology and texturing, I brought the final asset into the scene and posed it alongside the character to strengthen the narrative.
I set up the final scene and lighting in Unreal Engine, using a simple background for the character turnaround. Presenting the character in real time allowed the materials and textures to translate naturally while demonstrating how the asset performs in engine. This project pushed me beyond my usual character style and came with several learning curves, but each stage strengthened my 3D workflow, problem solving, and understanding of taking a character from an initial story to a final real time presentation.
Atyāhāra
Environment
Deep within the Parvati Valley, an ancient deity of hunger remains bound to a sacrificial altar. Worshipped by a cult for generations, Atyāhāra offers prosperity and plentiful harvests in exchange for human sacrifices. With every offering, its presence in the mortal world grows stronger, driven by one desire: to feed without end and one day break free from its altar.
Quick Environment concept
Character illustration
Initial character ideation
I began by blocking out the scene in Unreal Engine to establish the scale and overall silhouette of the church. My focus was on creating a believable space, considering the size and placement of the seating, entrances, and pathways through the environment. Once the blockout was established, I modeled the props and architectural pieces in 3ds Max and textured the modular assets so they could be reused throughout the scene efficiently.
Once I was happy with the asset placement, I moved into Substance Painter to texture each model and establish a consistent material language across the environment. I then brought the completed assets into Unreal Engine, refined the set dressing, and experimented with lighting, color, and atmosphere to create the final mood. I adjusted the composition and camera framing to guide the viewer through the space before creating the final cinematic in Unreal Engine.
Mother Of Decay
Environment & Character
