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3D Character - Izel

For my final year project at university, I was the lead artist and character designer for a game project called End Prophecy with 6 classmates. The first 3D character I modeled, textured and rigged for this project was the protagonist for the game, Izel.

 

Izel is a child prophecy from an Aztec tribe and has glowing tattoos on his body from the effects of a magical artefact he discovered in a forbidden temple, which give him the ability to summon light and projectiles from his mysterious arm.

 

Izel must use these powers to defeat enemies as well as solve puzzles that are lurking within the forbidden temple.

 

Following the same procedure as I did with my first 3D character - Ainjiel. I used the box modelling technique to create Izel using 3D Studio Max with the profile art and views designed in Photoshop CS6.

Izel - Character Art

For Izel's character design, I took inspiration from Aztec and tribal culture including the clothing, armour and accessories. I went through a concept stage designing various characters to suit the protagonist role for the game project and through refinement, the final character resulted in the design displayed above on the left. 

 

The name Izel means "Unique" in the Aztec language, and that the  protagonist is unique in a way that the mysterious powers within his arms grant him the ability to summon projectiles and absorb new powers to use on his journey inside the forbidden temple.

 

Since the background in End Prophecy is based on the Aztec theme, I had to ensure that the main character had the aesthetic to suit the atmosphere. Izel is equipped with scale armour, a tribal skirt with a belt and cloth made from jaguar hide, sandals, as well as leaf accessories on the headband and leg.

I felt the design suited a warrior type of tribesman with the tattoos emphasising his appearance.

 

The front, right and back view of Izel were used as references in 3D Studio Max.

Izel - Rendered Images

Izel was my second 3D character I modelled in 3D Studio Max, and after the experience and success of my first character model Ainjiel, I was able to create Izel within a short amount of time using the box modelling method. Since End Prophecy uses an isometric camera angle in-game, the model and features such as the face did not have to be very detailed. 

Izel - Textured UVW Map

During the texturing process, the model did not show the detail when I used realistic textures and so I had to design them myself in Photoshop using basic colours and my custom brushes, as too much detail concentrated in a small area would not appear on the model itself when I set the material.

 

However this did not affect the game since the art style has a cartoon aesthetic rather than a realistic one. For the tattoo designs I researched into Aztec tattoos and took elements such as the pointed patterns and blocks to create a tattoo that would suit Izel's body without it being too complicated as I had to constantly align my tattoo designs across the UVW map and check the model to ensure they were connected.

Izel - Wireframe Renders

The wireframe renders for Izel shows a very clean structure and build for the model as there isn't too much detail and I feel the proportions are correct for a humanoid character with the support of my profile drawings that I used for reference.

 

Since I was limited on time for the project, I managed to create a rig for my Izel model within minutes using rigging tools at: https://www.mixamo.com/

 

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