Black Dog Character Creation and Animation - Being (2019)

Being was a cancelled mobile game project I worked on as a Student Artist Intern at the Tesseract Center for Immersive Environments and Game Design through the University of Arkansas. This game aimed to teach players about neurons, the brain, and explore the philosophical implications of our minds. This character has the working name of Black Dog. His role is primarily a mysterious obstacle for the player who controls Being as they begin to develop awareness and emotions. As they grow, so does their emotions, morphing into Fear which distorts the perspective both the player and Being have for Black Dog.

I sculpted Black Dog in Zbrush, and completed some retopology, tested materials, rigged and animated it in Maya. The game product was meant to be viewed at an elevated isometric angle. This meant the character had to read well from further away with fewer polygons. I'm really pleased with the final result, especially since the limitations of mobile development required us to tackle the 3D character animation from a different perspective.