PERSONA:
Soft hearted
Clumsy
Big hugger
From the Polynesian islands
Ocean Lover
Kumu is a character that reflects both sensitivity and clumsiness. The idea behind him was to create a loving and hugging personality that
yet struggles to receive the love he seeks in return.
Final Renders:
Kumu was built with a focus on organic modeling, hand-painted textures, and detailed xGen grooming to capture his soft, clumsy charm. His skin, hair, and accessories were crafted to enhance personality and believability.
The look draws heavy inspiration from Moana, blending stylization with rich surface detail.
More UV space was allocated to the face to ensure sharper detail where expression matters most.
Each day ended with a fresh render pass to evaluate progress, lighting, and surface response—helping refine the look and maintain visual consistency throughout the process.
Topology:
Facial topology was built with animation in mind, featuring clean, circular edge loops around the eyes, mouth, and brows to support natural deformation and clear expressions.
Turntable videos of the model without any textures assign, as well as full body and face topology.
xGen:
Eyebrows:
Eyelashes:
Hair
Peachfuzz:
Transition Hair:
Beard:
The groom was built using six primary descriptions, allowing for better control and layering. This approach helped achieve a balanced blend between stylized cartoon aesthetics and realistic detail.