MAKE A REAL-TIME GEISHA CHARACTER

Last month’s cover artist Eugenia Peruzzo dives deeper into the creation process of her geisha render

- Eugenia Peruzzo

In this tutorial, I will cover the main steps taken to create my real-time character ‘The Geisha’, based on an original concept by Radoslav Topalov.

I will provide an overview of my professional approach in completing characters for video games with some advice on how to prevent and solve the most common issues.

The goal when I started was to create a highly optimized asset that is both believable and performant. I also wanted to challenge myself to portray the likeness of Rila Fukushima with a complex and realistic garment and hairstyle.

O-Ren Ishii’s origin story in Kill Bill informed some of the creative choices I made alongside the concept, as the intention wasn’t to depict a typical geisha but to give her more character and depth by making her an assassin too, and portray this duality in all the aspects. She was sold to a geisha house when she was little and she uses her work to get around without raising suspicion.

Creating a finished and aesthetically pleasing character, that can run in real-time, is artistically and technically a complex challenge. The first tools you should have are patience and perseverance because the workflow is never linear and requires experimentation.

Before starting, gather references and observe the elements in real life that you need to replicate. PureRef is great software to store and visualize your references.