After discovering the work of manga artist Ryoko Kui and her work Dungeon Meshi, otherwise known as Delicious in Dungeon, I fell in love with both her character designs and her incredible world-building. This character model is based off of one of the many iconic characters of the franchise Senshi, a dwarven chef who dedicates his life to finding innovative ways to cook from monsters. This model was hand-painted and modeled to be suitable for rigging and posing. The original design by Ryoko Kui gave me the opportunity to challenge myself to translate a 2D Design into a 3D space, allowing me to push my creativity and style to the limits to see what I could achieve in the end.
This environment model is set within a small aquarium closing down for the night as signs of human life are nowhere to be found. Within the tanks that illuminate the dark room, we see signs of aquatic life drifting aimlessly within their enclosures. Inside one of these tanks is a small fish, gazing longingly at a large statue of a fake whale as it wonders what it could become outside of its tank. The Aquarium tells the story of longing to be larger than what we are, yet being confined by what has become most comfortable to us. It resonates with my feelings of nostalgia each time I step foot into the darkness of an aquarium and the sense of tranquility it always brings me.
