Mermaid, Lumi
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Credit
Modeling by Chaeone Kim
Mermaid Lumi once resided in the sea of the Sahara region
before it transformed into a desert.
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This character appears as the player character in a game set against the backdrop of the ocean that existed in the Sahara region before it became a desert. The game idea originated from curiosity about the mermaid, fish, and archer murals found in the "Gilt Kelbir cave" in the Sahara region. Wondering how such murals of the sea could exist in the desert, I conducted research and discovered that the Sahara was once an ocean, and that there is a place called "Wadi Al-Hitan" (Whale Valley) where numerous whale skeletons have been found.
Based on this, I conceived a fantasy game in which the player, as a mermaid, protects whales and interacts with the beautiful ocean environment. This mermaid character is the game's player character, Lumi.
Based on this, I conceived a fantasy game in which the player, as a mermaid, protects whales and interacts with the beautiful ocean environment. This mermaid character is the game's player character, Lumi.
Detail
WIP
Reference
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For the character's face, I aimed to model it after Haerin from the Korean idol group NJZ.
The reason I chose her was because of her impressive journey of independence, where she exposed the unfair treatment by her agency as part of the group "New Jeans." Haerin is not the leader and is relatively quiet within the team, but her strong, assertive expressions and quiet confidence made her feel like a delicate yet strong character, which is why I chose her as the model.
The reason I chose her was because of her impressive journey of independence, where she exposed the unfair treatment by her agency as part of the group "New Jeans." Haerin is not the leader and is relatively quiet within the team, but her strong, assertive expressions and quiet confidence made her feel like a delicate yet strong character, which is why I chose her as the model.
Haerin of NJZ face reference for modeling
I wanted to incorporate ocean motifs throughout her body, so I referenced the wavy baby hair style for her hair expression and aimed to make the bangs decorative.
Since I wanted her to interact with the environment and emit light from her fins in the sea, I drew inspiration from bioluminescent sea fish. Among them, I referenced the lionfish the most, as well as the glowing dot patterns on the characters' bodies in Avatar 2: The Way of Water.
Since I wanted her to interact with the environment and emit light from her fins in the sea, I drew inspiration from bioluminescent sea fish. Among them, I referenced the lionfish the most, as well as the glowing dot patterns on the characters' bodies in Avatar 2: The Way of Water.
Hair Reference : Wavy Baby Hair
Fin & Body Tatoo Pattern Reference
Modeling & Texturing
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This character is being developed by evolving the mermaid modeling from the previous post, Pearlmaid. In the earlier modeling, I worked on creating a human model for the first time, refining the overly exaggerated parts, and focusing on making the skin details more youthful and refined in the development process.
Face Detail Texturing : Zbrush
Skin Detail in Z-brush : Pore and Lips
X-Gen Hair : Maya & UE5 Groom Import
Hair : X -Gen in Maya
After import Hair as a Groom Data via Alembic, making Material Node and Hair Asset for simulation
Texturing : Substance Painter 3D & UE5 Material
Texturing in Substance Painter
Body UV map
The most challenging part of creating the mermaid character was the 'color' of the fins.
After multiple rounds of character development, I finally referred to the glowing fins of the lionfish,
which live in the ocean, to revise the design. As a result, I had to create the fins using a material property
that was both transparent and emissive.
However, it was difficult to match the HDRI used in the ocean background with Unreal Engine and the color LUT in Substance Painter. I had to switch back and forth between Substance Painter and Unreal Engine, and eventually, I divided the material
in Unreal Engine into detailed nodes such as Albedo, Tint, Brightness, Saturation, and Emissive for each section,
allowing me to adjust them in real time. As a result, the work time was significantly reduced,
and I was able to incorporate interactive elements into the parameters for use when needed.
After multiple rounds of character development, I finally referred to the glowing fins of the lionfish,
which live in the ocean, to revise the design. As a result, I had to create the fins using a material property
that was both transparent and emissive.
However, it was difficult to match the HDRI used in the ocean background with Unreal Engine and the color LUT in Substance Painter. I had to switch back and forth between Substance Painter and Unreal Engine, and eventually, I divided the material
in Unreal Engine into detailed nodes such as Albedo, Tint, Brightness, Saturation, and Emissive for each section,
allowing me to adjust them in real time. As a result, the work time was significantly reduced,
and I was able to incorporate interactive elements into the parameters for use when needed.
Fin Material Node in Unreal Engine
Tail Texture view in UE5
Rigging & Animating
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After completing the modeling, Xgen hair, and texturing processes, I used Advanced Skeleton in Maya to proceed with rigging. For the facial animation, I created the animation in Maya and then transferred the FBX file to Unreal Engine for further work. For the body animation, attack and defense motions were utilized by purchasing a mermaid character asset with game animation data and retargeting it in Unreal Engine. For other animations used in cutscenes,
I either used Unreal Engine’s control rig or created the animations in Maya.
I either used Unreal Engine’s control rig or created the animations in Maya.
Face Animating in Maya
UE5 view
Animating in UE5.4 Sequecer using Control Rig
Retarget IK Mermaid character to use Attack Motion
Rotoscoping Mermaid Swim : Flip
Rotoscoping WIP
MFA Graduation Project
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I am creating this work as my graduation project to complete my two-year MFA program.
It is being developed using Unreal Engine 5.4, and while creating the game on my own is a great challenge for me, just as this mermaid girl becomes a guardian protecting the sea,
I am determined to approach this process with consistency and courage.
It is being developed using Unreal Engine 5.4, and while creating the game on my own is a great challenge for me, just as this mermaid girl becomes a guardian protecting the sea,
I am determined to approach this process with consistency and courage.
See more game <Soul of See> production process through the button below
