Hey Friend,

Designing a character is a lot more complex than it might seem on the surface. What they don’t tell you is that to create a compelling character, you need to give them a backstory, flaws and a source of motivation to drive the narrative forward.

Backstory

Elsie is a 28-year-old influencer. She is a kind, thoughtful and intelligent woman but has an over-dependence on validation from others.

This serves as a commentary on the perils of social media, and growing overly dependent on it to belong in a world where pressure is constantly on to be perfect all the time. The reassurance sought is nearly always short-lived and creates a vicious feedback loop, never addressing the core problem that caused you to seek it in the first place.

Details

• She has bold, vibrant hair which draws attention.
• She is naturally freckled, which is a source of insecurity.
• Her need for validation stems from insecurities and not feeling as though she fits in.
• Her character traits are often undervalued but can make all the difference.

Each one of these details adds a dimension to her character, after all, it’s in our differences where our strengths lie.

The Concept

Here is the original concept art I created for her.

The Result

And here is the finished result. As you can see, Elsie went through some revisions during the process to add more detail and strengthen the connection to her backstory.

For my first-ever 3d model, I think it turned out pretty good. What do you think?, Let me know in the comments below.