Oh, Happy Day

Meet Kaya - the rambunctious and air-headed 4-striped mouse. She'll welcome you into her home with open arms in the Succulent Karoo, South Africa - however, only if you have seeds to offer. You can spot her spending her days lounging under the succulent leaves of the Quiver Trees and day-dreaming about her next meal. I worked on her at my time at The Animation School where I was responsible in concepting, modelling, texturing rigging, lighting and animating this lovely character.

Concept Development

I was tasked with researching and conceptualizing a character that is native to South Africa while remaining visually and conceptually unique in the process. 4-striped mice are native to the region of the Succulent Karoo, which is an area that is known to be rich in bio-diversity and to be visually stunning with an over-abundance of flora and fauna.

I based Kaya's colour palette off of the unique flora that originates from the Succulent Karoo, and her clothing patterns and beads were inspired by South Africa's rich history of clothing fashion and patterns. 

3D Modelling and Texturing

Finally, I brought Kaya to life in an environment of her own. This was an opportunity to bring a piece of the Succulent Karoo to life. From concept art to 3D modelling, lighting and rendering. I used Autodesk Maya, Adobe Substance Painter and Arnold for Maya. Below is the concept art, raw render and final composite.