Helmet Guy vs Frog Wizard creation

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Moodboards

Before touching Blender, we each built a moodboard to ground our interpretation of the character we had been given. With only a name and a persona to work from, the moodboard became the place where we translated words into a visual language, colour, shape, tone, and reference.

For Helmet Guy, the board pulled from racing culture, streetwear, and action anime. Bold reds and muted skin tones set the palette, while references ranging from Marlboro livery helmets to stylized 3D figures helped define the character's energy, reckless, stubborn, cool without trying. The helmet as a head, not worn but lived in, became the central design challenge.

For Frog Wizard, the direction shifted entirely. Soft greens and blues, rounded cartoon forms, and references from both cute game characters and classic fantasy wizards shaped the mood. The character needed to feel grumpy but secretly warm, chaotic but earnest. That tension guided every design choice, from the oversized hat to the slouched posture.

Building these boards before modelling forced us to make real decisions early. By the time we opened Blender, we already knew who these characters were.

Creating Helmet Guy

My process for Helmet Guy started with a rough sketch. Using the moodboard and persona as a guide, I drew out a basic silhouette to figure out the proportions and overall feel of the character before opening Blender.

From there I moved into modelling, building on the sketch step by step. Throughout the process I used Discord to share progress updates and ask for feedback from Sijb, whose character I was recreating. That back and forth helped me stay on track and make adjustments early rather than having to rework things later.

The helmet being his literal head was the most interesting design problem. It had to read clearly as a character while still feeling grounded in the moodboard references. Each modelling session moved the character a little closer to something that felt right, and having regular feedback made the difference between guessing and actually improving.

Sketching and blockout fase

The first step was getting the idea out of my head and onto paper. I sketched a rough version of Helmet Guy to work out the basic shapes and proportions before touching Blender. Once I had something to work from, I moved into a blockout, replacing the sketch with simple geometry to establish the silhouette in 3D. At this stage nothing needed to look good, it just needed to feel right in terms of scale, shape, and personality. Getting the big forms locked in early made everything that followed much easier.

Iterating

Once the base model was in place, the character started evolving through a series of small decisions. Colour was one of the first things I tested, trying different combinations to match the mood of the moodboard and persona. Later I added a jacket, which changed the silhouette significantly and made the character feel much more grounded and stylised. A tie followed, adding a small detail that gave him more personality.

The hands were replaced with a more robotic design, which fit the slightly exaggerated, action figure quality I was going for. Each addition came from looking at the character, feeling like something was missing, and trying to fix it. That process of adding, adjusting, and getting feedback shaped the final result more than any single decision along the way.

Creating Frog Wizard

My process for Frog Wizard followed the same structure as Helmet Guy, starting with the moodboard and persona before anything else. Marijn's character was simpler in concept, a grumpy frog in wizard robes, which made it feel more approachable at first. But simplicity has its own difficulty. With fewer details to hide behind, every shape and proportion has to carry more weight. I used Discord throughout to share progress and get feedback from Marijn, checking that my interpretation still felt true to the character even as I made my own design decisions.

Sketching and blockout fase

The sketch for Frog Wizard focused on nailing the silhouette early. A wide, squat body, a tall pointed hat, and a permanently unimpressed expression. Those three things had to read immediately or the character would not work. In the blockout phase I kept the geometry as clean and minimal as possible, resisting the urge to add complexity too soon. The simplicity of the design meant there was nowhere to hide if the proportions were off, so getting the blockout right mattered more here than with Helmet Guy.

Iterating

Because the character was simpler, the iteration phase was less about adding things and more about refining what was already there. Small shifts in proportion made a big difference, adjusting the size of the head, the shape of the eyes, the way the robe sat on the body. Getting the grumpy expression to feel charming rather than just flat took several passes. The colour decisions leaned into the moodboard palette of greens and blues, keeping it soft but readable. Every change was small, but each one brought the character closer to feeling like Frog Wizard and not just a frog in a hat.

Creating the "fight" scene

The final render was never part of the original brief. After finishing both characters separately, putting them together felt like the only logical ending to the project. Two characters built from nothing but a name and a persona, now sharing the same scene, the same light, and the same story.

The fight composition came together quickly once both models were imported. Frog Wizard on the rock, staff raised. Helmet Guy sent flying, robotic hand outstretched. The lightning bolt between them did the storytelling. It was a simple setup but it worked because both characters were already strong enough to carry it.

What made the scene satisfying was how naturally the two design languages clashed. Frog Wizard soft and rounded, Helmet Guy angular and layered. That contrast, which could have been a problem, ended up being exactly what made the image interesting. The week break challenge that started as a way to stay active ended with something that genuinely felt like a complete piece of work.

Iterating

The Final Render

After building both characters separately, the natural conclusion was to put them together. The final render brought Helmet Guy and Frog Wizard into the same scene for the first time, facing off in a fight on a rocky cliffside. Frog Wizard stands on the edge, staff raised, firing a bolt of lightning directly into Helmet Guy who is sent flying through the air. It is dramatic, a little silly, and exactly what these two characters deserved.

Composing the Scene

Getting the two characters to feel like they belonged in the same world took more work than expected. They were built separately with different design languages, one gritty and stylised, the other soft and rounded. The composition had to bridge that gap. Placing them at different heights, with Frog Wizard elevated on the rock and Helmet Guy airborne, created a clear power dynamic that read immediately. The lightning bolt connecting them gave the scene a focal point and tied the two characters together visually.

Lighting and Environment

The background is an HDRI landscape with open sky and mountains, which gave the scene natural light and a sense of scale. The soft clouds and distant hills contrast with the energy of the fight, making the action feel bigger. The lighting helped unify the two characters, bringing them into the same atmosphere despite their different colour palettes. Getting that balance right, cartoony characters against a realistic environment, was the final challenge of the project and the moment where everything either came together or fell apart.

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