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Kaede 
Real-Time Character Study

Game Character Modeling, Texturing & Hair Cards

This project was the fourth and final module of my Character Master, focused on building a complete character for real-time production from high-poly sculpt to final presentation.

I worked from an unused color variation of Kaede, a character designed by Mitch Mohrhauser for Ghost of Tsushima. My goal was to stay close to the visual language of the original concept while understanding the real objects, clothing and cultural references behind it.

Research became an important part of the project. I studied Japanese facial references, traditional clothing and archery equipment to make informed decisions instead of relying only on what was visible in the concept. 

The other major challenge was optimization. The complete character had a 100K triangle limit, including body, clothing, props, hair and fur, so every part had to be evaluated according to silhouette, deformation and how much visual information it actually needed to carry.

This project was the fourth and final module of my Character Master, focused on building a complete character for real-time production from high-poly sculpt to final presentation.

I worked from an unused color variation of Kaede, a character designed by Mitch Mohrhauser for Ghost of Tsushima. My goal was to stay close to the visual language of the original concept while understanding the real objects, clothing and cultural references behind it.

Research became an important part of the project. I studied Japanese facial references, traditional clothing and archery equipment to make informed decisions instead of relying only on what was visible in the concept. 

The other major challenge was optimization. The complete character had a 100K triangle limit, including body, clothing, props, hair and fur, so every part had to be evaluated according to silhouette, deformation and how much visual information it actually needed to carry.

Goal

The main goal was to translate a detailed concept into a character that could work within a real-time production budget without losing the shapes, materials and small design elements that made the original art so complete.

The final asset reached the 100K triangle limit set for the project: approximately 57K tris for the body and clothing, 18K for the props, 8K for the hair and 17K for the fur.

This meant making deliberate decisions throughout the low-poly stage. Geometry was concentrated where it contributed to the silhouette or deformation, while smaller forms and surface information were transferred through the baked maps. 

I also wanted the character to feel culturally grounded. Therefore, I researched how the clothing, weapons and archery equipment were constructed and used, then adapted that information to the proportions and visual language of the original design.

Process

1. Research & Translating the Concept into 3D
I started by blocking the complete character and her props, constantly comparing proportions and silhouettes against the concept.

Kaede’s facial features in the original concept felt more Western to me. However, since she is a Japanese samurai within the world of Ghost of Tsushima, I decided to explore that side of the character further. The same approach was applied to her equipment. I researched the construction of the yumi, the traditional Japanese longbow, the arrows, the open quiver and the tsurumaki, used to carry a spare bowstring. I also studied the katana, tantō and their fittings to better understand how each element should relate to the body.

For the clothing, I used historical references as a guide without treating the concept as a literal reconstruction. Elements such as the headband, layered robe-like garments and the trousers helped me understand the measurements behind the design before modeling them.

2. Building the High Poly
Once the main proportions were working, I gradually developed the blockout into the final high-poly model.

The clothing was built primarily in Marvelous Designer, where I established the layering and main folds before bringing the garments into ZBrush for further refinement. All the other pieces and props were made in Maya. For example, the ropes and straps were created using Sweep Mesh. I kept the original curves from the high-poly versions so they could later be reused to generate much simpler single-tube meshes for the retopology.

In ZBrush I developed the secondary and tertiary information across the character: skin pores, fabric folds, surface breakup and subtle irregularities in the metal pieces.

3. Real-Time Retopology & Optimization
Retopology was one of the main technical challenges of the project. The body, clothing and props needed to remain around 75K triangles combined, leaving the remaining budget for the hair and fur cards.

I prioritized the silhouette first, followed by areas that needed clean deformation. Those regions kept more regular quad-based edge flow, while strategic triangles were introduced in rigid or less visible areas whenever they allowed me to reduce unnecessary geometry. I tried to always keep in mind that details that did not affect the silhouette were better left for the normal map.

The resulting asset used approximately 57K tris for the body and clothing and 18K for all props, leaving 25K for the final hair and fur.

4. UVs & Baking
Once the low-poly model was complete, I created the UVs around the needs of a real-time asset. The character was divided into four 4K texture sets. The initial three were organised around the face, clothing and props/accessories, with some elements moved between sets when that allowed me to make better use of the available texture space. A fourth set was reserved for the hair and fur.

I then baked the high-poly information onto the final meshes in Substance 3D Painter, checking projection problems and correcting areas where the low-poly geometry or cage needed adjustment before beginning the final textures.

5. Texturing & Material Definition
Texturing had to preserve the colors, patterns and overall read of the concept from a distance, while adding enough tertiary detail for the materials to feel realistic and believable in close-ups. I recreated several elements specifically for the project, including custom alphas for the fabric patterns, surface variation for the leather and metal pieces, and opacity information for worn or damaged cloth. The arrow feathers also required dedicated opacity textures. Instead of modeling every separation between fibres, I created the feather fletching of the arrow through cards and opacity, allowing the silhouette to remain detailed at a much lower geometry cost.

Once the texturing was complete, I exported the final Base Color, Roughness, Metallic, Opacity and Normal maps, combining the painted material information with the finer surface detail transferred from the high-poly through the bakes.

6. Hair & Fur Cards

Hair and fur were created as a separate card-based workflow.

I first used XGen in Maya to build a library of strands for different purposes: long, medium and short hair, several thicknesses, finer flyaways and additional variations for the shoulder fur.

These strands were converted to geometry and taken into ZBrush, where I refined the silhouettes, introduced gaps and variation between locks, and adjusted the shapes before baking them in xNormal.

From those bakes I generated the Alpha, Normal, AO, Height and ID maps, using different IDs to introduce controlled variation between groups of strands. I then completed the Base Color and Specular information in Photoshop.

Once the textures were ready, I built the actual cards and matched the UVs to the baked strands. Alongside individual cards, I created reusable two- and three-card clusters arranged in triangular and crossed configurations. These gave each placement more volume and allowed me to establish the larger masses faster before introducing finer layers.

The final groom was assembled progressively in ZBrush: first the main volumes, then medium-density clusters, thinner cards and finally individual flyaways. I separated the hairstyle into the fringe, side sections, crown, back and ponytail so each area could be controlled independently.

I followed the same approach for the fur, beginning with a dense base and gradually introducing more irregular and isolated cards to break up the silhouette.

The final geometry came to approximately 8K tris for the hair and 17K for the fur.

    7. Lookdev & Final Presentation

    The final lookdev and presentation were created in Marmoset Toolbag, where I assembled the complete low-poly character and evaluated the materials, transparency cards and baked details together in real time.

    I created a simple lighting setup for the turnaround and final renders, keeping the presentation neutral enough for the character, materials and silhouette to remain the focus.

      What Helped Me Most

      A few ideas from this project have stayed with me and continue to influence how I approach real-time characters.

      • Research beyond the concept.
        A concept gives you the visual target, but it does not always explain how every object works. Researching the clothing, weapons and archery equipment helped me make better decisions whenever the drawing left something unresolved.
      • Optimize what the viewer actually perceives.
        Working within a strict triangle budget made me think differently about detail. The goal was to decide where geometry was actually contributing to silhouette, deformation or readability and where baked information could do the same job more efficiently.

      Software

      ZBrush · Maya · Marvelous Designer · Substance 3D Painter · XGen · xNormal · Photoshop · Marmoset Toolbag

      Credits

      • Original Concept: Mitch Mohrhauser — Ghost of Tsushima
      • Tutor: Miguel Ángel Carriquí
      • Original IP: Ghost of Tsushima — Sucker Punch Productions

      If you’re looking for a Videogame Character Artist, feel free to get in touch or explore more of my work.

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