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Zuri & Bea – Ramen for Two

Character Modeling for a Stylized Short Film

In Ramen for Two, I modeled two of the film’s three main characters: Zuri and Bea, working from early development through final topology, UVs and part of their clothing.

Zuri was the first character developed and became an important reference for the rest of the cast. Her proportions, facial structure and topology helped establish a shared visual and technical base that could later be adapted to other characters.

Bea was developed from that foundation, reusing what already worked while adjusting proportions, features and topology to give her a clearly different identity.

Both characters were created with the needs of animation, texturing, rigging and cloth simulation in mind, while preserving the stylized look of the film.

Zuri — Protagonist

Zuri is the emotional centre of the film: energetic, creative and impulsive, but also vulnerable throughout much of the story.

Her design needed to communicate that duality while remaining consistent with the stylized world of the short.

Goal
My goal was to find the right balance between realistic anatomy and stylization while developing a character that could carry much of the film emotionally.
Because Zuri was the first character taken through the full modeling process, her final proportions and topology also became a useful reference for the rest of the cast.

Process

1. Character sculpting

I developed Zuri’s anatomy in ZBrush, starting from more realistic proportions and progressively pushing stylization based on continuous supervisor feedback. That way I begun to understand how far I could simplify or exaggerate forms without losing her belivable anatomy.

2. Face & Hair Development

Much of Zuri’s identity comes from her face and hairstyle, so these became two of the areas I refined the most.

For the face, I worked on balancing her mixed Black and Asian heritage within the stylized design: fuller lips and a broader nose, combined with more almond-shaped eyes and Asian-influenced facial anatomy.

For the hair, I focused on keeping the braids and larger masses cohesive and readable in her silhouette. Later in the process, when we saw that the areas between the braids felt too empty, I added a sculpted scalp base to create a more natural transition into the head and avoid the character looking bald between sections.

    3. Topology & UVs

    Once the design was approved, I created the final topology in Maya, paying particular attention to the face and other areas that would need to deform during animation.

    Because Zuri was the first character completed, her topology became a reusable starting point for other characters. I kept reviewing the deformation areas with the rigging team and adjusted the edge flow where necessary before finalising the UV layout.

    4. Clothing & Production Preparation

    I also worked on Zuri’s clothing and accessories, preparing the garments so they could move cleanly into texturing, rigging and/or cloth simulation.
    Some pieces were developed in Marvelous Designer and then refined to better match the stylized shapes of the character.

    Bea — New Romantic Interest

    Bea appears for a shorter time, but she still needed a clear identity of her own.
    Her calmer and more elegant presence was designed to contrast with Zuri, so the challenge was to keep both characters visibly part of the same world while avoiding the feeling that Bea was simply a variation of the protagonist.

    Goal
    My goal was to reuse the foundation already developed for Zuri without allowing that shared structure to define Bea’s appearance.
    Proportions, facial planes, hair and clothing were adjusted to give her a softer and more understated presence while maintaining the same visual language.

    Process

    1. Basemesh reuse & adaptation

    I started from Zuri’s approved base and adapted the proportions and facial features to Bea.
    Reusing an existing foundation saved time, but it also meant removing some of Zuri’s Black-influenced features and pushing Bea’s anatomy further towards her Asian identity, especially around the eyes and overall facial structure. I exaggerated the more almond-shaped eye design while refining the rest of the face so she still felt like her own character.

    2. Adapting the Topology

    I used Wrap3D to transfer the existing topology and then manually refined the areas where Bea’s proportions required a different edge flow.

    3. Hair, Clothing & UVs

    Because Bea is only seen from the front, I kept the back of the hairstyle as a single continuous mass and focused the detail where it would actually be visible on screen.

    The front was built with larger straight hair chunks, using a bit of asymmetry here and there to keep the design from feeling too rigid (for example, placing one strand behind the ear).

    I also modeled her full outfit, adapting the shapes and proportions to keep the same stylized language as the rest of the cast.

    Transferring Zuri’s topology helped speed up the UV stage as well, since the existing UV layout could be reused. After adapting the mesh to Bea, I only needed to unfold the UVs again so they matched the new proportions correctly.

    What Helped Me Most

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

      • Build the first character with the rest of the cast in mind
        Developing Zuri taught me that the first character in a production is not only about solving that individual model. Decisions around topology, proportions and deformation can make the following characters much efficient to build if they are designed to be adaptable from the beginning.
      • Make your life easier, reuse the structure
        Production is also about working smart. If a base mesh, topology or UV layout already works, reuse and adapt it instead of rebuilding it from scratch. Starting from Zuri’s structure made Bea much faster to develop while still leaving room to give her a completely different identity.

      Software

      ZBrush · Maya · Wrap3D · Marvelous Designer · Substance Painter · Houdini · Arnold

      Credits

      • Modeling Lead: Laura Blázquez
      • Character Design: Judith Tarrés
      • CFX: Laura Blázquez & Marta Castañé
      • Texturing/LookDev: Clara Soler,  Ainhoa Jiménez & Judith Tarrés
      • Supervision: Josep Maria Sáez
      • Production: HotDogs Studio & Brooderlab

      If you’re looking for a Character Artist for a stylized film, game or cinematic project, feel free to get in touch.

      Contact me