Learn to Make Protective Komainu Guardian Statue in 3D

Introduction

Hello! My name is Shion Otsuka. I have been a character artist in the Japanese game industry for over 15 years and currently lead the character graphics section of the project, providing overall supervision.

I've loved video games since I was a child, and because I wanted to move the characters I created into actual games someday, I thought that there was no other industry I could aspire to besides the game industry.

After graduating from technical school, I got a job at a number of game studios, and I have experience developing titles such as action games and RPGs, but most of my work was as a project and task manager.

The job I really wanted to do was to make a lot of models as an artist and get involved in game graphics. It wasn't smooth sailing, but I feel that this experience is my foundation.

In 2016, I gave up my entire career and took on the challenge of creating a character model for Dragon Quest 11. This gave me a fresh start as an artist.

Even now, as a leader, I tend to manage schedules and tasks rather than move my hands, but as an artist, I would like to create more game characters and creatures in the future.

Therefore, I keep it fresh by taking in new information every day and do not just input but also output. Above all, I think it is important to continue to complete my work.

The Komainu Project

I have always loved animals and creatures, and I also like looking at objects of historical value, such as sculptures, art objects, temples, shrines, and artifacts, so I felt that komainu fit the topic that I needed to work on.

Then came “Black Myth: Wukong” in August 2024, and the presence of the game, a wonderful cultural expression, helped to motivate me to make it, and I desperately needed to channel my passion into the Komainu project.

This imaginary Japanese beast is unconventional, with many three-dimensional shapes of various designs. I felt it was a very good theme that I could create with my own interpretation and thoughts.

The komainu have the power to ward off evil, and I made them in the hope that I could complete them and protect them from evil that would befall me. (When you live a long life, sometimes you feel this way.)

As for reference materials, it depends, but I don't really collect many reference materials at first.

The material to look at varies slightly depending on the stage of the production process. And sadly, I don't have a very good memory, so my brain can't handle a lot of images.

First, I gathered some references to further enrich my imagination of what I wanted to make, but here I was inspired by the real guardian dogs, the Okinawan shisa, the wonderful sculptures on ArtStation, and the wonderful works of the artist I admire, Zhelong Xu, to get my imagination into shape.

I also collected Japanese music for encouragement. During the production, the stimulation of the ears is also considered to be an important stimulus.

I wanted to incorporate the flickering flame as an essence of the fur's silhouette, so I included it in the reference.

The time I spend thinking about what I want to make is sometimes the most fun part.

Personally, I think that it is important for me to enjoy myself first, without being bound by the pressures and stereotypes of learning.

Modeling

Like many artists, I start with the blockout. In ZBrush, I mostly used 3 brushes: Move, DamStandard, and ClayBuildup, at low resolution to make a rough shape. When I wanted to make a flat surface, I used a Polish brush. I don't use the Smooth brush much at the blockout stage.

It's possible that interesting shapes will be created later from rough hand-carved nuances, and I'm hopeful for that. At this point, I try to get as many elements as I can, but I don't have the perfect design.

In order to solidify the image, I make the face, eyes, and teeth, as well as an angry expression for the guardian dog. I wanted to add momentum and complexity to the model, so I incorporated a lot of swirl designs.

Here is a comparison image of the WIP and the near-finished ZBrush model. It's not very sophisticated at this point. It's the most time-consuming process for me, and it's very ugly.

If you are working on high poly, you need to have some perspective on the texturing process.

I didn't add any texture directly to the model but let Substance 3D Painter do the work. If there is something that affects the outline or needs to be shaped directly, I work on it in the high-poly stage.

Also, one thing I always keep in mind about the stereoscopic effect is that there is volume in the model that cannot be represented by baking or texturing. If you want to cast a solid shadow, you need to shape it as a model.

Some things to consider in your game model are the number of polygons and the load that you have to pay attention to, but that can make the shape look ugly. First of all, create the three-dimensional feeling you want to express during the shaping process.

I often use the BPR function of ZBrush to check the 3D feel. I like to render the default shadows slightly blurred and with AO included.

It is important to note that the shading here does not necessarily match the final rendered result. 

As for the details of the hair, it is difficult to create it with texture, so I take time to shape it beforehand.

After making a rough shape with the Move and ClayBuildup brushes, I pull the tips of the hair with a Snake Hook.

Again, I refrain from using a Smooth brush a lot and create a rough hair flow, leaving brush marks. Then I sculpt while paying attention to the flow of the hair, and when I can see the shape to some extent, I increase the resolution and carve fine hairs with a Slash brush. I also use DamStandard and Standard brushes so that the hair does not have constant tension. I make an alpha in Photoshop to add some details.

I then add a little bit of waviness so the hair doesn't become straight; I am careful to make the shape interesting to look at but don't worry about small overlaps.

The flame in the reference was collected to explore the image of the hair moving. In addition, the silhouette of Fudo Myoo's "flame halo" was also used as a reference, and I thought that I could bring the design together by taking hints from similar genres.

It is also a good idea to apply a material to confirm the silhouette.

Maya is used for the bracelet decoration. I first create one of the patterns and place it using the MASH function.

I think it is possible with instances, but I use this method this time because I can adjust the value dynamically. 

Retopology & UVs

Retopology and UVs can be very time-consuming, but since this is a personal project, it doesn't have to be game-ready.

Being able to do it quickly, having a short path to results, and keeping my focus was important for this project. For products, it is important that this process is accurate and careful.

The model is a ZBrush Decimation Master with significantly fewer polygons. Some areas where the mesh was faulty were manually fixed in Maya, but this was not a huge task.

Then, some model errors are fixed, and the UV work is done in Maya. I use UDIM to add detail to the texture, and the UVs themselves are created without overlapping parts.

Again, make sure that there are no variations in texel density (except in areas that are not visible).

Texturing

The texture was created in Substance 3D Painter. I wanted to make my komainu feel worn and period-appropriate rather than new, so I aimed to make them feel strong in weathered conditions.

The base of the body is rusted iron, the surface is coated with paint, and the gold leaf is pasted on it. The head is like a mask, and the texture is brass.

These textures are layered and layered, and I wanted to aim for something that I could really feel.

I apply a texture from the library in Substance 3D Painter that is close to what I want and test repeatedly to see what I can do.

There are a lot of great tutorials and assets online that you can take to the next level. I especially liked Javad Rajabzade's excellent materials and tutorials.

As I'm sure many artists are aware, there is a reason for material degradation. For example, red rust occurs when an iron surface is oxidized, and blue rust occurs when brass is used.

We want to make the model convincing by understanding and representing the correct texture.

The paint peels off in a way that floats from the edge. If this area is blurred, it will not give the desired impression, so we use a high pass to detect the edges of the created mask and use a level correction or sharp filter to make the edges stand out. 

Lighting & Rendering

The final rendering is done in the Marmoset Toolbag. After you've imported the necessary textures and created a basic shader, you can use ray tracing to get started with lighting. The camera and lighting settings are different depending on the cut, but the basic idea is the same, so I will introduce one of them as an example.

I think it's easier to manage if you don't have too many lights. Keeping with the idea of three-point lighting, this time, we start with dark lighting that is only spotlighted from above as still life. Other than that, there are 2 rim lights to make the outline stand out, a fill light to adjust the shading of the komainu, and a point light to make the face stand out.

In addition, weak fog is used to bring the whole atmosphere together. As for the post-effects, I don't make any major adjustments except for a few essential adjustments to tighten it up.

As is the case with games, lighting is an important factor in quality. Great lighting enhances your scene, but it can ruin it if you don't use it effectively. I am a modeler, but I would like to become familiar with this field of painting.

Conclusion

I think one of the good things about digital 3D is that you can use shaders and lighting to create different textures and enjoy them.

This time, I wanted to 3D-print this komainu while touching on the analog part, so I did that too! It took a lot of money and time, but it's also very refreshing and fun to have something you've created not only on the screen.

I did the guardian dog project between various projects, so it was not a fixed period of time but a project that progressed slowly little by little, and I think the total time was about 2 months.

I think it is quite difficult to work on my days off in parallel with my regular work, but I did not want to compromise because I have a clear vision that I want to make models as an artist. I  understood that the disadvantages of compromise would weigh much more heavily.

Above all, this Komainu project was hard, but the most important thing is that I was able to enjoy making it. It was hard to resist the urge to cut corners and focus on my portfolio.

I know there are some people who want to be artists and are in a difficult situation, but 3D is not something that you can learn in a short period of time, and there is no guarantee that you can always produce the best output.

But as long as it's your job, you have an obligation to meet the expectations of your clients and deliver what feels best to your users.

There are jobs that even beginners can experience. First, absorb as much as you can from every experience and learn as much as you can. And continue with a strong will.

This takes patience, and it's important to keep your creative juices flowing.

Shion Otsuka, 3D Artist

Interview conducted by Gloria Levine