Creating a Stylized Character in Kimono with ZBrush & Marvelous Designer

Introduction

Hi everyone! My name is Maria Florencia Nespola Mangariello, and I am a 3D Character Artist from Argentina, currently residing in the United States.

My love for art started at a young age. I began by drawing my favorite characters from films and video games, and after high school, I decided to pursue a degree in Computer Animation at Full Sail University, where I graduated in December 2024. Since then, I have continued refining my skills through constant practice and specialized mentorships.

I recently completed Leticia Gillett’s Stylized Portraits Mentorship, which focused on designing appealing characters from scratch in ZBrush while developing original stories. During the class, I started thinking deeply about the themes and aesthetics I enjoy the most. I have always wanted to create a Japanese-inspired character, especially because I love traditional clothing and accessories. That is how Haruka – Kitsune Guardian came to life.

Project Planning & Inspiration

My first step was gathering references using PureRef, focusing on clothing, footwear, accessories, animation style, and portrait references. At the same time, I developed a simple backstory for the character. I wanted Haruka to feel cute yet mysterious, so I aimed for a strong pose and lighting that would support that mood.

After the research phase, I explored several quick blockouts and selected my three favorites before committing to the final direction. 

Once the body sculpt and clothing blockout were complete and the proportions felt right, I moved to Marvelous Designer to create the outfit. At this stage, I focused on achieving the main wrinkle structure. When I was satisfied with the garment simulation, I exported it to ZBrush for further refinement.

Sculpting & Clothing Workflow

From the Marvelous Designer result, I usually ZRemesh all garment pieces and project the details back. I keep most of the primary and secondary forms while intentionally removing tertiary details to maintain a stylized look. I clean up the surface using Smooth Peaks and Smooth Valleys, and I enhance larger folds with the DamStandard brush using LazyMouse (typically between 20-30).

After adding thickness, I mask the borders using polygroups and apply subtle Inflate Balloon, Polish, and Polish By Features from the Deformation tab to achieve soft, rounded edges. For additional wrinkles, I use the SK_Cloth brush. The Marvelous Designer garment served as a strong base, and I adjusted the central ribbon area directly in ZBrush to better fit the design. This stage is also where I push the silhouette further if I feel the clothing needs more strength or clarity.

Hair is one of my favorite parts of the process. I began with a DynaMesh sculpt to establish the volume and overall silhouette. Once I was happy with it, I divided the hair into four main sections. On top of this base, I used the DE Hair Tubes brush to create stylized strands. Since this brush produces clean topology, it made the later grooming stage much easier.

Topology was not the main focus of this project, but I did a quick Quad Draw pass in Maya, then projected the details back in ZBrush to ensure clean edge flow. For UVs, I used ZBrush UV Master as a starting point and refined the layout in Maya. 

One area where I saw significant improvement in this project was the face. I studied my main references in detail and focused heavily on design principles, especially the balance between hard and soft edges and the overall shape language.

Texturing & Look Development

After finishing the high-resolution sculpt, I baked the maps in Marmoset Toolbag and brought them into Substance 3D Painter. One of the main challenges was choosing the color palette and the kimono pattern. I tested several color combinations using Polypaint in ZBrush until I settled on red and blue.

For texturing, I enjoy working at a high level of detail. I usually start by collecting close-up references and analyzing surface wear and material behavior. Since this is a stylized character, I aim to include these details but reduce their intensity by around 30-40%. For example, I added subtle wear along the garment borders and carefully considered which areas would naturally be more affected by touch, sunlight, or movement to enhance storytelling.

For the kimono pattern, I wanted an elegant look inspired by a Japanese festival at night. This was challenging, as I explored many ideas before finding a design that felt balanced and appealing. I ended up using a tileable floral pattern, editing its hue and saturation in Photoshop. In Substance 3D Painter, I added gold accents along the borders by creating a gold material and controlling it with Levels, subtly breaking the linearity.

I focused heavily on adding fabric details such as fibers and seams, ensuring they remained readable even from a distance. I constantly tested the textures in Arnold, assigning aiStandardSurface shaders and adjusting parameters like sheen and coat. A lot of attention went into the base color, layering gradients, and subtle color variation to enrich the surfaces.

Lighting, Hair Grooming, & Final Pose

For lighting, I initially set up a studio lighting setup for the A-pose using a gray backdrop. During early tests, I used the mesh hair to evaluate the overall look. Since something felt missing, I decided to groom the hair using the Ahoge Hair Plugin for Maya.

The plugin simplifies hair creation by generating strands directly from geometry using NURBS surfaces instead of traditional guides. Having clean hair meshes from ZBrush was extremely helpful at this stage. As long as the strands have clean topology and open roots and tips, they can be converted into NURBS and groomed efficiently.

I posed the character using ZBrush’s Transpose Master. I wanted a strong line of action that carried through the clothing, giving Haruka a confident presence: cute, but with a quiet sense of strength.

For the eyes, I use a two-part setup (the eyeball and a glass shell), which helps add depth. When lighting them, I assign one circular area light per eye using light linking, so the lights only affect the eyes and not the rest of the model.

For the final lighting setup, I used:

• 1 backdrop
• 1 key light
• 1 fill light
• 1 top light
• 2 rim lights

Post-Production

For the final portrait render, I used Photoshop for basic post-production. I mainly adjusted the Camera Raw Filter, focusing on light, curves, color, effects, and vignette. I also added a subtle smoke texture to enrich the background.

Final Thoughts

This project was a huge learning experience for me, and I could clearly see my skills improving as the work progressed. From the early blockouts to the final details, each stage came with its own challenges and lessons. Working through these moments helped me better understand my workflow and grow more confident in my artistic decisions.

One piece of advice I would give to beginners is to keep practicing and trust the process. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes: every model, even those that don’t turn out as expected, is an important step forward. Progress can be difficult to notice while you are deeply involved in a project, but when you look back and compare earlier stages or past works, the improvement becomes much more visible.

Most importantly, consistency and persistence are key. Showing up regularly, staying curious, and continuously exploring new techniques naturally lead to growth over time. Learning never truly stops, and every new piece is an opportunity to improve and push your skills further.

Social media: ArtStation, LinkedIn, and Instagram

Maria Florencia Nespola, 3D Character Artist