How to Make Colorful 2D-Like Rabbit Warrior in 3D Using Maya & Substance 3D

Introduction 

Hi! I’m Maurine, a 3D artist from France, specializing in modeling and texturing. I spend a lot of time on personal 3D projects with a 2D look, which helped me grow artistically and develop a strong interest in stylized storytelling. 

That led me to work with Supamonks, particularly on the trailer for Tomo: Endless Blue, and other upcoming productions. I’ve always been inspired by visually rich universes, like those in Miyazaki’s films. I also grew up with traditional 2D animation and Japanese anime, which greatly shaped my artistic vision. I graduated with a bachelor's in 3D during a difficult time for the animation industry, which pushed me to work even harder to find my place. 

Rabbit Warrior

I discovered Nehuen Defosse’s concept by chance while browsing Pinterest. His design immediately caught my attention because of its originality. This is not just any rabbit; it’s a warrior rabbit who fights using weapons made from upcycled objects he finds in his environment. I thought the idea was brilliant! 

I wanted to use the potential of 3D to really give life to this character. Preserving the charm of the original concept was a challenge that truly motivated me. I wished it wasn’t just a static pose, so I wanted to bring him to life, have him move, turn around, like in a real production. 

Modeling

I created the initial sketch using the reference model as a base to build the character in a T-pose. To maintain production efficiency, I followed a traditional character creation workflow, as I usually do in my projects, even though this character was primarily meant for posing. 

Moving from 2D to 3D helped me fix proportion issues and anticipate the challenge of keeping the model both accurate and visually appealing from every angle. All the modeling was done in Maya. 

The legs were the biggest challenge in this modeling process because they don’t have “human” proportions. I had to interpret his posture differently to create a proper neutral pose.

Topology

The UVs were unwrapped manually while the character was in a T-pose to ensure clean seams and better texture painting. Since I didn’t plan to reuse the model after this project and only intended to pose it, the topology was designed to allow a quick rig using Advanced Skeleton, followed by some manual adjustments. I deliberately posed the character before texturing to ensure the final painted model closely matched the original concept. 

Texturing

I used Substance 3D Painter for the textures. For this kind of look, I mainly focused on the Base Color channel. First, I assigned the colors to each part of the model. Then, I did a lot of hand-painting. I carefully studied the reference and tried to reproduce the color touches and subtleties. 

I added the internal line details directly onto the texture. In this project, I also included some lighting information within the texture itself, aiming to get as close as possible to the original drawing. 

The metallic objects received a specular map to manage reflections in the shader.

The outlines are handled by an Arnold aiToon shader with a slight noise effect to create irregularity in the line. The biggest challenge with this type of rendering was managing the line distribution to subtly emphasize details without making the lines look too thick or too faint. 

Posing

For the pose, I recreated it almost exactly by placing the original 2D reference behind the 3D model. The pose was designed so that the model could be viewed from all angles, keeping the practical advantage of 3D, while preserving the 2D look through shading techniques.

However, it was Lucas Retif, a 3D animator, who truly brought the character to life. He was given the constraint to create a looping idle animation based on the original pose. Since the old rig had become obsolete after some modifications, he quickly set up a new one specific to this pose, which allowed him to animate it. 

I really love collaborating with animators because it allows me to make my characters feel more alive and dynamic. 

Lighting & Rendering

In the scene, I only used one HDRI and two lights: one to establish the main direction of the shadows and another rim light, which was managed directly through the Aitoon shader. I wasn’t afraid to hide the rim light in certain areas to maintain precise control over its placement. The biggest challenge was making sure the rim light didn’t overpower the model, keeping it subtle while still enhancing the overall look. 

The rendering was done in Arnold using just three AOVs: RGBA, Line, and Cryptomatte. The compositing process was very straightforward; I simply overlaid the Line pass onto the RGBA map. I allowed myself a few color corrections in post-production to better match the original reference, even though the raw render was already quite close. I also added a slight grain, like a paper effect, to emphasize the 2D look. 

Conclusion

One of the biggest challenges was managing the line work. In projects like this, it’s always tricky to handle lines generated in 3D when the original drawing’s lines were hand-painted. It’s a constant balancing act: making sure the line variation isn’t too noisy or too faint, deciding which areas should keep their contours intact and which should have more emphasis. Honestly, I’m rarely fully satisfied with my 3D lines; I usually end up settling on a version that bothers me the least. 

That said, this project really pushed me to deepen my knowledge of 2D shading techniques in a 3D work. I don’t intend to reuse this rabbit in the future. It doesn’t really belong to me; I just gave meaning to its creation. Moving forward, I’d like to develop my shading skills further to explore this 2D style even more. 

Maurine Poncelet, 3D Artist

Interview conducted by Emma Collins