Devon Fell-Smith

UH MA Concept Art

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Industry | Adapting 2D Media for Live Action (Costuming in Netflix's One Piece Live Action (2023—)

Netflix is no stranger to producing live-action versions of Japanese animation, such as Death Note (2017) and Bet (2025). Arguably most successful of these is their One Piece (2023—) based on the series of the same name created by Eiichiro Oda, the second season of which aired earlier in 2026.

Unlike Death Note and Bet, which were based off more reality-based settings (Death Note (2003—2006) and Kakegurui (2014—) respectively) and thus are much simpler to adapt to live film, One Piece is set in a more fantastical and cartoonish world, with a distinct style and character designs. With the second season came the introduction of the antagonist group "Baroque Works", which boasts a particularly unique set of characters.

Coloured artwork of various Baroque Works members.

Due to the exaggerated and cartoonish nature of the original designs, the live-action production has a few options; they can take core elements of each character (such as colour palette, notable patterns and accessories) and redesign the costume from scratch in order to appear more grounded to fit the new medium. Alternatively, they can attempt to be as faithful as possible to the source material. However, with the latter, there then becomes the issue of making these designs appear natural rather than simply a costume, which can ruin viewer immersion. Costume Designer on the first season, Diana Cilliers, describes similar challenges in an interview:

"We wanted to honor the iconic looks of these characters. They all had some challenges where we had to take the characteristics of these iconic characters and translate them into a world where clothes could be worn, were practical, and they were safe."

The One Piece live action, or OPLA, begins this process with the environment work. By recreating locations, down to their sometimes cartoonish proportions, through CGI and detailed set work, it creates a space which does not clash with the characters within it.

Behind the scenes footage of the OPLA.

Then, of course, there is the characters themselves, which in live film begins with casting, which Cilliers described as "one of the most amazing things that I’ve seen on any of the projects that I’ve worked on before." Actors are selected not only for ability, but for visual similarities such as facial structure and body type. For a series such as One Piece, in which many characters have confirmed or implied real-world ethnicities, one can assume that this also may have played a role in where they searched for cast members.

Cilliers also notes the importance of fabrics:

"The textures of fabrics were quite essential, and the way that they were aged, we spent a massive amount of time carefully aging everything so that it looked like the characters inhabited their costumes and that they were part of their identity in a way."

This likely also played a role in distinguishing between clothing and costume, as the latter tends to be composed of newer-looking, shinier and often cheaper materials, as they are not made for regular wear. It also adds dimensionality to the original flat colours of the 2D character designs, and often conveys further aspects of the character's personality through their choices. The live action also gives some characters alternative clothing options to suit both the character and location, to further the sense of them being a real, living person.

Live-action footage of various Baroque Works members.

Two additional costumes for Baroque Works members in the OPLA.

For a series as distinct in style as One Piece, in which the character designs are a huge part of the atmosphere, I believe that aiming for accuracy rather than realism was a good choice. Though still somewhat outlandish in design, the costuming is well-designed to fit within the world despite the change in medium, and does not deter from the story's already somewhat silly events. Instead, this cartoonish style honours the original medium, clearly establishes its distinct visual style and world, and adds to the fantastical nature of the narrative all at once.

REFERENCES

Netflix (n. d.) See Behind the Scenes Photos of 'ONE PIECE' Live Action Cast and Crew - Netflix Tudum. Available at: https://www.netflix.com/tudum/galleries/one-piece-behind-the-scenes-photos

Oda, E. (1999—) One Piece. [Manga] Shueisha.

One Piece. (2023—) Netflix, August 31 onwards.

Williams, S. (n. d.) Costume Designer Diana Cilliers Dives into the Challenge of Adapting Iconic ‘One Piece’ Costumes for Netflix Series. Available at: https://theartofcostume.com/2023/09/06/costume-designer-diana-cilliers-dives-into-the-challenge-of-adapting-iconic-one-piece-costumes-for-netflix-series/

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Industry | The Player-Avatar Relationship in Toby Fox's Deltarune (2018—)

Independent game developer Toby Fox is no stranger to making commentary within his works. He is most well-known for his 2015 work Undertale, which subverts the typical normalisation of violence in combat RPGs by giving the player the option of differing "routes". Players can choose to kill or spare the various enemies that they fight within the game, but each choice has consequences that impact the resulting narrative and the way other characters will behave towards the player character.

Undertale's alternate-universe counterpart, Deltarune (2018—), features many of the same characters but instead focuses heavily on character autonomy. The player, a nameless soul represented by a red heart, controls a human named Kris throughout the course of the story in a somewhat complicated relationship, particularly in the game's "Weird Route". In Deltarune, the player requires Kris as an avatar to be able to interact with the world and characters around them. Conversely, Kris requires the player's soul to seal away "Dark Fountains", an occurrence that serves as the main dilemma in each Chapter (i.e., a new Dark Fountain will appear, create the dungeon that needs to be cleared, and gets sealed away to complete the chapter). However, there will also be moments in which Kris will physically remove the player from their body in order to act independently and without the player's surveillance. This relationship is most clear in Deltarune's Chapter 2 (2021) and Chapter 4 (2025).

Chapter 2, the player can enable the "Weird Route" by, as Kris, equipping a powerful item named the "Thorn Ring" their childhood friend Noelle (who believes the fantastical events around her to be a dream), and instructing her to fight and kill all enemies during encounters. This results in the hospitalisation of another friend of theirs, as Noelle had cast a spell upon him in the Dark Fountain's world, and the player is later able to watch Kris lock the player away and leave to an unknown location.

Noelle casting a spell upon her friend, and Kris removing the player from their body and locking them up.

In Chapter 4, Kris once again removes the player from their body whilst in Noelle's house. As the soul, the player is able to float through the vents and observe Kris doing various activities such as drinking, calling an unknown person, and talking privately with Noelle. In one sequence, Kris will even attempt to physically hit the player and push them away by swinging at the soul icon with a hockey stick.

Kris and the player fighting.

During the aforementioned private conversation with Noelle (upon which the player can speculate), Noelle will reveal that Kris had previously removed the player in order to attempt to undo the damage that the player had done in Chapter 2 by removing a thorn (the Thorn Ring's form in the real world) from her finger, and assuring her that the events of the Dark Fountain's world were just a dream to ease her worries. When the player subsequently forces themselves back in control and pushes the Thorn Ring back upon Noelle, Kris will again act aggressively towards the player by kicking and beating the soul up before ultimately placing the player back inside them.

The player, as Kris, forcing the Thorn Ring upon Noelle and Kris lashing out at the player due to their actions.

The game clearly depicts Kris as an individual who is independent from and often opposes the player's own will, yet must also allow the player to puppet them around because they require the player's power for other means. Deltarune is interesting in the fact that Kris is not necessarily self-aware of their medium (i.e., the fact that they are a character within a video game), but is aware of the player as a foreign entity with powers that they both require and resent. It also disallows the player from full immersion within the game's world by constantly making them aware of their role as an intruder of sorts. In this way, the player is forced to confront their own otherness and is made to consider the autonomy of the in-game characters both in moments of conflict and when making decisions on that character's behalf; it is then up to the player whether they choose to act empathetically (in line with what the character would want) or for their own means (in line with what the player personally desires). As a result, this idea of autonomy lingers in the background of each choice made across the course of the entire game.

REFERENCES

Toby Fox (2015) Undertale [Video Game]. Toby Fox

Toby Fox (2018—) Deltarune [Video Game]. Toby Fox

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Industry | Love and Deepspace's Reimagining of the Otome Genre

Otome games are a type of story-based romance game typically targeted towards women. Usually shown through visual novel-style 2D visuals and text boxes, the player is able to experience the story through a female character avatar and make decisions for her, creating a branching narrative with multiple good and bad endings. These endings mainly, of course, pertain to the female character's relationship status with one of multiple of prospective (usually male) love interests.

Some Otome games, such as Cheritz's Mystic Messenger (2016) were popular installments that changed up the regular formula with an online chatroom-based storytelling system and real-time messaging and "phone calls" with characters through voice acting. It was even possible to "miss" calls and messages from various characters if you were not on the game at the specified time. However, one of the more drastic and most notable interpretations of the Otome genre has been Infold's Love and Deepspace (2024—).

Having ranked second globally amongst anime-style mobile games in 2025, Love and Deepspace or "LADS" has reached an estimated revenue of approximately 360 million USD (2025) and became the first Otome game to be nominated at the 2025 Gamescom Awards for Best Mobile Game. That is to say, LADS has skyrocketed in popularity since it's release, mainly due to it's reimagining of typical Otome games.

LADS markets itself heavily on it's immersive, 3D world; The player is able to interact with realistically modelled male love interests in a variety of ways through a first-person view. Many cutscenes and narrative segments also utilise this first-person 3D style, as well as possessing a heavily customisable female avatar for the player. Qu and Wang note in their case study on LADS that this revolutionary new visual style enhances the parasocial nature of such games, stating that

"The refined depiction of skin textures as well as subtle facial expressions and movements breaks the limitations of traditional 2D games, simulating the interaction logic of real intimate relationships. This realistic restoration of face-to-face communication enables parasocial interaction, making players treat characters as sincere emotional companions rather than cold codes."

LADS also features various gameplay modes outside of visual novel storytelling and romantic cutscenes, such as "dating" activities (playable arcade games, card games, photography booth, and a house to customise and interact with your chosen love interest in) and combat gameplay loops (story battles, weekly/monthly reset battle events). Like some other Otome games, the characters can text you, call you, or even video call. There are also a series of additional features to further incorporate your chosen male love interest into your life through study, sleep and workout timers (in which the love interest will be shown doing such activities on screen for the duration), reminders you can set, AR photography, and even a period tracker. Not only does LADS reinvent itself through the use of interactive 3D visuals, but it reimagines Otome games not simply as a story to play through, but a fully immersive fictionalised relationship with the men within the game. In Qu and Wang's words,

"By embedding virtual characters into daily social frameworks, the game blurs the boundary between virtuality and reality and strengthens players’ sense of character presence, serving as a behavioral extension of "participating in the character’s life" in parasocial interaction."

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Footage from the Love and Deepspace official account.

In this way, it is not difficult to see how Love and Deepspace has gained such levels of popularity. It's unique style, immersivity, and diligent fostering of parasocial interaction elevate it past typical Otome games previously seen. The relationships with the player feel more real and genuine, not limited to a mere few dialogue options or simply clicking a character's route. Especially in a sphere still dominated by men, LADS is also revolutionary in proving that there is indeed a well-paying market out there for female gamers. It is rare for women to receive the treatment that LADS has given them— i.e., made by and catered specifically towards women. In particular, it is especially rare to see one that addresses still-stigmatised female sexuality through some of it's raunchier side stories. As such, LADS not only reimagines the Otome genre, but sets a new standard for female-targeted video games, and proves that women are also worth making games for.

REFERENCES

Cheritz (2016) Mystic Messenger [Video Game]. Cheritz

loveanddeepspace (2026) "From Scene One [...] stay tuned!" Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/DZjPFYpj_xm/ (Accessed: 6 August 2026)

Papergames (2024) Love and Deepspace [Video Game]. Infold Games.

Qu, X. S., & Wang, Y. J. (2026). From parasocial interaction to relationship: A study on virtual intimacy in otome games——A case study of Love and Deepspace. Social Sciences and Humanities, 4(1), 64–74. Available at https://doi.org/10.63313/SSH.9093 (Accessed: 6 August 2026)

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BTTV | XI: Districts Page

Due to the time constraints of the deadline, I discussed with my lecturers to cut down the initial number of planned locations for the districts page to 3. These ended up being the Angel, Siren, and Demon/Vampire districts (the latter of which has some crossover), as the Alien district is featured in the background of my Metronomicon illustration and I felt that this covered the most bases across the whole pitch document.

For the Angel and Siren districts, I again used sketchfab and Blender to kitbash a base together. However, even with as much optimisation as I could do, they were still taking hours to fully render, so to save time I tried photobashing with a simpler composition for the final location. With the Angel district, I changed my initial plan to be something more dreamlike, with buildings floating amongst the clouds at various angles. The Siren district was built over the sea, with brighter colours and ocean theming. I also wanted it to appear more cartoonish, as the ocean reminds me of piers and amusements associated with the seaside. The Demon/Vampire districts are darker, cramped and more unkempt, with my main inspiration being Kowloon Walled City.

All three were them painted over, with characters added in for scale. They were then compiled together into one page for my document. As I knew I was planning to put them all onto an A4 canvas, I decided to make two of the works landscape and one portrait, which I believed to be the most efficient use of the space.

As mentioned before, the environments for this project were quite rushed. Due to the combination of steep learning curve (as I am not particularly experienced with environments or Blender) and short turnaround required, I am not fully satisfied with these works. They are quite rough, and given more time I would have liked to properly plan out the different styles of architecture more thoroughly. However, after compiling them together for the page, I also think that they are not as bad as I had initially made them out to be, which has eased my worry somewhat.

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BTTV | X: Rhythm Game UI Mockup

Since my proposed game is a rhythm game, this was one of the more important pages in my pitch document. I began by deciding on my background image; most rhythm games have some sort of image or video in the background, so to replicate this I chose to draw a scene of the main cast's band mid-performance. Since I wanted to go for a more dynamic fish-eye lens look, I referenced similar concert photography. The band FUKURO regularly uploads high-quality photos from their performances, I mainly looked through their gallery.

I settled on the "front of the stage" point of view, looking up at the performers. I then drew in my five band members with the costumes and instruments I had designed previously, and lit the scene with a variety of layers and effects.

I then began working on the rhythm game UI. I decreased the brightness of my illustration significantly, so that it would not be too distracting. I looked at various rhythm game UI for reference, including Ensemble Stars!! Music (2020—), BanG Dream! (2017—) and Project SEKAI: COLOURFUL STAGE! (2020—), all of which had been referenced in my early research on rhythm games that I wished to emulate in this style of gameplay.

Rhythm gameplay screens for Ensemble Stars!! Music, BanG Dream! and Project SEKAI COLOURFUL STAGE!

Referencing the Metronomicon and its patterns, I drew out the rhythm grid and prompt markers. These markers included the tap note, hold note, and four directional swipe arrows. For the colours, I once again referenced the band logo I had designed and then altered them as needed for readability. I also added in the timing feedback message, a combo counter, and both the life ("resonance") and score bars.

Since I was working with different display dimensions, my UI mockup ended up slightly more cramped than a typical mobile rhythm game UI which is longer than my A4 page size. I am also not particularly experienced in UI work despite my personal interest in it, so this page was a fun challenge for me. Overall I am satisfied with this version, though it feels perhaps a little too similar to Ensemble Stars!! Music.

REFERENCES

Colourful Palette (2020) Project SEKAI: COLOURFUL STAGE! Feat. Hatsune Miku [Video game]. Sega.

Craft Egg (2017) BanG Dream! Girls Band Party! [Video game]. Bushiroad.

Happy Elements (2020) Ensemble Stars!! Music. [Video game]. Happy Elements.

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BTTV | IX: 260711 B7Klan J-Rock Fest

Another Visual Kei event I attended during the course of my project was the B7 Klan Japanese Rock Festival in Paris, celebrating 20 years of Japanese rock music with a lineup full of Vkei artists.

This was my first time attending a Visual Kei event on this larger scale— due to the underground nature of Vkei, they are quite rare, especially overseas— as well as my first time attending an international Vkei event.

I was nervous about travelling to and navigating a foreign country; thus, I arranged to stay with and attend alongside two friends from Italy whom I had met at another Vkei concert two years ago. Though we were not particularly close, they were kind enough to keep me company throughout the trip despite the hiccups we experienced along the way. Initially brought together by our shared interest in the subculture, Visual Kei has brought me long-time friends like them.

The morning portion featured event stalls, meet and greets, and live DJ sets. This time, the sense of community was even stronger than local events; many people had travelled from abroad to be there, united by their love of the music and subculture. I was especially able to feel this when talking with other attendees, who were recounting their excitement and explaining what the various bands performing that day meant to them. Although Vkei is typically associated with younger people, a lot of them were older, having become interested in the subculture in their teens or young adulthood and come to celebrate the 20 years alongside newer fans. They were happy to talk with newer faces to the scene such as myself without judgement, and instead were encouraging and supportive.

Another aspect I discovered that I had not been expecting to be as big as it was, were elements of sustainability. A lot of attendees had handmade their own outfits and accessories, typically from upcycled or secondhand materials. Since Vkei is an alternative subculture with a heavy emphasis on appearances, making clothing by hand is a way for everyone to express their own individual version of Visual Kei.

Of course, there were also the performances themselves; each band brought their own aesthetic and music style to the stage. It was also interesting to see each performers' energies. Some preferred a cooler, almost nonchalant performance style. Others were upbeat or even manic, running, jumping and rolling around on the stage. The headliner for the 11th, Versailles, embodied their historical European aesthetic more fully, twirling around in flowing costumes as if at a masquerade ball. Their vocalist, who plays a Vampire character, would pretend to bite his fellow band members and even appeared to drink his water from a glass chalice rather than the standard plastic bottles.

Attending this event reignited my passion for Visual Kei and this project, as meeting so many lovely people and getting to know various ways in which it has touched their hearts has made me want to do the same through my own works.

It also brought me a lot of new inspiration, as I had not heard of some of the performers before, and even for those I had I was able to see their costumes live and in motion. I also gained an interest in the stage lighting and performances themselves, which I had not previously thought to consider for my game.

REFERENCES

B7 Klan (2026) ‘B7KLAN J-ROCK FEST…’ Available at: https://x.com/B7Klan_new/status/2008206861804195864/photo/1

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Industry | Combining Traditional and Modern Film-making Techniques

In the modern era that prioritises efficiency and perfectly polished final products, animation fields have generally been leaning more towards newer digital practices. As a result a lot of traditional film-making techniques are slowly falling out of fashion, especially within the mainstream. However, amongst independent and freelance animators there are the passionate few that continue to utilise more traditional forms of animation and film-making in order to keep the practice alive.

Julian Curi is a mainly papercut animator who in 2024 released his first short film GRUFF. The film, as well as his other in-progress projects shown since, utilise paper puppets on wire frames that are then moved with a combination of magnets, dollies and levers. The settings are also made by hand, and often lit using small lights within the scene. Their mouths are typically animated digitally using scans of the hand-drawn mouth pieces, and a few visual effects are added digitally in the editing of the film, as well as the use of green-screening for some of the traditional frames used to make the puppets move on film without stop motion. The result is a film with a unique aesthetic and animation style that is full of handmade textures and small imperfections that add to the endearing and heartfelt story that GRUFF tells, even with the addition of digital techniques to clean up the process.

"GRUFF" short film trailer.

Dungeons & Television (2025) is another independent project. Although most of the pilot episode was animated digitally, the opening theme was done using traditional animation cels and scanning, as shown in their "Cel or Transparent Labyrinth | Making of Dungeons & Television" video which features behind-the-scenes footage. In addition to having to create new colours of the paint required, the team also travelled to the Osaka University of Arts to look at a real camera stand in order to create their own in-studio. Though they were a relatively small team and modern animation software can easily replicate the look and feel of retro cel-painted animation, the production went to great lengths to get as close to the traditional method as possible in order to respect and continue the practice.

Footage from Dungeons & Television opening theme production.

Qootain is slightly different from these other two, being a self-titles "Visual production unit" that produces freelance work typically for music videos. Amongst the examples, Qootain has the greatest range, utilising not only 2D animation and 3D CGI, but paper cutouts and puppetry, stop motion, and live-action film in order to create their videos. One of their behind-the-scenes videos even features an animation created with sand upon a lightbox. By using a broad range of techniques, Qootain is able to create videos with a distinct, collaged feel.

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Behind the scenes footage of Qootain's work and footage posted from the final video.

As mentioned in my discussion on video game remakes, I believe that "retro" aesthetics have their own unique charm, one that can be seen manifest across these three examples in their own ways. Digital technology is utilised to support these long-standing techniques rather than replace them. Even the behind the scenes footage feels exciting; in an industry that mainly involves people sitting at a computer all day, the idea of creating something more tangibly— i.e. through physical crafting and more hands-on tools— feels refreshing. The final result stands as a unique work, but the process feels more reminiscent of play, which in an era of tools such as AI ties more closely in my mind to ideas of creating for passion or joy rather than simply for the sake of creating a product. In this way, the film-makers using traditional means alongside modern technology are particularly appealing to me, as well as being important for maintaining the presence of these techniques within the industry so as not to lose them.

REFERENCES

巡宙艦ボンタ JunchukanBonta (2025) Cel or Transparent Labyrinth | Making of Dungeons & Television [Online Video] Available at: https://youtu.be/6kpLhpQ173M (Accessed: 27 July 2026)

qootain_ (2026) "Kenmochi Toya – “Metronome” [...] ◼︎Production：qootain" Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/Da0FR63PSCo/ (Accessed: 27 July 2026)

qootain_ (2026) "剣持刀也 MV『メトロノーム』 [...] 黒木結 @yui_kuroki" Available at: https://www.instagram.com/p/Da1qCfDvbQ8/ (Accessed: 27 July 2026)

Righteous Robot (2024) GRUFF | A Short Film by Righteous Robot [Online Video]. Available at: https://youtu.be/5p4s4k3eB_I (Accessed: 27 July 2026)

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Industry | Miku and Character Iconography (Project Voltage)

Hatsune Miku is a well-known figure in popular online culture. She was initially designed in 2007 by Crypton Future Media as an avatar for their Vocaloid (singing voice synthesising program) voicebank. SInce her release, Miku has since expanded her influence to popular music, collaboration events, and "live shows" featuring a hologram animations of Miku's performances.

Miku's nature as an avatar for a voice bank makes her malleable amongst "Vocaloid Producers"— those who produce music using voicebanks like Miku for the vocals— as a character through which their song is told. A popular example is the channel ひとしずく×やま△, a duo who create self-contained stories within their songs and music videos. Each Vocaloid avatar used within the song is given their own original character, such as "Phantom Thief F's Scenario ~Mystery of the Missing Diamond~" in which the entire work is an unsolved mystery for the listener to figure out, and each singer a respective suspect.

However, if Miku could simply become any sort of character, how could she become popular as such a distinct individual? This comes down to the usage of features in her original design that remain consistent across all versions of Miku and thus maintain her recognisability. The traits that carry across tend to be her pigtails and signature teal colour, with music motifs or other aspects of her uniform sometimes carrying across as well.

This brings us to Project Voltage, a collaboration between the Pokémon franchise and Hatsune Miku. Running from late 2023 for a year and then expanding as Project Voltage High from late 2024 onwards, the project involved the release of "Pokemon Trainer" versions of Miku created by Nintendo designers. An alternative trainer variant of Miku was created for every element type within the game, each with their own theme much like "Gym Leaders" in baseline Pokémon games.

Hatsune Miku's original design.

Project Voltage's "Trainer Miku" designs.

Despite all of the designs clearly having clear themes and aesthetics, they also read as Miku due to the referencing back to her original design and character. Most obvious is the use of pigtails and blue/green tones for the hair, but some also reference music, her 01 number, her triangular patterned belt, school uniform-reminiscent clothing, and even her association with leeks in Vocaloid fandom culture.

In a similar manner, Miku has been able to take on a variety of roles in Vocaloid music, art and merchandising whilst still maintaining her recognisability. This makers her able to appeal to a wider range of people, and is likely a big contributing factor in her current popularity.

REFERENCES

ひとしずく×やま△ (2013) 【ボカロ10人】怪盗Fの台本（シナリオ）〜消えたダイヤの謎〜 [Online Video]. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0GrJUh-hz8 (Accessed: 24 July 2026)

Serebii (n. d.) Project Voltage - Pokémon feat. Hatsune Miku - Pokémon Music - Serebii.net. Available at: https://www.serebii.net/music/projectvoltage/ (Accessed: 24 July 2026)

Vocaloid.fandom.com (n. d.) Hatsune Miku | Vocaloid Wiki | Fandom. Available at: https://vocaloid.fandom.com/wiki/Hatsune_Miku (Accessed: 24 July 2026)

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BTTV | VIII: Metronome Location & Intro Page

The next environmental piece I tackled was based on my sketch for the introductory page.

Although I attempted to draw up some alternative thumbnails for this piece, I was unsatisfied with other compositions, so I stuck with this one. I began simply referencing the sketch and using a user-made free perspective tool, which placed down a 3D environment grid that could be moved around at will to get the desired perspective rulers. Once it came to the buildings surrounding the city square, however, I turned again to Blender to roughly map out the nearby area. Since I was still unsure of the composition at this point, I also tried out a few more angles that ended up also scrapped. In the end, I replicated the original angle as closely as I could and removed my rough metronome model so that I had a better reference for the buildings.

I tweaked my rendered Blender images slightly once back in CSP to fit the image better, but otherwise kept it the same. I tried to work a bit simpler and rougher than my previous illustration (photography UI) since I wanted to try getting a bit faster. I also added some figures for scale, however due to how large everything is, they ended up being a little harder to spot.

I can feel myself slowly getting used to this 2D-3D combination workflow, and I also figured out a few techniques that further sped up my process, such as optimising the render to be much faster and shortcuts like some of the windows being added in roughly with an automatically generated outline. However the colours are once again quite neutral, with nothing dramatic, which whilst effective for conveying a location does not add any additional mood or visual interest. It might be useful to play around with lighting and colour more in the next few environments, as well as to play around with composition a little more.

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Industry | Video Game Remakes: P4R

Video Games have long since progressed since their early days, with current engines being able to run games with more complex mechanics, higher storage capacity and of course, higher resolution graphics. Since reaching this point, it has become increasingly common for publishers to release "remakes" of old yet popular IP. One such company is ATLUS, a subsidiary of SEGA, who released Persona 3: Reload, a remake of Persona 3: Portable (2009) in 2024 and recently announced Persona 4: Revival, a remake of Persona 4: Golden (2012) due to be released in 2027.

The main change is, of course, the visuals; characters and environments have received new models, animations and (in the case of characters) portraits at a higher quality than their originals. Additionally added is a UI overhaul, with an entirely new set of layouts and animations. As well as cleaning up the visuals, the game's soundtrack has been remixed and character dialogue re-recorded. The gameplay itself has also been updated with additional QoL features.

Gameplay shared from Persona 4: Revival vs. content in Persona 4: Golden

Also notable is the changes made to the story; the original Persona 4 and Golden have been somewhat controversial due to localisation changes, flanderization and, most importantly, the game's depiction of queerness, which has seen it's fair share of academic debate.

Publications discussing queerness in Persona 4 listed on Google Scholar.

Persona 4: Revival appears to be sticking more closely to the original Japanese script than it's predecessors, allowing for less ambiguity and flanderization in the English version. Additionally has come a statement that a particularly problematic character known largely for his homophobic remarks, Yosuke, will have his dialogue changed.

Controversially, however, this change has sparked some backlash; the original game is set around 2008, making a lot of his behaviour simply a product of his time, and does not need altering to fit a modern context. Additionally, players had previously uncovered cut "romance route" dialogue within the game which recontextualised Yosuke's insensitivity as possibly internalised homophobia, something which made him resonate with queer players who had experienced similar thoughts to Yosuke.

My own disagreement with the changes made to Yosuke stems from my personal dislike for remakes like this in general; older games like Persona 4: Golden are constantly at risk of becoming "lost media"— i.e. completely inaccessible and disappearing into obscurity, and remakes tend to bolster this process. The style of older games such as those in the Persona series have their own charm, including in their flaws such as controversial writing. To patch up previous mistakes or regrets in a shiny new remake contributes to the content or "spirit" of the original game becoming forgotten, and can sometimes remove what made people connect with it in the first place as seen in the case of Yosuke. By becoming "more palatable"— by having a newer, flashier style and shaving down anything that may spark controversy, the game loses a large part of it's uniqueness.

However, Persona 4: Revival has yet to release, and it may end up that all the changes made will instead make it a more endearing game.

REFERENCES

ATLUS (2009) Persona 3: Portable [Video Game]. ATLUS

ATLUS (2012) Persona 4: Golden [Video Game]. ATLUS

ATLUS (2024) Persona 3: Reload [Video Game]. ATLUS

ATLUS (2027) Persona 4: Revival [Video Game]. ATLUS

Gibbs, J. (2026) Persona 4 Revival Producer Confirms Changes to Yosuke to Fit Today's Era. Available at: https://animecorner.me/persona-4-revival-changes-to-yosuke/ (Accessed: 17 July 2026)

[devonfs]

Industry | "Genshin-ification" of Character Design

Gacha games typically make most of their income from their characters, thus perpetuating marketing tactics that involve forgoing character design principles for the sake of sex appeal or "coolness factor". I discussed this briefly in the case of female characters in Zenless Zone Zero (2024) during Semester A. Despite this, many games still maintained some level of acknowledgement for the theory behind character design and balanced this with audience appeal. Since the release of Genshin Impact (2020) and it's subsequent meteoric rise, however, there seems to have been a slow decline in the quality of these character designs within gacha games.

The first victim of this trend is, of course, Genshin Impact itself. Although I critiqued Noelle (released in September 2020) previously for her physics-defying jiggling metal breastplate, her design balances player appeal with character design principles. Although simple, her long skirt and headdress made her silhouette distinguishable from other early game characters, and it conveys quite clearly her story as a maid who wishes to become a knight by incorporating motifs from both. Although not perfect, there at least seemed to be an attempt at balance.

Compare this to a far more recent character, Mavuika (released in January 2025). The game's previous fantasy-themed visual identity seems to have been thrown out the window, as she sports a modern-looking one piece leather suit that hugs her body and lacks a more unique silhouette. She also lacks any visible ties to the cultures of her homeland (inspired by Indigenous and African cultures) unlike Noelle who fits more cohesively into her European/German home. Her silhouette is arguably more complicated than the likes of Noelle due to her hair, and little to nothing about her design implies her position as a God of War.

Noelle and Mavuika's in-game models.

There is also a general trend in designs becoming more cluttered with small details, likely to appear more special or "worth the cost" required to obtain them. Also quite noticeable is the lazy-looking pattern of female character designers appearing to give up from the waist down, although this is more prominent in Zenless Zone Zero (2024), made by the same China-based company, Hoyoverse.

Venti and Klee, two 5-star characters released in September and October of 2020 respectively.

Lohen and Sandrone, two 5-star characters released in June and July 2026 respectively.

As previously stated, this trend has extended past Genshin Impact and Hoyoverse's other IPs. It is particularly noticeable in the South Korean game Cookie Run: Kingdom (2021), which began it's global run around the same year as Genshin Impact, albeit months earlier. Newly released characters are much more cluttered and reminiscent of Genshin Impact designs in comparison to those present within the release, which can be seen in the character Dark Enchantress Cookie.

Dark Enchantress Cookie in her initial appearance (January 2021) vs. her January 2026 release.

Her initial design was much simpler, with a strong silhouette due to her horns and cape. She also appeared more feasibly to be a cookie. Her new design, however, becomes a lot more difficult to read due to the excess of smaller details and much more complex silhouette. Even on a cookie and in this more cutesy style, she is made to appear more conventionally attractive with the addition of fuller hair, makeup and a more curvy dress silhouette.

A third example is Japanese-produced Ensemble Stars!! Music (2020), or Enstars, another gacha game released shortly before Genshin Impact. Again, the trend is the same; many initial Enstars gacha events had coherent themes and costuming, whereas newer events lack this same strong visual messaging and can look nonsensical and cluttered.

Main Menu outfits from Scout! Meowsketeers (March 2020) and Scout! Honey Bee (April 2020)

Main Menu outfits from Scout! Eye-Fitting and Scout! The Bellicose Knight and the Star of Stratagem (May 2026)

It is worth noting that correlation does not necessarily equal causation, and that Genshin Impact is unlikely to be the real reason behind this. Instead, it is simply that all three instances appear to be a similar deterioration in the quality of character design within popular gacha games. This could be attributed to a variety of factors; the intense production schedule (in which banners like these are released typically within weeks to a month of each other), long service history (and thus running out of newer, fresher ideas), or simply becoming more desperate to maintain their current player count as less people pick up the game over time. However, the question is whether players will adhere to a sunk cost fallacy despite this, or perhaps whether they prefer them over the older designs. These are designs made for marketability first, after all, and the customer is always right in matters of taste.

REFERENCES

Devsisters (2021) Cookie Run: Kingdom [Video Game]. Devsisters.

Happy Elements (2020) Ensemble Stars!! Music. [Video game]. Happy Elements.

HoYoverse (2020) Genshin Impact. [Video game]. HoYoverse.

[devonfs]

BTTV | VII: Camera Prop and UI Mockup

Photography was planned to be one of the main gameplay mechanics of my project, closely tied to the open-world aspect. Players would be able to unlock new storylines and songs to play at live shows through this mechanic. By using the "Inspiration Camera", they could interact with specific items in the environment to trigger these events, incentivising them to explore the various districts of BTTV's city.

I took my main inspiration from the Eastman No.1 Pocket Kodak, released around the 1880s—1890s. Not only does it fit in line with my desired time frame (with humans having disappeared in the 1800s, reflected by the style of the metronome), but it is still small enough to be feasibly carried around and used by the protagonist. I also personally enjoy this style of camera; since my mother is a passionate photographer with a collection of both old and new cameras, I was endeared to the style of many of her older cameras such as the Modern No.2 Box Camera. Unfortunately, I don't believe she possesses a No.1 Pocket Kodak in her collection and so I used online reference instead.

Although I used the No.1 Pocket Kodak as a base, I adapted the visuals to appear more dreamlike to tie in to the "imagination" theme of the camera. This involved a purple colour palette with music notes,thought bubble motifs, and a star-shaped lens. I also incorporated some teal and brown-coloured aspects, as well as gold embellishments, to tie the camera a little more closely to the protagonist since she also has these within her design.

I then began the UI mockup for the photography mechanic. I referred to my rough map sketches and utilised the Sketchfab add-on for Blender to create a rough city environment. I also made sure to try and use older-looking styles of architecture for parts of the city that had not been co-opted by supernatural creatures. In my mind, each district has a bit of "buffer space" of sorts between them that has not been touched by the inhabitants of nearby districts except for semi-regular maintenance, so I chose that aspect for this page since I planned to explore each district individually.

In the end, a lot of the areas in my planned sketch did not show up in my final camera renders.

To save time, I saved these renders via screenshot before they had been completed; although half-done, each one was still taking my poor PC upwards of an hour. The angle was different from the rough sketch I had initially done for this page's plan, but I settled with the second image since I believed it had the best composition to convey what I wanted.

I tried to keep the quality somewhat rough and prioritise getting the idea across for the sake of time efficiency. During the paint over, I added in the protagonist and the advertisement from the original sketch that she was seen photographing. I could not find any reference image of somebody outright using the No.1 Pocket Kodak, so I settled for this illustration of a woman holding one and extrapolated from there. Since the original model's viewfinder is a little fiddly, I substituted it for a more modern camera screen on the back for the sake of readability. Another change was made to the scale of some buildings during the paint over process, since I had been using an assortment of 3D models all set at different scales, and looked a little inconsistent in the original Blender image. I did some rough lighting with gradient maps, multiply and screen layers.

For the mechanic itself, I added an outline to the object of interest which in this case was the advertisement featuring a new character. For both this and the crosshair I tried to incorporate the same motifs as from the camera, with the crosshair also resembling the lens on the front.

Since I am not as experienced with environments as I am with props and characters, using 3D models helped immensely since I felt less overwhelmed at where to start this way. Even if my 3D work wasn't perfect (such as the building scale), it made going into the drawing a lot less daunting and I could feel more confident about the space since I had created it in 3D. It also, as previously mentioned made the process a lot faster.

It was my first time using this method for environment work, but I am looking forward to trying it again going forwards, particularly with scale more in mind. I also hope to try it with a less rough style post-project when I have more time to properly illustrate the paint over. Overall, This new process has helped me feel less intimidated when doing environments even if they still aren't perfect, as well as helping streamline my work for this project under the short deadline.

[devonfs]

BTTV | VI: 260606 Vkei Night London: Blue Blue Night

During the production of this project, I had made plans to participate in a few Visual Kei events. The first of these was one of the nightlife events hosted by Visual Kei Night, their "Blue Blue Night" at Bar Silver in Islington.

Although there was no live music like a typical concert, it was still an enjoyable way to experience Visual Kei culture. The event was hosted in a small, intimate venue with flashing lights and, of course, many people were dressed in blue Visual Kei clothing to fit the theme. Additionally, there was a some space for a few small businesses related to alternative fashion to display and sell their items. Together, the experience reflected the underground aspects of Visual Kei well, from the venue to the alternative fashion and focus on smaller, lesser-known businesses.

The most important aspect to me, however, was the community; although I am typically quite shy, every person who I approached to compliment their outfit, hair and makeup, etc. was enthusiastic and friendly despite being strangers. I even managed to talk longer with a few attendees despite the blaring music and make a few friends.

Although they are quite different, I hope that my project can convey these ideas of community and people from various backgrounds coming together under a shared interest. With my plans for the game in the future, I hope that it can serve as another aspect of Visual Kei culture that can bring people together.

[devonfs]

BTTV | V: Instruments

With the band visuals decided, I could then begin on designing the instruments. I mainly referenced regular instruments for the microphone, drums, and keyboard, opting to simply add decorative elements on top of them without drastically altering their shapes. For the three handheld instruments (bass, keytar, guitar) I looked at The Alfee guitarist Toshihiko Takamizawa's guitars. I remembered seeing his angel ones in particular, but he has also been seen with other themed guitars such as playing card, grim reaper, sword and godzilla ones.

This was the final instrument lineup. I had initially made two versions of the keyboard: one regular keyboard with organ pipe elements and church window-inspired metalwork, and a bat keytar inspired by the shape of the Roland Ax Edge Keytar. However, since I was unsatisfied with the regular keyboard and I did not have the time to iterate further, I settle for simply scrapping it and keeping the other.

For the final pages, I wanted them to feel more collaged together, so I included stickers with the band logo and short comments from each character, however I am not entirely sure with how they turned out (especially the handwriting) so I may go back to edit them later.

Similarly to the band uniforms, I believe I would be more satisfied with these designs if I were not working with a deadline (and therefore able to spend more time developing/iterating on the concepts. However, I feel like I am gradually becoming more confident with my prop work and am happy with these instrument designs considering the circumstances.

[devonfs]

BTTV | IV: Progress Reflection

Nearing the final month and a half of this project, I needed to re-assess my progress and intended project scope. Due to my personal slow pace, as well as the recent heat making my hand more prone to cramping up during drawing and causing more breaks, I am more behind than I had anticipated and thus need to rethink my intended scope.

My issue mainly lay not so much with the amount of pages I had intended, which I had already set quite low as I had anticipated a somewhat slow workflow, but with the level of finish I had originally wanted to do. I had hoped to have enough time to complete both the designs in a simple flat-colour style (as seen in my previous blogs), as well as to create a fully-rendered artwork to use for my pages themselves, such as this:

However, considering the amount of time it takes to complete the lineart and colour for one of these pieces, as well as the fact that I am more behind than intended on the design work, this level of finish is no longer viable for the final submission.

When I discussed this with Jack, his main response was that I was worrying too much, and that the flat colours would likely be sufficient as concept art since the main priority with concept art is not necessarily to be a full, intricate piece of work, but to simply get the idea across. With this in mind, I re-wrote my to-do list with the new priority of just conveying my ideas rather than making sure everything was perfectly rendered and complete.

Hopefully, working through the rest of the project with this slightly lowered standard of completion will speed up my process and allow me to complete my intended pages by the allotted deadline.

[devonfs]

BTTV | III: Band Visuals (Logo and Uniform)

Having a premise where each character is bound to a specific set of aesthetics with little overlap posed an issue when it came to putting my main cast into a band together; since they are so visually distinct from one another, they did not seem unified under one group. In the end, I decided on a set of neutral colours (black, white, grey) that would be suitable for all cast members in varying amounts, and a unique accent colour for each character. This way, even if the style of clothing was still different between characters, they would be unified by palette. My main inspiration for this was the group Matsutake Works, whose members predominantly wear the same uniform, but are each colour coded by accessories (namely, matching nooses).

I began with picking the colour palette I wanted to work with and working on a logo design for the band. I initially drafted a few sketches of both icons and text-only logos, as both are typically used in musical circles. I found I preferred the more drawing-heavy logos as I was uncertain as to whether I wanted to stick with my placeholder band name, and I found them more fun and recognisable. Following the band's goal to break the metronome through their music, I tried to make this clear through their iconography. Since their goal was to unify all creatures by breaking the metronome that kept them separated, I also created a chimera-type mascot using traits from each of the band members to reference this.

I initially worked with option 5 since I liked this idea the best, however in execution it did not feel properly like a logo. Under my tutor's suggestion, I shelved this illustration for a potential live show or band promotional poster, and settles with the more simpler option 4. During these two designs, the colours changed slightly on the teeth, which I was utilising to combine each character's accent colour into the design. I also felt this added a more playful and lighthearted feel through all the colours, reminding me of a cartoon character eating too many sweets.

I then worked on the band uniform itself. I still had to follow a few rules set by my worldbuilding, such as the aesthetics and overall palette even if the colours were the same. For example, although all designs featured the same 4 main colours, the angel design had to lean more heavily on the white and grey, whereas the vampire and demon had to skew darker. Neutral parties like the siren (who, despite being named the siren in these blogs for simplicity's sake, is only half siren and half angel) and alien could wear both colours as they pleased. A few details that I enjoyed from previous iterations but hadn't suited their regular designs (the siren's original asymmetrical shirt, silhouette of one of the scrapped demon designs) also made it through to the band uniforms. As mentioned before, each colour from the chimera mascot's teeth was used as a character's respective accent colour. The protagonist, who serves as the band's manager, was given a more casual-feeling outfit including a logo t-shirt, and a small microphone suitable for backstage work.

Again, if given more time, I could likely improve on these designs, but for the sake of this project's submission, I am satisfied enough with these to get across my intended vision.

[devonfs]

BTTV | II: Main Cast Redesigns

I had already designed the new character, the protagonist, and tackled the character that needed the most change, the angel, during the previous semester. However, the remaining 4 characters (Siren, Alien, Vampire, and Demon) still needed to be changed, albeit less significantly (or so I thought!) In the end, the Siren and Alien indeed bear a strong resemblance to their previous designs. My main priority with the Siren was to strengthen the sailor aesthetics of his clothing, however some elements of his design ended up remaining the same, such as the trousers and boots.

As for the Alien, I was mainly unsatisfied with her underlayer of clothing, as well as the fact her larger body type was not as distinct or clear in her initial design. Thus, I designed a UFO-themed dress to wear under her jacket, and exaggerated her proportions further.

It was at this point I noticed my weakness for hairstyles, or at least an indecisiveness surrounding them, as I tended to decide quickly on the outfit but spend a much longer time deliberating the hair. I also recognised that constantly iterating the designs like this was not time-efficient and was putting me behind schedule, and so going forward I attempted to be more decisive on the design choices to hopefully work faster.

This carried through well to the Vampire, whose design process was a lot faster. Although I was fond of her initial androgynous design, I realised that other styles, such as "princess style" large sleeves and big dresses, suited her character much better. Thus, I shelved her original design for another character at a later time, and iterated more on this new direction for her. Despite changing the style so abruptly, I managed to create a design I was satisfied with. Since she is a vampire who enjoys fairy tales and slept for hundreds of years in her coffin waiting for a "prince" to save her, I thought it appropriate to add a few nods to Disney's Snow White, who is a prevalent version of this character in popular culture. This included the collar, apple-like design to the skirt, and slitted puff sleeves which also doubled as a fang motif.

The Demon also needed a direction change, as I had decided to take on a Japanese Oni-inspired aesthetic to differentiate them further from other darker-coloured themes like that of the Vampire. I quickly settled on the design, but returned to my habit of many hairstyle iterations. This time, it was due to the fact that I have not often worked previously with black hairstyles (despite the Alien having a braided hairstyle in her new design), so I required more research beforehand, and drew out more styles as a result.

I believe these redesigns have gone well; their styles and silhouettes are slightly more distinct, and more importantly, these new designs suit their backgrounds and personalities better; the angel appears somewhat princely and put-together whilst hiding half of their face, hinting that they may be hiding something. The Siren mimics the angelic style slightly, as he is trying to fit in amongst the angels. The Alien has a few coin-like buttons to hint at her interest in economics and finance, and the Demon has his sleeves tied and collar loosened to hint at being more physically active. The protagonist resembles what the metronome may have looked like before age changed it, hinting at her origins and lack of memory (as she possesses no accessories/details that may hint at a broader personality).

If I had more time, I could probably work with them more and fix them up further, but for the current state of the project, I am satisfied. My work following these designs will have to be a little rushed, as spending so long on them has put me slightly behind on progress than I would like.