Yoriichi Tsugikuni – The Selfless State

This piece is my interpretation of Yoriichi Tsugikuni from Demon Slayer, captured in a moment of stillness before drawing his katana in a selfless state of focus. The project explores a semi-realistic approach, blending anime stylization with grounded realism to find a unique visual identity. I handled the full 3D character creation pipeline—from high-poly sculpting in ZBrush, retopology and detailing in Maya, hand-painted textures in Substance Painter without scan data, to grooming in XGen, lookdev and lighting in V-Ray, and clothing in Marvelous Designer. The katana was also fully modeled, textured, and shaded from scratch. This was a challenging and rewarding project that helped me grow artistically and technically. I’m excited to share the final renders, studio shots, and process breakdowns.