“I created an entire galaxy and used it in her irises” – how this 3D artist mixed rendering styles for a new take on a classic Evangelion character

Sun Wenjun, also known as FHNT, is a 3D character artist from Chengdu, China. These renders are her take on Asuka from the Evangelion franchise. She used ZBrush for the modelling and Blender for the final renders, with an assist from Photoshop. Here we look at her work and learn a little about her process.

If you're inspired by this artwork, take a look at our collection of the best ZBrush tutorials to help refine your 3D skills. Looking to upgrade your creative kit? Check out our guide to the best laptops for 3D modelling.

Sun Wenjun says: Evangelion's Asuka has always been one of my favourite anime characters. After years of contemplation, I felt it was time to start creating my own fan art.

I enjoy challenging myself, so this time I wanted to try combining non-photorealistic rendering (NPR) with physically based rendering (PBR) in a new style. I wanted to blend the characteristics of both, with the intricate PBR structure complementing the specular effect of NPR. I'm particularly satisfied with the texture of her hair.

For the eye effects, I created an entire galaxy and used it in Asuka's irises, which made her eyes deeper and more suitable to match up with the story. Blender is an excellent software that helped me to perfectly realise everything that I envisioned before setting off on this piece.

Check out Sun Wenjun’s ArtStation.

This content originally appeared in 3D World magazine.