To deepen industry-academia integration and enhance students' practical skills in digital character modeling, the Visual Communication Design program of the International Institute of Creative Design invited Mr. Zhang Hongyue, a senior prototype artist from Shanghai Qiku Network Technology Co., Ltd. (Kaitian Studio), on March 20, 2025. He delivered a specialized lecture on digital character design methods for first-year undergraduate students in the program. The session was attended by both first-year Visual Communication Design undergraduates and selected postgraduate students from the Digital Media and Image Digitization program.
Mr. Zhang Hongyue, possessing practical experience from renowned game projects such Identity V and Arknights, systematically explained techniques for 3D character model creation during the session. He demonstrated practical tips including enhancing silhouette recognition and skillfully using SubTool to improve production efficiency. Specifically, he addressed the design principles for Chibi models—exaggerated deformation, proportional harmony, and personality conveyance. By comparing realistic and Chibi styles, he showcased key techniques like ZBrush's Dynamic Mesh and DynaMesh reconstruction, with focused analysis on core methods such as exaggerated treatment to preserve character traits and color matching to enhance visual memorability.
Through theoretical explanation and case study demonstrations, Mr. Zhang helped students intuitively and clearly understand 3D digital sculpting techniques. He demonstrated the complete workflow of creating a Chibi Nezha character, from rapidly building the basic form with ZSpheres and shaping its adorable texture with the ClayBuildup brush, to achieving layered color rendering with Polypaint. During the interactive session, students exchanged ideas with Mr. Zhang regarding challenges encountered in character model creation.
As part of the Industry Experts in the Classroom initiative, this event reflected the school's practical exploration of integrating industry and education in teaching models. In the future, the Department of Visual Communication Design will continue to introduce high-quality industry resources and build more diverse digital art exchange platforms to support the college's teaching mission.
