Miss Singer

This is my take on the Make it Glow contest. This project was really meaningful to me because it was the first time I created a human character and rigged it. It was also the first time I experimented so deeply with lighting in a scene. I learned so much throughout the process, and I’m really proud of how it turned out. I wanted the lighting to capture the energy and vibe of my character, and making everything glow in a magical and fun way was one of my favorite parts.

For supplies I use the softwares Autodesk Maya and Adobe Substance Painter.

This was my very first time modeling a human character, and the process took over a month from start to finish. I went through over 75 saved versions of the model, tweaking and improving things until I was happy with the result. The most time-consuming parts were the hair and her clothing. I spent at least 5 hours just adjusting the large strands of hair and manually placing each heart decoration one by one. It was extremely tedious but very rewarding once it started coming together.

Fitting the clothes properly on her body also took a lot of trial and error. I wanted everything to feel cohesive and polished. The most difficult part of modeling was definitely the hands and fingers. Getting the right topology for each finger took an immense amount of time and effort since I had never modeled a human character before. Once I finally got the character to look the way I wanted, I moved on to rigging.

This was also my first time rigging a character. I used the Advanced Skeleton plug-in in Maya, which helped a lot. However, there was still a big learning curve. I spent a lot of time manually adjusting the joints and bones so the rig would properly match my character’s proportions. At one point, the model wasn’t symmetrical, so I had to go back and fix the entire body before I could rig it correctly.

Because I was new to this, my model didn’t have a perfect topology, which caused some issues during the rigging process. But once I got the rig to work and move the way I wanted, it felt like a huge accomplishment. With the character ready to pose, I started building the stage for her to stand on.

Next, I created the stage and props. I modeled speakers, a microphone, and a platform for my character to stand on. I also added little personal touches like bows and decorations to make it feel more true to my character’s aesthetic. I wanted the stage to feel like it was built for her. Modeling the props was a lot of fun and felt like a creative break after the intense rigging stage. Once I was happy with the environment, I moved on to UV mapping and texturing everything.

Texturing was one of my favorite parts. I used Adobe Substance Painter to experiment with color schemes and material combinations. I wanted my character to feel bold but also cohesive with the stage design. It took some time to figure out what colors worked best, but I had a lot of fun exploring different options until I landed on something that really felt right. The textures helped everything come to life and made the model feel more finished and dynamic.

This was by far the most experimental and exciting step. I really leaned into lighting as a storytelling tool. I added individual lights to all the green glowing parts of my props and scene. I used point lights and also layered lighting setups to make the entire stage glow from different angles.

I wanted the lighting to shift as the camera moved, so I used color variations like a soft red, orange, and blue to all the point lights. The lighting I chose helps Miss Singer look like the main character. This created a more dynamic and immersive atmosphere that reflected my character’s energy. Lighting became apart of the story in this scene. The lighting helped set the mood and add to the performance vibe I was going for.

Finally, I animated a turntable cycle so the full character could be viewed from all angles. I also parented the lights to the stage so the environment and lights would also turn on along with Miss Singer.

This entire project was incredibly time-consuming and full of challenges, but I am incredibly proud of how much I pushed myself. I learned how to model a human character, rig for the first time, and use lighting as a storytelling tool. This scene glows through the lights, but also through the love, time, and effort I poured into it.