Greetings, everyone.

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Hello, hi. Last time, we took a look at some artwork that never quite made it into the game. Today, we’re looking at something that you see all the time: 3D models, the more technical side of the art team! While much of the artwork in Club Penguin Legacy is 2D, a surprising amount of it is actually 3D, we just use a bit of smoke and mirrors to make it appear 2D. Bringing those ideas into the game world is a process that requires precision, patience, and a fair amount of problem solving.

Today’s spotlight is on our 3D artist, Syriekins. They’re responsible not only for creating the in-world penguin items, but also for building the CPL player model itself!

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The Player Model

At the heart of everything is the player model, and before any new clothing could exist, that foundation had to be just right. Of course, that was no easy task. I was most intrigued to find out Syriekins's biggest challenges when creating the player model.

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“Making any model from scratch is difficult, but doing a recreation of a model is a whole other skillset entirely. Any small imperfection with the model, camera, rigging, or animation will show horribly in the final items. There were times that I’d have the model done, but it wouldn’t rig properly, so I’d have to start again with the model to get it right. Not to mention how much of the model process was guess, check, guess again, check, until it was correct. I had to learn entire new skillsets to make everything I do now. I started as an amateur in 3d art, and now I’d like to think I’m at least a novice. And I’d like to think I did a pretty good job, huh?” - Syriekins

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‍Items

Every item starts with a simple idea, but turning that idea into something that feels right in-game is a much more involved process. Beyond the design itself, each piece has to feel natural on the penguin model, work within the style of the game, and still hold up through all the little technical quirks players never really see. With that in mind, I asked Syriekins out of all the items they had made, which one was their favorite to make and which one was the most difficult.

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“Percival the Crow was the first item that I got to make completely for fun, and I think that’s probably apparent from how many custom animations it has. Every time I wanted to stop working on it, I thought of another cute animation I could make, maybe it could do a little wave? Maybe it could fly around? Maybe it pecks at the ground? It was hard to stop working on it because of how many ideas there were for it. The most difficult one was, oddly enough, Gwynn the Dragon. I struggled to think of ideas for how to animate them. I wanted to do all these big, lofty ideas, and couldn’t manage to feel inspired making any of them. I did manage to get there in the end, but it was an uphill fight the whole way.” - Syriekins

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Considering Syriekins's explanation of how much work goes into each item, i was wondering how long it would take to make one, so I asked Syriekins exactly that.

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“This varies depending on the item. Small items, like hats, take very little time from idea to in-game. Big items, like ones with animations or small details, can take me several days to a week on the one item. I am prone to adding many, many small details to items that never come through in-game. This makes me sad every time. These trees took so long and you're telling me you can't even SEE THEM!? Aaaaaaahhhh...” - Syriekins

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And of course, with any creative process, there are challenges. So, I asked about the obstacles they faced along the way.

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“If I had a coin for every time I had to redo the animations on an item… did you know that sometimes they just decide they don’t like you and flip upside down? Percival was the worst of it, he would flip upside down, his wings would get stuck, sometimes he just slid away! And don’t even get me started on the Dreamline Carriage, sometimes it just decided it wanted to shake around like a mass of angry bees. I like to think I am improving at 3d art as I make items, but I still sometimes get Upside Down Angry Bee items.” - Syriekins

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Wrapping Up

After looking at the process, the challenges, and the technical details that go into bringing 3D items to life, let's end on a more personal note. It is not all Upside Down Angry Bees. There is also a lot of creativity, experimentation, and satisfaction in seeing something move from an idea into the game itself. With that in mind, I asked Syriekins what they enjoy most about doing 3D modelling.

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“Items feel like my own unique addition to Legacy. I’m given a lot of creativity with them, and very few times am I directly told “no” to making an item that I want in the game. Everything I make is either added another time, or repurposed for a better and grander item. The amount of work that goes into each item is immense, but seeing the reactions to my items, the outfits made with them, it drives me to make them better and better each time. I love waddling around, seeing someone wear an item I was almost certain wouldn’t be popular. I love the anticipation of watching a new Gift Shop catalog, or a party catalog, and seeing everyone hyped about the new items. I know it’s very cliche to say, but you, the penguin reading this. You make the work I do worth it. I hope to make many more items for you all in the future, and I hope you all will continue to enjoy my work.” - Syriekins

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Of course, every artist starts somewhere, and 3D modelling can be a pretty intimidating craft to step into. Between learning the tools to finding your own creative process, there is a lot to take in at first. So, I also wanted to ask Syriekins if they had any advice for aspiring 3D artists who might be interested in doing this kind of work themselves.

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“You can do the donut tutorial if you want, but what I did was just be extremely stubborn. I wanted to make a character in 3d, so I started trying to learn every way possible to do just that. I kept learning new things because I would think “I want to do this. How do I do this?” and finding out how from there. Is this a good way to learn anything? Probably not. But what you should take away from this is: find what you want to be passionate about, and just start learning how to do that. Want to make characters? Start doing that. Environments? Do that too. You will learn more that way by just being curious about what you’re interested in, instead of spending a bunch of time making things you don’t care about at all.” - Syriekins

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Behind every 3D piece is careful modelling and constant consideration for how it will live on the player model. It’s demanding work, but every detail is worth the attention and time it takes to bring you the best work we can.

Goodbye… For now.

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- Shovel

Club Penguin Legacy Team