Split Fiction - Mio

Hi everyone!

I’ve had the pleasure of working as Character Art Director, Lead Character Artist, and Lead Concept Artist on Hazelight’s latest and most ambitious game to date - Split Fiction.

This project has been a massive step forward for us, both in scale and complexity. Not only did we create more character assets than ever before, but each one came with increased demands in terms of design, style, and technical execution. From humans to creatures to mechs - big and small - we did it all! And to make that possible, we brought together an amazing team of talented artists. It’s thanks to their passion, creativity, and collaboration that the vision behind Split Fiction’s characters came to life. I couldn’t be prouder of the team and the way they fearlessly tackled every challenge that came our way.

This was also the first time we dedicated an art director specifically to characters, a role I was incredibly excited to take on. From day one, I set out to ensure that the direction would shine through in the final result. As Character Art Director, I was involved in just about everything character-related. Naturally, I had to take a step back from hands-on production and focus more on concept, design direction, and the overall vision, but whenever I had the chance, jumping back into the production side of things was always a joy.

Over the course of nearly three years, we worked closely as a team to shape a cohesive and polished character style that would carry across the entire game. It was a huge undertaking, but I genuinely believe the result speaks for itself.

I also want to extend a special thanks to our external partners, who worked with us over a long period to help us reach the quality bar we had set for ourselves. We truly couldn’t have done it without you. Working closely with outsourcing and supervising the entire process was incredibly rewarding, and I learned so much from the many talented teams we collaborated with across the globe. Their contribution made a real difference, and it was a privilege to collaborate with such skilled teams.

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Throughout the production of Split Fiction, I was responsible for creating the face and body of one of the game’s main characters - Mio.

Mio is a character that’s particularly special to me. Not only is she one of the key characters in the game, but her face was also the first to be approved by our Creative Director, Josef Fares, during production. That approval helped set the visual tone for many assets that followed, including our other playable character, Zoe.

Early on, Josef shared some reference material to help point me in the right direction. But in the end, most of Mio’s look was developed organically, as I worked to find an expression and style that felt right for the world we were building.

When it came to her face and body, I was responsible for the entire process, from sculpting and modeling to texturing and look development, essentially building her from scratch. Defining Mio’s look and landing on the right visual style was a challenge, especially since she was developed at a time when much of the game was still in flux. From an art direction perspective, her face was carefully crafted with purposeful stylization to fit the visual language of Split Fiction. Mio’s soft, symmetrical features were also very much in line with Josef’s vision for the character.

I also want to acknowledge the great work of our external partners, who contributed to many of the assets related to Mio. Most of her clothing, and her rather extensive wardrobe, was created by the talented team at Mindwalk, under the direction of myself and the character art team. Many of the final textures and materials for her outfits were created collaboratively between me and the team at Mindwalk. (Unfortunately, I haven’t had the chance to render the ones I worked on the most yet, but I hope to share more of that work at a later stage.) In the final stages, I handled implementation and look development to ensure everything came together as intended. Mio’s hair was created by the talented team at Little Red Zombies.

Finally, I’d like to extend a huge thanks to everyone at Hazelight. This was a truly collaborative effort, and the entire team worked incredibly hard to bring this game to life.

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Last but not least, I want to highlight all the amazing artists I had the privilege of leading during this project. Truly, none of this would have been possible without you guys. Make sure to check out their profiles and their work. They’re incredibly talented and absolutely worth your time. ❤️

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Character Art

https://www.artstation.com/linlinmono
https://www.artstation.com/carlos_lundhall
https://www.artstation.com/davidkong
https://www.artstation.com/hvile

Concept Art

https://www.artstation.com/biffentsoi
https://www.artstation.com/stringmaker
https://www.artstation.com/josefinemkpersson