Though Maya's face came very naturally, her hair took a couple of tries, and at one point it was just me playing and having fun. Different types of hair gave her a different look, but ultimately I settled on hair that contrasted more with Kai's personality and suited her mature and serious persona.

Orthographic views was also a learning experience. Personally, I would love to have the hair on the bottom, but it boiled down to what kind of hair would suit her the best.

So far, this is Maya's current costume design. Because she is a woman, I can get away with skin tight clothing and a more yoga-pant look. I think this way she still looks feminine, but at the same time more modern and youthful. This is my third try with Kai's design. He didn't come as naturally as Maya did, but this was a process I had to go through. I discovered more about his character by trying different body types, faces, skin tones, and hair. He's clumsy, he's not the typical prince charming, he's just a goofy guy in love with a girl. He's not supposed to be super "muscly", it came to the point that I had to think of who is the best complement to her. And she doesn't need a prince charming. She needs the underdog, the best friend, and the guy you ultimately love.  Dresses are the ultimate romantic fantasy. It's classy and almost every Disney princess can rock a dress. But this being my first time with full out 3d characters of my own, I had to pick something more realistic to animate than a full - fledged dress. But still, I like the concept art of this, it was fun to explore her more girly side.

The glow of the star was something I messed with for awhile, and though this might not look the same in 3d, I decided to settle on the more orangish hue for the main star. It matches his hair more and sticks out compared to the other stars.

I modeled the glow of the star based on lightbulbs, various lamps, and concept art. The glow of the star is connected with Kai's life, so it was important to visually see how the star would glow and what colors would it emit.

Trees! This was so much fun to make. I decided very early on that there will be evergreen trees in the forest. That feels more of a fairytale tree than most, but I didn't just want regular evergreen trees. I wanted them a little bent, little different, and more based on shape. I did lots of research on trees, my pinterest board is full of them. When I think of trees, I think of the cute fluffy ones from Lorax.  I read in the Tangled Concept art book how important shape is in a forest. The forest is a character on its own. And since the forest is present for so many iconic moments in the film, it is important to see how lighting will affect the leaves, or if it will change depending on season to match the mood. There needs to be a certain whimsical-ness about them, and I needed my trees to have a magical quality, since this is a land where stars hang on strings.

Though this may not be used as much, I wanted to explore shapes of different foliage. I might need more bushes and shrubbery than little flowers, but it was a good exercise to see how different shapes can give a different feel.