During the more than six-month hiatus
from presenting my work on social networking sites and the Internet,
I have been kneading clay on my PC, beginning to create character models in 3DCG.
During that period, I repeatedly told myself, “Don’t be in a hurry, don’t be in a hurry.
Although I sometimes felt impatient, as if I wasn’t making any progress,
I felt somewhat at peace during the production.
I was Unfamiliar to Blender and the process was new to me,
so it took me a long time to get used to it.
But I am very happy to do analog-like work such as kneading clay,
even if it is digital.
Quiet time passed slowly and I realized that more than half a year had passed.
This time, I would like to give a brief summary of my first 3D character creation.
Hello, my name is Sara Yano, and I’m a Japanese artist.
In this series, I’ll be sharing the production process behind my original manga, “Tabintail.”
The theme is: “An Artist’s Quest to Create a Manga Without Burning Out.” 🎨
By using 3D software (Blender) together with illustration and manga software (CLIP STUDIO), I’m exploring ways to create manga that I can keep enjoying—without exhausting myself as an artist
Previously.
open
Last time,
I discussed the challenges of
creating hand-drawn comics,
how I began experimenting with 3D comics to balance efficiency and quality,
and how I decided to alternate between hand-drawn and 3D techniques with the goal of releasing the comic “Tabintail.”
First of all, what kind of character should I start with?
I actually wanted to start by creating the main cat character, Tabin, in 3D.
But, it seemed like there was more information online
about creating humanoid 3D models,
so I decided to start with a female character first.
The very first tutorial example I referenced for 3D modeling also used a female model. (I’ll mention this later.)
So far, I think following this approach has been a good decision.
1: 👩 Character Creation: While learning Blender.
2: 🐈 Animal creation: For common animals like dogs and cats, reference material should be available online.
3: 🦆 Niche creatures creation: Once I’m more comfortable, I’ll try characters like ducks. I’ll also create characters with less readily available reference information.
How Barako was born
The very first one I created was a female model named “Barako.”
A spirit of white climbing roses.
Around 2010, during my university days
(I was enrolled in the Nihonga [Japanese Painting] course of the Department of Fine Arts and Crafts),
the original concept was an incarnation of a rose I painted in Nihonga.
This one is a new character derived from that.
Due to certain circumstances, only part of the work is displayed.
Her hair being vine roses is the same as Barako’s.
Design change from Western style to Japanese style
The rose I sketched for my Japanese painting was an ‘Iceberg’ rose, a variety originating in Germany,
so at first I thought I’d paint it wearing a Western-style dress.
… But I changed my approach partway through.
(Of course, the dress would have been nice too.)
The manga’s setting is modeled after my home country, Japan,
so I’ve given it a Japanese-style feel.
It features kimono-inspired designs. The waist has a Western-style corset look, making it a fusion of Japanese and Western elements.
The story is set in a fictional future Japan.
A and T poses for reference when modeling. (Incarnation of a white vine rose)
3D production process in Blender (rough & reference videos, etc.)
The process to completion was roughly like this. (You can skip it if you want.)
*This is my own understanding with limited 3D experience. If I am wrong, please point it out.
Sculpting👐：
Digitally kneading clay. Here, the external contours are finalized.
(Reminds me of making ball-jointed dolls as a hobby. Good times.)
↓
Retopology🕸️:
Since the sculpt is a massive collection of vertices, it needs to be organized for easier manipulation later.
Recreate the sculpt from scratch using fewer vertices, faces, and lines.
This took an insane amount of time…
“I’m supposed to be trying to make manga less taxing, but this feels harder than drawing by hand; “ That’s where I started feeling anxious.
↓
(Modeling🧱: For clothes, accessories, etc., as needed.
Build 3D objects using square and triangular polygons.
For geometric objects like inanimate items, modeling seems preferable.)
↓
UV unwrapping 🗺️:
The process of flattening and unfolding the surface of the created 3D object.
Think of it like the net of a dice, or breaking down a stuffed animal into pattern pieces.
This allows you to paint colors onto the surfaces.
↓
Texture Painting🎨：
The process of painting on the surface of the 3D model. It’s the best. It’s incredibly fun.
It’s no exaggeration to say I’ve been working hard all this time for this moment.
↓
Rigging 🦴:
The process of setting up a skeleton for the completed character so it can move.
I can play with puppets now. This means it’s ready for use in comics…!
I consulted various websites, books, and YouTube.
A course covering the overall process of creating 3D characters
I learned this from Shin Min-jung’s Coloso course “Fun 3D Character Modeling Using Blender” (how to make the head and upper body).
The character design is super cute.
I was really happy that the production process started with sculpting!
Sculpting is a technique where I start by kneading clay-like material on the PC,
so it felt intuitive and fun, and I enjoyed it very much as it was close to the feeling of drawing a picture!
(I’d tried starting with “modeling” before and failed… Simultaneously building the object’s shape while consciously managing triangles, square polygons, and vertex counts was a bit too much for me.)
Where to find references on how to make 3D hands and lower body
I made it by watching my own limbs, using YouTube and various people’s videos, articles, and books as reference.
Extra: I also wanted to save energy in writing blog posts during the production process, so I tried voice input 🎤.
I want to create without overexerting myself while conserving energy.
But I still want to enjoy the act of creating itself—drawing pictures, crafting stories.
As part of my energy-saving strategy, I started this making-of article
not by typing on a keyboard,
but by using voice input on my smartphone.
Voice input is surprisingly easy.
I used to think, “Isn’t keyboard typing sufficient?” but after trying voice input, speaking was much faster.
I figured I could just tweak any typos later.
I also learned that voice input accuracy varies wildly depending on the tool.
I use Google’s Gboard on my smartphone.
Being able to do it while lying down is really great.
I heard Google Docs’ voice input accuracy is also good, so
when it comes time to properly edit articles on my PC,
I can probably use my laptop’s mic and Google Docs too.
On the other hand, when I tried using a desktop PC with a headset mic and Windows’ default voice typing feature, the accuracy was a bit lacking…
maybe the mic was bad or the feature itself isn’t very developed yet.
after this
These are the making article #1 to #2,
and I’ve voice typed so far as an experiment.
After that, I feel like I’m deciding on headings, structure, etc., and revising.
More to come…
制作クレジット／CREDITS
・企画・ストーリー
矢野サラ
・アートワーク（イラスト・3D・アニメーション）
矢野サラ
・サポート（アイデア整理・発想のヒントや幅を広げる補助）：
Perplexity（2025～）
参考文献：『AIを使って考えるための全技術』（石井力重／ダイヤモンド社）
↑書籍掲載のプロンプトも参考にしています。
Planning, Story
Sara Yano
Artwork (Illustration, 3D & Animation)
Sara Yano
Support (help with organizing ideas, finding inspiration, and broadening perspectives)：
Perplexity (since 2025)
Reference:
All Techniques for Thinking with AI (Rikie Ishii / Diamond, Inc.)
Prompts published in the book were also referenced.
英語版への翻訳／Translation into English
制作スピード向上のため、以下の翻訳ツールを活用しています。
↓翻訳工程順
- 日本語原文制作：矢野サラ
- 英訳：DeepL or Perplexity
- 漫画作中の口調修正：Perplexity
- 英文最終チェック：矢野サラ
※作者は現在英語学習中です。不自然な表現があればご指摘いただけますと、今後の制作に活かせるのでありがたいです。
The following translation tools are used to speed up the production process.
↓Translation process order
- Original Japanese text produced by Sara Yano
- English translation: DeepL
- Correction of tone of voice in cartoon work: DeepL or Perplexity
- Final check of English text: Sara Yano
The author is currently learning English.
I would appreciate it if you could point out any unnatural expressions so that I can make use of them in future productions.
Contents
Contents
“To Drink Sweet Water” [Independent Animation]
It is a short film lasting 3-4 minutes.
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About Comments and feedback💬
・You are welcome!🙏
We may respond to your questions in the article, so please feel free to ask. (Please note that we may introduce your comments.)
・Comments on social media are also welcome!🙏
We would appreciate it if you could tag your posts with “#Tabintail” or the account name below.
@tabin-s.com：Bluesky
@tabin_kurashi：X・Instagram
About replying to comments
It is difficult for me to respond at the moment, but I am carefully reading all of your comments. Thank you very much!
