Stellar Blade’s Hyung-Tae Kim has a ‘Unique’ Way of Bringing his Characters to Life Some Developers Wouldn’t Dare Try

When a game comes from the minds of people such as Hyung-Tae Kim, it’s sure to create waves in the gaming community. His character designs were popular much before he got into gaming, and his following has only grown since then.

As the CEO of SHIFT UP Corporation and the developer of the upcoming PlayStation-exclusive Stellar Blade, Hyung-Tae Kim is no stranger to character design. However, he does like to do things a little differently from other designers; by focusing on one specific aspect of a character, he can give them much more depth and offer a more realistic build.

Hyung-Tae Kim Believes Character Designs Can Be More Believable by Focusing on Fat

In an interview with Game Developer, the founder of SHIFT UP Corporation shared how he approaches character design. Kim’s attention to detail goes beyond surface level appearances. One of the defining features of his unique style is that one can imagine a real person having the build many of his designs possess.

Kim states that the secret to this is focusing on fat. While many games try to make their female characters either buff or petite, there is a push for them to be more on the lean side. Hyung-Tae Kim, on the other hand, believes in embracing the softer aspects of these characters by using body fat as a way to further flesh out the character’s build. He’s even called it “the most important part.”

If you focus more on the fat of a character, and then you sort of create a flow into the chest and the hips and form the body around it, how force and physics can change a body, including fat, it becomes more beautiful for people who can appreciate that innate nature.

Now, that’s not to say attractiveness is the only aspect Kim focuses on. He is a big proponent of factoring body fat into not just appearance but also character movement. Unfortunately, he states, “In books that explain the body, there aren’t that many explanations of fat,” making it more difficult to faithfully recreate the same on-screen or on paper.

Kim’s Work on Magna Carta and War of Genesis Solidified his Gaming Fan Base

The characters in previous games and even the upcoming Stellar Blade are realistic but also exaggerated slightly. While Eve’s look is based on Korean model Shin Jae-Eun, Kim took some liberties to create the most attractive character possible.

The process is not without risks, and Kim worries his characters may appear “inhuman.” He goes on to talk about how switching to 3D graphics for his art has helped him reach a wider audience. While before his work was only on the covers of games, they are now being used within the games as well.

With Stellar Blade set to release towards the end of April, Kim is now focused on his next project, Blade & Soul. Kim says he is busy shaping the MMORPG from NCSoft in his style before he can think of how to once again take on 2D art.

Do you have a favorite character design from Hyung-Tae Kim? Let us know in the comments.