Sonic 3 (2024) - Robotnik's Crab

Sharing the second behind-the-scenes showcase from Sonic 3, I’m proud to have worked on the 3D design of Robotnik’s Crab.

Under the awesome art direction of Tyson Hesse, VFX Supervisor Ged Wright, Production Designer Luke Freeborn, and Director Jeff Fowler, I worked on modeling, look development, and presentation of the asset to reach final approval.

I drew heavy inspiration from real crab references - from feet to claws and other anatomical details - to preserve the feeling of a crab while incorporating the mechanical shape language aligned with past Robotnik tech, such as his drones, eggpod & Mecha.

The asset was also built with functional design in mind:
• claws opening and closing
• feet fully pliable for flight mode
• compartments opening up for rockets & weapons like the drones had

I was excited to see that it appeared in the movie very close to the version I submitted. It was a super fun project and a great learning experience - taking on such a large hard-surface asset and looking to strike a balance between organic creature design and a mechanical spaceship.
Modeled & presented in Blender.

Hope you enjoy!