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WELCOME 
TO
MY WEBSITE

     Hi, my name is Nigel(Zhenxiang liao）. I am a senior student majoring in Game Design in university of Utah. I have a strong passion for visual storytelling and specialize in illustration, 2D animation, and 2D environment design.

     I have experience working with 3D modeling and Python programming, which helps me better understand the full game development pipeline. However, my primary focus and greatest passion lie in hand-drawn art and visual creation.

     I enjoy exploring character design, expressive illustrations, and atmospheric backgrounds. Outside of my academic work, I like dancing, working out, and drawing, which continuously inspire my creativity and artistic expression.

      I am always eager to improve my skills and bring engaging visual experiences to games and interactive media.

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      I am particularly passionate about figure drawing and portrait studies. I enjoy exploring the structure of the human body and capturing subtle facial expressions, as I believe these are key to creating emotional connection in visual storytelling.

      In my work, I focus on anatomy, proportion, and gesture, aiming to balance accuracy with expressive linework. For portraits, I pay close attention to facial features, lighting, and mood, trying to convey personality and emotion through small details.

       François Prelati is one of my favorite characters. His design and personality have been a great source of inspiration for my own artwork.

     

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Fate/strange Fake

François Prelati

CLANKER CLEAN UP

    ----This project is my team’s graduation game. I was responsible for the 2D art, including character design, background illustration, and character animation.----

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I created a variety of character design sketches and promotional illustrations, helping to refine the character’s visual identity and enhance the overall presentation.

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Steam page art work:

Janitor--janny

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Book a place >
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This is the character illustration of the female protagonist I designed for the game. She is a janitor with blue hair tied into a braid, wearing a work uniform.

In this design, I used clothing structure and color choices to emphasize her role as a janitor, while incorporating distinctive elements in her hairstyle and overall design to enhance her individuality and visual appeal.

----These are four different style explorations I created for this character, aimed at exploring various visual approaches and stylistic directions. This process helps me improve my drawing skills and allows me to learn and explore different art styles.----

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JANNY

----This is a poster illustration I designed for the character Janny, created specifically for the game’s Steam page to support its visual presentation and promotion.----

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       FINAL  ANTAGONIST

  ----  This is the final antagonist in our game, and also one of my favorite characters. He is designed as a robot with white hair, a handsome face, and a striking physique. Through his visual design, I aimed to emphasize his calm yet imposing presence by combining refined features with a strong silhouette：----

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MAFIA BOSS

----This character is a mafia boss in the game. He has a heavy build, wears a suit, sports a small mustache, and is often seen smoking a cigar, giving him an intimidating and authoritative presence. In the game, he is portrayed as a complex and unpredictable character.----

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ARCHAEOLOGIST

----This character is an archaeologist in our game. She wears a cowboy hat and a plaid outfit, giving her a sense of exploration and adventure. In this design, I aimed to reflect her professional and independent personality through her clothing and overall appearance.----

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CUSTOMER

----This is a customer character in our game. She is an elderly woman with gray-white hair, shopping in a mall. In this design, I aimed to convey a sense of everyday life and warmth through a simple and approachable appearance.----

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STUDENT

----This is a student character in our game. During the design process, I first created a comic featuring him and a robot to explore character relationships and storytelling. After further iteration and refinement, I completed his character illustration to achieve a more polished and cohesive visual design.----

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----This is the cutscene story I created for the game, starting with the character Janny as the narrative focus. Through storyboarding and visual design, I aimed to present the story in a clear and engaging way.----

Musician
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----This is a promotional poster I created for our game team. I used a cool color palette and focused on lighting and atmosphere to create a dark and eerie mood, helping to better convey the tone and feeling of the game.----

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THE WATCHER

Project: The Watcher

This is a horror game developed two years ago with a team of four other members using Unreal Engine, focusing on the jump scare genre. In this project, I was responsible for 2D art, including character design and promotional illustrations, and also contributed to 3D modeling of furniture assets.

Through this project, I improved my 2D art and character design skills while gaining experience working within a 2D and 3D collaborative game development pipeline.

----The game is currently published on the Ziltraction platform. I also designed the main menu artwork, featuring a skull as the central visual element. The design emphasizes strong visual impact with a dark and eerie tone to enhance the horror atmosphere and overall theme of the game.----

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TREE SPIRIT

In The Watcher, the antagonist is designed as a tree spirit. Based on this concept, I created multiple character illustration references of various creature designs during the early stage to explore its visual direction and establish a foundation for the final design

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----I also created horror wall patterns and additional promotional visuals for the game. These designs are based on spell-like symbols and primarily use a deep red color palette to enhance the mysterious and eerie atmosphere, helping convey the fantasy elements of the game to players.----

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----This section includes additional work I created for the project, including a portrait illustration and a skull design. I also contributed to approximately 15 pieces of 3D furniture modeling. Due to hardware limitations, some files could not be fully opened, so only selected screenshots are shown as reference.----

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SYNTHESIA

----Synthesia is a music puzzle game developed with a team of three other members using GameMaker. The main character is a cute robot. In this project, I was responsible for 2D art, including background design and simple character animation for the robot.----

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PICK YOUR FLAVOR

These are background designs I created, featuring bright colors and rich natural elements. With the sky and clouds as the main backdrop, I aimed to create a calm and comfortable atmosphere.
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These are animation screenshots showcasing the character’s movement and motion performance.
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MAYA WEAPON

The following works are 3D modeling exercises I completed during my coursework. These include weapon models created in Maya, along with their UV mapping, demonstrating my understanding of basic modeling and texturing workflows.

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02.

Describe the key features of the service and how users can benefit from it.

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03.

Describe the key features of the service and how users can benefit from it.

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ZBRUSH MODEL

The following work is a character head sculpting exercise I completed in ZBrush as part of my coursework. This model was created according to class requirements to practice facial structure and basic sculpting skills.

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UNREAL ----MAYA

The final piece is a 3D modeling workflow project created using Maya and Unreal Engine. I first modeled the car in Maya, then imported it into Unreal Engine, where I adjusted and unified the materials to achieve the final visual result.

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UNREAL 2D GAME

In addition, I developed a 2D game in Unreal Engine. In this project, I used a squirrel pixel character sourced from online assets and implemented its movement and controls using Blueprints.

Players can move the squirrel left and right and perform up to six consecutive jumps. I also designed the level structure and difficulty progression, with the goal of reaching the end and collecting a “big bean” to complete the level.

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In addition to my academic and project work, I also enjoy creating realistic-style illustrations. The following are some personal works I completed in my spare time.

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Over the years of studying art, I have continuously explored my own artistic style while actively learning and developing a wider range of drawing techniques to improve my overall visual expression.

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THANK YOU FOR WATCHING

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