Robuddy

Blizzy

A 3D mid-poly robot created with the winter theme in mind. This guy will fix all your snow problems!

Project Overview

Blizzy is my first fully PBR-modeled character — a cheerful, winter-themed snowplow robot designed to tackle the cold with personality. As the season approached, I wanted to capture the cozy yet industrious spirit of winter, which led to the creation of this Wall-E-inspired snowblower bot. The process began with early sketches and blockouts, exploring how to merge functionality with charm.

The final design brings together a playful silhouette, believable materials, and storytelling details that give Blizzy his friendly personality. He scoops up snow into his “tummy” and blows it out to clear paths — and if you’re lucky, he might even give you a little wave. This project marked my introduction to PBR workflows, lighting, and presentation, setting the foundation for how I approach stylized realism in my 3D work.

Tools Used

Blender

Substance Painter

Photoshop

Unity

PureRef

Project Overview

Blizzy was the first PBR model I ever created — a milestone project that introduced me to the fundamentals of physically based rendering. Through this project, I learned how roughness, normal, and metallic maps interact to define realistic materials and surfaces. Experimenting with different values helped me understand how light behaves across various materials, shaping the overall look and feel of the model.

Beyond materials, Blizzy was also designed with animation in mind — marking my first steps into the world of rigging and movement. I explored key animation principles and built a functioning rig from scratch, learning about inverse kinematics, bone hierarchies, and weight painting. This hands-on experience gave me a deeper appreciation for how technical and artistic elements come together to bring a 3D character to life.

My Takeaways

Overall, this project became a cornerstone in my learning journey. It pushed me to move beyond static modeling and dive into the full 3D pipeline — from modeling and texturing to rigging and animation. Blizzy not only strengthened my technical foundation but also inspired my passion for creating characters with both personality and purpose.

Project Details

Polycount: ~10K thousand triangles optimized and game ready

Textures: 2K PBR materials with Substance Painter

Rendered: In Blender, Unity and Sketchfab

Blockout and Designing

Blizzy went through a lot of iteration before reaching his final design. At first, I had no clear vision of what he should become — I was simply experimenting, testing ideas, and seeing what worked. It was very much a “let’s try this and see if it looks good” kind of project. Over time, I created several versions that now feel like his earlier evolutionary stages. There was even a prototype named Greg — a round, fingered robot — but let’s just say... we don’t talk about Greg.

I’ve always been a big fan of Wall-E, and he definitely inspired Blizzy’s design. One of Wall-E’s most memorable features is his trash-cube belly — I loved that concept of functional charm. With winter as my theme, I reimagined that idea: instead of trash cubes, Blizzy would scoop up snow into his tummy and then blow it out through chutes on his back. The snow scoops not only make him practical but also playful — perfect for an impromptu snowball fight if needed.

I aimed for a balanced design — something that feels friendly yet slightly intimidating. The goal was to make him approachable but sturdy enough that people wouldn’t be tempted to kick or damage him (because, let’s be honest, humans can be pesky like that). To give him a touch of personality, I added a Russian Ushanka — not only to make him feel a bit more human and relatable, but also, of course, to keep those circuits warm.

Blockouts

Project Gallery

Showcase

Back to Work Next Project: Ancient Tides