Microsoft Rare Sea of Thieves – 2019

Sea of Thieves – 2019

The brief

For the fifth year in a row we were asked by Microsoft-Rare Studios to create two new characters, brother and sister Demarco and Lesedi, for their ever-popular game Sea of Thieves. We were given artwork of both characters and had to create life-size versions. Because neither character had ever been rendered in a 3-D form it was down to us to translate the 2-D drawings in to their 3-D full size selves.

Wow…It’s not an easy task working from a 2d character and Lesedi needed that extra push, but these look awesome!

Peter Hentze – Brand & Licensing Art Director – Microsoft Rare

Prop process images

  1. Demarco sea of thieves sculpture during the build process.
  2. Demarco sea of thieves sculpture at the e3 gaming expo in display.
  3. Lesedi sculpture at the e3 gaming expo in los angeles.
  4. Lesedi sea of thieves character during the sculpting process.

The Process

We were given only a front and back view of each of the characters, which makes the task of creating a life-size 3-D sculpture slightly more complex, but as we specialise in creating 3-D versions of characters from mere concepts to basic sketches to full 3-D computer artwork, this job was no more daunting than any of the many others we have worked on for Microsoft Rare.

For both sculptures we started with a skeleton, an armature made from metal, wire, foam and timber. These had to be strong enough to hold up to 1 quarter of a ton of clay each and also create the basic shape of the sculpture. Once we had the basic shape we sent regular update photos to the client and continued to send photos right through the sculpting process. Our clients appreciate regular updates because more often than not, some of our clients have just a concept or idea and they need us to design and visualise these in to 3-D forms. Once Lesedi had been sculpted and signed off, she was ready for the mould to be made.

Demarco and Lesedi had a brass shim fixed into place; this will dictate where the silicone mould will come apart. After the first layer of silicone was applied we added an additional layer of thixotropic (thickened) silicone all over. The addition of the fibreglass jacket completes the moulding process.

Both finished sculpts had to come apart in smaller sections so that they would fit into small flight cases as they will be travelling the globe to be displayed at various events to promote the game Sea of Thieves.

Once both characters were cast in fibreglass they were ready to be primed and painted. The first details are painted on the sculpts which requires a lot of masking to get a nice, crisp finish in our spray room. The sculpts then get special attention from our painter.

Project Image

Lesedi sculpture at the e3 gaming expo in los angeles.

The Result

Every job is lovingly finished as this is something we love doing. Above is Lesedi at the E3 gaming expo in Los Angeles. Our client advised that their social media team received many Tweets from people who loved both sculpts we did for them.