Seehas

A commissioned 3D character sculpting project bringing the Seehas – a beloved Lake Constance legend – to life as a detailed sculpture, designed from concept to print-ready product.

Working closely with the client Eckhard Besuden, I translated hand-drawn sketches into a fully realized 3D character. It features expressive anatomy, custom accessories like removable diving goggles and a snorkel, and carefully sculpted fur details. In addition, the design balanced visual fidelity with practical 3D printing requirements. As a result, the final product stands at 30 cm and exceeded the client’s expectations.

Scope of work:
– Concept interpretation and 3D blockout based on client sketches
– High-detail character sculpting (body, face, fur, paws with claws)
– Design of removable accessory parts (goggles, snorkel) ensuring a clean facial surface
– Iterative refinement through structured client feedback rounds
– Print-ready asset preparation and prototype output

Challenges: One of the main challenges was depicting the fur as both wet and detailed at the same time. The Seehas lives in Lake Constance, so the fur needed to look damp and sleek. However, it also had to retain enough fine detail to be visually interesting, especially for 3D printing. Finding that balance required a lot of iteration in ZBrush.

Another challenge was designing the removable accessories. The goggles and snorkel had to fit seamlessly into the head after printing. At the same time, the connection points had to be invisible when the parts were attached. In addition, fine details like fur and claws needed to be pronounced enough to survive the printing process without losing their expressiveness.

Software Used
ZBrush