The Secrets of Bayonetta’s Models (Updated)
December 4th, 2009 by PlatinumGames
Filed: Bayonetta, Community, Games, PlatinumGames
Hi. I’m Kenichiro Yoshimura, Bayonetta’s modeler.
Well… Since Bayonetta is now in everyone’s hands one way or another (released in Japan, and the demo is out worldwide), I thought I would pinpoint a few things on the models I created.
First of all, I wanted to go into the differences between Bayonetta and Jeanne.
Even though the bones (the joints needed to make the model move) are shared between the two, and their bodies share the same basic balance…
…Jeanne’s got smaller boobs!
…And a smaller butt, too!
If you lay them on top of each other, this is what it looks like.
It also seems like Kamiya-san is partial to Jeanne. I’m with Bayo on this one.
Next up is Sapientia.
I took the liberty of throwing in some of the things I like and added a liberal amount of mecha elements that weren’t in the original concept design.
These are the exhausts. I airbrushed on some clear blue and some clear orange to give it that distinctive “scorched” look.
The wings are a brake and clutch setup. When Bayonetta summons the Infernal Demon Madama Butterfly, this is what the demon uses to take hold of Sapientia. (At least, that is how I justified it in my head.)
Part of the head is the command bridge of a warship. There is probably an Applaud at the helm with a crew of Affinities manning the ship. (Again, how I justified it in my head.)
There are caution marks around the body. On the wings, it says “NO STEP.” (But you can’t really read it) The wings are structurally weak, so you can’t stand on them. (Another justification off the top of my head.)
The writing above the heads on each of its legs has meaning. This one says System-E in our angelic font. System-E is the successor to SEGA’s System 16 arcade board. (Or so Kamiya-san devised…) I guess you could say that our mecha-angel Sapientia is powered by a SEGA arcade board.
UPDATE: Sorry! The thing about System-E is actually mistaken!! System-E is apparently the arcade version of the SEGA Mark III (Master System)! What I meant to say was that written on Sapientia’s head (now pictured above) is SG-1000000, which Kamiya-san’s set up as the theoretical follow-up to SEGA’s SG-1000 game system. Never the less, Sapientia runs on SEGA hardware. (And the legs are on Mark III…)
So now you have an idea of some of the small details that I was particular about putting in. If you pay close attention to these sorts of places when playing the game, you might find even more new details. Bye bye!
(NOTE: Higher resolution versions of the concept art in this post can be found on the PlatinumGames Inc. Flickr Page)
Tagged: 3D Modeling, Bayonetta, Bayonetta's Butt, Character Design, Jeanne, Kenichiro Yoshimura, Sapientia, SEGA, System 16, System-E









29 Comments Add Your Own
kagento Posted on December 5, 2009 at 3:55 am
Hello!
just wanted to congratulate you on your work. it is really inspiring and without need to justify model details cause that is what makes them more unique.
Hope to see you guys in the industry for long
x8zero Posted on December 5, 2009 at 8:14 am
What we can conclude about that kids?
Evil has smaller boobs….. and butt too. :p
Rikitatsu Posted on December 5, 2009 at 8:45 am
The level of detail that went to this boss is amazing, I mean, really amazing! I doubt anyone would've noticed these things if you hadn't pointed them out.
PG are awesome like that!
txGreg Posted on December 5, 2009 at 9:54 am
cool info – thanks for sharing some of the little details with us, that we can't see during the gameplay.
Chris Posted on December 5, 2009 at 12:31 pm
Very nice fusion of old and new! Level of detail and skill is on par with the latest final fantasy games, but without getting too weird. I'd buy this game for just the work you've shown here! But I know I'll have many more reasons.
Humberto Posted on December 5, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Well, looks like you had some fun with this. Good thing the Bayo Blog exists otherwise only a hand full of people would ever get to know these things.
BioMario Posted on December 5, 2009 at 3:07 pm
very high details !
thank you Mr.Kenichiro Yoshimura
i can't wait to buy the game
Mister 庭 Posted on December 6, 2009 at 11:23 am
Ohh, thats my favorite Boss! I totally love that battle, the best boss in the whole game.
Ryan/Sharky Posted on December 6, 2009 at 6:56 pm
I /LOVE/ all the Sega related cameos and touches in this game… fuels my nostalgia and I really love it. Well done Platinum Games from a long time Sega fan and now a Bayonetta fan!
FAUNA Posted on December 6, 2009 at 10:01 pm
Very cool design for Sapientia. I absolutely love the mecha styling. Please include a rotatable model viewer in the U.S. version!
FAUNA Posted on December 6, 2009 at 10:03 pm
I love the inclusion of small details and backgound history/story.
aXL99 Posted on December 6, 2009 at 11:23 pm
AUGH, that normal mapping on Sapentia is nuts! There's so much love put into all the little itty bitty details.
60Hz Posted on December 7, 2009 at 1:03 pm
Jeanne FTW – hopefully she'll get her own game one day!
and thumbs up to the System E – which was actually the Arcade version of the Sega Master System!! Here's a link http://www.system16.com/hardware.php?id=704
Psycho Echidna Posted on December 7, 2009 at 6:18 pm
I literally bow to the greatness of your work and Kamiya San’s. You honour the SEGA brand with all those Cameos and details. This is amazing. I can;t wait to purchase Bayonetta and enjoy the game , its details and the SEGA cameos. Thank you for doing this for all the SEGA fans!
Hakumen Posted on December 8, 2009 at 3:31 am
Great job on the game guys! I only got to play the demo, but I loved what I played. I thought it was only a female ver of DMC, so I started to pass it up. I loved DMC, but I was thinking it was a reskin, so I was originally gonna pass. Im glad I looked into to it after Suda51's interview where he mentioned he was friends with the creator and thought it was a great game. I rechecked into it and I was colored impressed. The style is over the top like DMC, but it feels completely different! The added sex appeal is just icing on the cake! Cant wait to see the great fights and cutscenes for the game. After the demo I must say Im all-in and will be getting it day 1. It took awhile to get pass the extremely small head of hers wich I would love to hear the explanation on, but I've grown fond of her anyways. It took a long time to get pass her head though… LOL! Excellent models guys. I should have said that first huh?
dsid Posted on December 8, 2009 at 8:26 am
i totally enjoyed the demo cant wait for the actual release and take the goods for the spin xD.
the details in the game are astonishing!!!!
Techni Posted on December 8, 2009 at 1:49 pm
Jeanne is cuter
ESA Posted on December 9, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Congratulations! I'm interested in knowing how long did it took you to completely model Bayonetta and also her final polygon count. Was it around 7000 polygons?
Platypus Posted on December 9, 2009 at 6:33 pm
I'm so happy to be able to read these insightful posts! Thank you PlatinumGames for sharing them with English-speakers!
I get a kick out of all the minute details present in the character/enemy design, like the "NO STEP" on the wings and how it has a brake-and-clutch system.
I hope a Bayonetta art book comes out, I would import it in a heartbeat regardless of how little of it I will be able to read.
Darkpen Posted on December 11, 2009 at 7:12 am
Jeanne > Bayo
Crepuscolo Posted on December 13, 2009 at 4:37 am
Absolutely fantastic (and inspired) design. I can't wait to play your wonderful game!
Shun Posted on December 16, 2009 at 9:20 pm
I agree w/ Platypus.
I like to see info like this shared, too.
& as far as an artbook for a game such as this… I'd say it's a must!
Julia Posted on February 17, 2010 at 11:56 am
You have created a nice site with a lot of good information. I am so glad that I found your site through google.