Building a Versatile Career in Character Art: Gnomon Grad Alvaro Zabala’s Story

Posted Mon, Apr 28, 2025

Alvaro Zabala — Elder Scrolls Online

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Introduction to Alvaro Zabala

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Alvaro Zabala

Senior Character Artist at 1047 Games

Graduated from:

Gnomon’s Certificate in Digital Production (Class of 2017)
Currently working:

as a Senior Character Artist at 1047 Games
Previous experience:

Santa Monica Studio, Blur Studio, Psyop
Industry Credits:

Love, Death + Robots, God of Ragnarök, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

Interview with Alvaro Zabala

Close-up view of the 3D character model by Alvaro Zabala (alongside a detailed clay render showcasing the Joker and Batgirl designs), highlighting intricate details and textures based on Rafael Albuquerque's original artwork. — Project by Alvaro Zabala made during his time at Gnomon. Based on the cover by Rafael Albuquerque.

3D character sculpt by Alvaro Zabala, showcasing detailed modeling and texturing of a man wearing formal wear, holding a newspaper, and looking pensively to the side. — Final term project at Gnomon by Alvaro Zabala. Sculpted in ZBrush and modeled in Maya. Textured with Substance and Mari. Rendered in Vray. Concept by Rou Rou.

Wireframe and clay render of a 3D character model by Alvaro Zabala, showcasing detailed sculpting and design. — Final term project at Gnomon by Alvaro Zabala. Sculpted in ZBrush and modeled in Maya. Textured with Substance and Mari. Rendered in Vray. Concept by Rou Rou.

Screenshots of Alvaro’s work on Love, Death + Robots. The top image shows a farmer with a rooster on his shoulder. The bottom image shows the farm with a barn, field, house, and cars.

Screenshots of Alvaro’s work on Love, Death + Robots. The top image shows a farmer with a rooster on his shoulder. The bottom image shows the farm with a barn, field, house, and cars. — Love Death + Robots — Blur Studio – Suits. Alvaro Zabala was in charge of modeling and UV mapping of vehicles, animals and props.

Cinematic scene from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare by Blur Studio featuring four detailed, realistic soldiers standing in a dark environment. Gnomon graduate Alvaro Zabala contributed expression blend shapes, sculpting, and texturing for the characters. — Call of Duty: Modern Warfare cinematic by Blur. Alvaro Zabala was in charge of doing several expression blend shapes, sculpting and texturing.

Highly detailed 3D sculpt of the Freya Valkyrie armor set from God of War Ragnarök, showcasing intricate Norse-inspired patterns and textures across the chest, arms, and skirt sections. — God of War Ragnarök - Freya Valkyrie set

Full-body character render of Freya's Valkyrie armor from God of War Ragnarök, displayed in five turnaround views. High-resolution sculpt and modeling by Alvaro Zabala; textures and materials by Angela Rico. — Alvaro Zabala was in charge of modeling and sculpting the high res mesh. Texture and materials done by Angela Rico.

Black and white bust renders of the Hateful torso variation model from God of War Ragnarök, featuring three detailed views of the character sculpt created by Alvaro Zabala. — The hateful torso variation model from God of War Ragnarök by Alvaro Zabala.

Sculpt by Alvaro Zabala, textures by Angela Rico.

Alvaro working on a sculpting project during his time at Gnomon

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