3D Character Creation & Animation for BAYC Members

This project was executed under Hologram Labs for Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) members. Our co-founder & lead artist, @xbadat, took the role of Art Director, leading the entire creative workflow.

Hologram Labs was building a VTuber platform for NFT creators – enabling them to bring their characters alive in 3D for calls, meetings, and streaming.

The challenge was to take iconic BAYC characters and translate them into 3D avatars, while keeping the original BAYC 2D art style intact.

Hologram's in-house team created 3D models and rigs.
‍@xbadat refined and perfected both modeling and rigging for consistency and animation-readiness as Art Director of the Project.

Built a custom toon shader in Blender to replicate the 2D comic-like feel of BAYC’s original artwork.
Ensured shader flexibility so it could be reused for different characters and campaigns.

Ran multiple pose tests to finalize proportions, expressions, and movement style.
Ensured each character felt authentic to its BAYC origin while being animation-ready.

Produced 20–25 videos across different BAYC characters. Characters had 4 variations of animations tied to their individual assets and traits. Added expressive facial and body language to give each BAYC ape unique personality.

‍Planned, storyboarded, and executed the main CGI ad for the BAYC campaign (featured at the top of this case study).Combined cinematic storytelling with character showcase.