NASA Lunar Racer: Character and Vehicle Design

What if the space race was more literal--an actual lunar rally? As the final project for Charles Lin's Entertainment Design class, I created two opposing teams, each with a driver and a vehicle. I aimed to give each team its own distinct design language, while making sure they still looked like they belonged in the same world.

The Americans are the more high-tech, flashy faction. The NASA driver is an upgraded and streamlined version of the traditional Apollo astronaut, with a racing-inspired harness and helmet. The buggy retains the iconic mesh wheels and fenders of the real Lunar Roving Vehicle, while adopting a more sandrail-like appearance and a thinner tandem seating arrangement.

A simple Daz Studio figure provided an underlay for the astronaut, and a rough Maya mockup was likewise used for the vehicle's line drawing.