For Lava Rock, my goal was to portray Pele as a young punk rocker, while still maintaining both the essence of a deity and the rugged, unpredictability of a volcano. Digital.

As Pele's character began to emerge from the sketches, I began to add subtle nuances, such as cultural icons, and not-so-subtle traits such as her white-hot "eruption mode". Digital.

Pele's guitar is designed to be an actual volcano attached to a wooden spear. The tuning mechanism at the top of the guitar's neck is called a Menehune, and is based off of an actual wood spirit in Polynesian mythology. Digital.

Pele's tatoos, which are a pale brown in normal mode, glow a bright orange-yellow while in eruption mode. In order to give off a punk rocker vibe while still maintaining the essence of Hawaii's terrain, I added shoulder and hip "spikes" based off of actual lava rock formations found in Maui known as "Dragon's Teeth". Digital.

Pele's two modes range from normal mode, in which both her hair and music flow at a steady buildup rhythm, and eruption mode, in which her music reaches its climax. When this happens, Pele's hair rises up and glows bright orange, along with her eyes and tattoos.

In normal mode, Pele's hair bears the sleek black hue of obsidian with dull red highlights. When in eruption mode, Pele's hair becomes hot enough to melt this obsidian away, and flows upward like a lava lamp. Digital.

A basic turnaround of Pele, showing off all of her clothing and body detail from every angle. Digital.

The final design and colors for Pele, complete with glow and smoke effects on her hair and guitar. Digital.

A cinematic poster-style depiction of Pele, underscoring the type of relationship she has with some of her fellow competitors, including her younger sister Hi'iaka (on the right), her former lover Lohiau (with Hi'iaka), and her older sister Nama-kao-kaha'i, the goddess of the sea (left). Digital.