A student’s cultural tribute in 3D transforms Bulgarian folklore into a fantasy champion

A Southampton Solent University CGI Visual Effects student has embraced her Bulgarian heritage in her Final Major Project, designing an original game character that brings Eastern European history and folklore to life.

Final-year BA (Hons) CGI Visual Effects student specialising in game art and character design, Simona Kovacheva, developed a champion-style character that blends two Bulgarian cultural influences through a full creative pipeline from concept to final 3D sculpt.

The inspiration came from a gap Simona had always noticed in the games she loved:

"I've always been playing these games, and they have Chinese swordsmen, Egyptian-inspired mythical heroes, and characters from all kinds of cultures." she says. "So, I decided. I know my culture, I know what I want to bring from it, and I can make it modern and different."

Her character draws on two elements of Bulgarian history and folklore. The first is the Kukeri, a centuries-old masking tradition in which elaborately costumed figures move through villages to chase away evil spirits and bring good fortune for the year ahead. It is a tradition Simona remembers vividly from childhood, making masks with her mother using pieces gathered from their garden.

The second influence is the Hayduti, secret freedom fighters from the Ottoman period who trained in forests and organised resistance when Bulgarians were forbidden from having an army. “They were the heroes of the last 200 years who actually saved us,” Simona says. “They were there to protect people in a physical way.”

Rather than directly recreating either tradition, she reinterpreted them into a contemporary game character, shaped by the visual language of titles such as Valorant, League of Legends and Overwatch.

"I always feared I could get it wrong and a Bulgarian person would look at it and say: this is not our culture. I realised I couldn't just do a mixture of old and new. I had to be inspired by the tradition and then create something different from it. That's what makes it work across cultures."

For Simona, one of the most significant parts of the project was completing an end-to-end creative pipeline:

"I had the chance to go through the whole process and that showed me so many gaps I didn't know I had. Little technical things that you'd never think about if you were only doing one part of the pipeline. But if you get them wrong, you can't move on."

It is the kind of real-world project experience that reflects Solent’s approach to practice-led learning, helping students develop technical skills and the ability to take a project from initial brief to final deliverable in a professional context.

Simona arrived at Solent from a fine art background in physical sculpture, painting and traditional craft, without having previously worked digitally. That foundation now shapes her approach to 3D in a way that sets her work apart.

While developing her character’s costume, she became particularly interested in researching historical Bulgarian clothing and reinterpreting it within a contemporary context. This aspect of the project has become an area she is now considering exploring further at postgraduate level.

She credits the courses industry connections as among her most valued experiences at Solent. Annual trips to London studios, evenings at 3D London, a professional gathering for those working in visual effects and games, and regular on-campus industry days have brought her face to face with people working on major films and games.

"My lecturers are very good at bringing the industry to us and bringing us to the industry. It's the only place that's actually given me that opportunity."

You can view Simona’s video reels here and here.

CGI Visual Effects at Solent harnesses industry-standard tools and real-world workflows to equip students for careers in games, film and animation.

Find out more about Solent Universities BA (Hons)CGI and Visual Effects course here.