With the rise of Pokémon GO, many longtime fans found themselves reliving the nostalgia of their youth—and I was no exception! But I chose to revisit those memories in my own unique way.

How might Pokémon appear in the real world? To answer this, I decided to redesign one of my favorite Pokémon: the toxic Koffing. This spherical, levitating creature emits foul gases and toxic substances. Since no real-world equivalent exists, and its official depiction is a simple, cartoonish design, I turned to the animal kingdom for inspiration, using organic references to bring it to life.

Koffing’s association with swamps and garbage dumps conjured adjectives like "vicious," inspiring me to envision its skin as moist and swollen, much like the texture of frogs or toads. After basic modeling in 3DS Max, I used ZBrush to add fine details, including smoke cavities and the distinct texture of its skin. Lacking hands or paws to clean itself while scavenging for food, I imagined Koffing as a grimy, stained, and bumpy creature. Its mouth, perpetually drooling like a dog, is surrounded by splashes of toxic liquids, created using a combination of texturing and modeling techniques. For the teeth, I considered its diet. While omnivorous-style teeth seemed appropriate (hinted at in the cartoon by its two fangs), I leaned toward a more menacing appearance, using anglerfish teeth as a reference.

The eyes were another defining feature. After experimenting with various irises—human, ram, frog, and snake—I ultimately chose cat-like irises to give Koffing a sharp, piercing look.

Once modeled, the final piece was lit and composited in Photoshop to create a vivid, lifelike interpretation of this iconic Pokémon.