Institute of Art Design + Technology Dún Laoghaire
Ireland’s campus for the Creative Industries

Heather Kearns 

BA [Hons] 3D Design Modelmaking + Digital Art

I have always had a passion for creating 3D art from using clay as a kid to now being a digital 3D artist. Over the lockdowns of early COVID I dove into 3D modelling and found my passion in it and I have not stopped learning about it since. I have a passion for designing and creating 3D characters and props for games. I worked on Grounded as an intern 3D environment artist at Black Shamrock in 2022 and I am extremely eager to get into the game development industry.

Dragon's Dimension

My final project is a game environment I created in Unreal Engine 5. For my initial project I designed and created my own game ready 3D model dragon inspired by the Fuzanglong dragon of Chinese mythology. For the final project I wanted to create a world for this dragon to inhabit.
The environment starts on a beach and the player gains access to the dragon's dimension by picking up the dragon's pearl and must traverse the dimension and give the pearl to the dragon to leave.


The Homogeneous Game Development Industry and the Character Designs of Women and Minorities in Games

My thesis examines the lack of diversity in the games development industry and the influence this lack of diversity has on the game characters that are created.
It highlights the problematic and stereotypical representations of women, POCs, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community and the experiences of people from these group in the industry.