# Colin Ozawa Style Brief v2 — FROM ACTUAL REFERENCES

**Source:** colinozawa.com
**Reference images saved:** /home/clawd/workspace/skills/deck-illustrations/assets/ozawa-ref-*.{jpg,png,gif}

## CRITICAL STYLE DNA (what makes Ozawa Ozawa)

### 1. IT IS 3D RENDERED
- Professional 3D render (Cinema 4D / Blender aesthetic)
- Smooth, clean topology
- Semi-gloss to matte surface finish
- NOT flat 2D. NOT vector illustration. NOT figurine photography.

### 2. TUBE-LIKE ELONGATED LIMBS (the signature)
- Arms and legs are **long, smooth cylinders** — like pool noodles or rubber hoses
- Uniform width from shoulder to wrist, hip to ankle — NO tapering
- NO visible joints, elbows, or knees — smooth continuous tubes
- Arms are roughly **1.5x longer** than realistic proportions
- Legs are similarly elongated
- Small hands with minimal finger definition (fist-like or mitten)

### 3. SMALL ROUND HEAD
- Head is **small relative to body** — NOT oversized like Pop Mart/Funko
- Simple sphere or slightly oval
- Warm skin tone
- Head-to-body ratio approximately **1:7 or 1:8**

### 4. MINIMAL FACIAL FEATURES
- **Round sunglasses** are the primary "face" — this IS the face
- NO visible eyes (hidden behind sunglasses)
- NO nose (or extremely subtle)
- NO visible mouth
- Sunglasses + head shape = entire identity
- Some characters have hats (bucket hat, bowler, etc.)

### 5. STREETWEAR FASHION
- Bold, contemporary streetwear (Nike, Off-White aesthetic)
- Detailed sneakers (Air Jordans, chunky trainers) — shoes are a KEY detail
- Layered clothing: graphic tees, oversized shorts, jackets, cuffed pants
- Accessories: gold chains, rings, earrings, hats
- Clothing has pattern/print detail but simplified for 3D

### 6. DYNAMIC CONFIDENT POSES
- Characters are WALKING, striding, leaning — NOT static standing
- Confident, cool body language
- Slight swagger/hip cock
- Arms in natural motion or casual gesture

### 7. BACKGROUNDS
- **Solid saturated color** (hot pink, golden yellow, orange) OR
- **Transparent/white** (for compositing onto slides)
- Soft contact shadow on ground plane
- NO environmental props (unless specific scene)

## COLOR PALETTE
- **Backgrounds:** Hot pink (#FF69B4), Golden yellow (#FFD700), Sunset orange (#FFA500), Electric purple
- **Skin:** Warm browns, peachy-orange
- **Clothing:** Bold primaries — cyan blue, orange, black, green, pink
- **Accents:** Gold jewelry, white sneaker details

## WHAT THIS IS NOT
❌ Pop Mart / blind box figurines (too chunky, too short)
❌ Flat 2D vector illustration (wrong medium entirely)
❌ Realistic human proportions
❌ Detailed facial features
❌ Short stubby limbs
❌ Static T-pose or stiff standing
❌ Noodle-thin stick figures (limbs have VOLUME — they're tubes, not lines)

## PROMPT TEMPLATE FOR AI GENERATION

**Base:**
"3D rendered character in Colin Ozawa style, smooth matte-to-semi-gloss 3D render, elongated tube-like cylindrical limbs with no joints, small round head with round dark sunglasses and no other facial features, wearing bold contemporary streetwear with detailed sneakers, confident dynamic walking pose, [BACKGROUND], professional Cinema 4D quality render, clean smooth surfaces"

**For Slide 4 (Three Parties — kid + parent + shopkeeper):**
"3D rendered scene in Colin Ozawa style, three characters: a child (shorter, backpack, colorful sneakers), a parent (taller, casual streetwear, sunglasses), and a shopkeeper (apron over streetwear, friendly lean). All have elongated tube-like cylindrical limbs, small round heads with round sunglasses only, smooth 3D render. Dynamic relaxed poses showing connection. White/transparent background, soft contact shadows. Professional Cinema 4D quality."

**For Slide 7 (Age Progression 8→12→15→18):**
"3D rendered age progression in Colin Ozawa style, four characters in a row getting progressively taller: young child (8yo, smallest, simple outfit, small backpack), preteen (12yo, graphic tee, shorts), teen (15yo, streetwear layers, sneakers), young adult (18yo, tallest, confident stride, full streetwear). All have elongated tube-like cylindrical limbs, small round heads with round sunglasses, smooth 3D render. White/transparent background, soft contact shadows."

## LAYOUT FOR SLIDES
- Compose characters on the **right side** of the frame
- Left side empty for slide text
- No background scenery — white/transparent
- Soft ground shadow only