Nena — hero portrait

Nena

An artificial.london Original · Character Design

A coming-of-age character built for animation — equal parts skate-deck grit and headphone-quiet calm. One city, one girl, her own tempo.

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The Project

She moves through the city to her own tempo — a kid learning that the spaces between the noise are where her real rhythm lives.

artificial.london is an independent design studio. Nena is its first original character — and its flagship: developed end to end, from a twenty-year-old sketch to a fully-lit hero.

The Origin

Nena began as a single sketch in 2003 — designed by a London graffiti artist commissioned by my agency the StyleGroup. Designed for SistaStyle, a teenage-girl show created and launched by the StyleGroup at ExCeL London in 2004. The show was partnered by Natmags-Cosmo Girl, Kiss100, Clinique to name a few...

Read the full SistaStyle origin story →
The Reimagining

Two decades on, that sketch became a full character study — a hero who reads instantly in silhouette yet rewards a closer look: freckles, frayed cargo seams, the worn grip-tape of a deck that has clearly been ridden. What follows traces her from turnaround to final light.

The Universe

Off the page, Nena is a singer-songwriter who produces her own tracks — and the founder of VS., the streetwear label she wears every day. Music, style and skate aren't set dressing; they're how she takes up space in the world.

Archive · The First Sketch The original 2003–04 SistaStyle artwork — the earliest sketch of Nena
Where it all started →SistaStyle · ExCeL London · 2003–04
Studioartificial.london
TypeOriginal Character · IP
OriginLondon · 2003
DisciplineCharacter Design · Look Dev
RoleDesign · Model · Light
ThemesMusic · Skate · Belonging
01 — Character Design

Built to turn,
built to read.

Model sheets and turnarounds establish the proportions, costume and silhouette before a single frame is lit. Consistency from every angle is the whole job.

Nena — full body, environment lighting
Full FigureCostume Pass · Neutral Light
Nena — front and back study
Front & BackTurnaround · Silhouette
Nena — skateboard action pose
KickflipAction Pose · Balance Test
02 — Expression & Detail

Close enough
to feel it.

Look-dev close-ups stress-test skin, hair and the small human tells — freckles, lashes, the quiet of eyes closed mid-track.

Nena — eyes-closed detail
Freckles & SkinLook Dev · Macro
Nena — calm portrait, street light
Quiet BeatPortrait · Golden Hour
Nena — portrait, arms crossed
Arms CrossedHero Portrait · Key Light
03 — Her World

Records, ramps
and four bedroom walls.

Environment and lifestyle frames place Nena inside her world — crates of vinyl, sun-warmed brick, the long light of a park at the end of the day.

Nena — bedroom with vinyl records
Find Your BeatBedroom · Vinyl
Nena — bedroom with decks
Skate & CreateBedroom · Decks
Nena — sitting, headphones on
In The HeadphonesBedroom · Night
Nena — park at sunset with skateboard
Last LightPark · Sunset
04 — VS.
VS. logo

The world spills
off the page.

The label on Nena's back is a real one. VS. is the London streetwear line she founded — where wildlife meets the wild side of human life. Bold stencilled animals, caught being just a little… human. Minimal by design, maximum attitude.

05 — Motion

She's about
to move.

Nena's first track — a laid-back deep-house odyssey through an ordinary day. The film is in the works. Here's the first look.

Status · In Production
06 — Arcade

Nena in
the arcade.

She skated straight off the page and into a game. Skate Runner is a one-button pixel dash through her night city — bomb the streets, grab the vinyl, dodge the cones. Tap to jump, hold for higher, and chase the high score.

Nena Skate Runner — title screen
Press StartSkate Runner · Title
Nena Skate Runner — gameplay, collecting vinyl and dodging cones
On The RunGrab Vinyl · Dodge Cones
Nena portrait
About

Imagined & designed
by Simon Milner.

Founder — artificial.london

I lead character and visual development at artificial.london, taking an idea from its first spark through to a fully realised screen presence. Every stage is authored with intent—from concept and design to modelling, look development, lighting and cinematic storytelling—guided by a single creative vision.

We create original characters, cinematic worlds and AI-native storytelling—combining traditional art direction with the latest generative tools to produce work that feels authored, emotional and unmistakably human.

Creative Direction Character Design Visual Development Look Development Lighting Story
Get In Touch

Let's make
something move.

Open to character design, art direction and visual development collaborations. Say hello.

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