Bayonetta artist shares stunning Tekken 8 concept art 

Bayonetta character designer Mari Shimazaki is known for her sexy female characters and intricate costume designs. Recently, she worked as a character concept artist on Tekken 8 and shared some detailed design drawings for Jun, Reina and Asuka. 

Let’s look at how her designs for these three female characters reflect their personalities. Since her debut in Tekken 2, Jun Kazama has always had one black and white outfit, but Shimazaki’s latest costume design for the veteran Tekken character is the most elaborate. Jun’s long white floaty shirt and sleeves remind us that she has been commonly associated with the Angel character throughout the series.  

The two costumes for Reina represent different aspects of the new character’s personality and background. The black and purple cyberpunk style sportswear outfit gives her a cool and mysterious look, with the silver stripes on her jacket reflecting her Purple Lighting nickname. Her second costume has traditional Japanese influences that fit her Mishima heritage, and the hakama are very reminiscent of Heihachi’s. Asuka Kazama’s outfit, on the other hand, looks like a uniform that has been modified to make it sexier, which fits with her rebellious schoolgirl character. 

Mari Shimazaki is best known for being the lead character designer and art director for the Bayonetta series. However, you have probably seen her work in other places too, as she has done character and costume design work on various projects. This includes the costume design for the Racing Miku version of the vocaloid Hatsune Miku and for characters from The IdolM@ster game series. She also previously worked on Okami, Soul Calibur V and Tekken 7 (namely Josie Rizal and Kazumi Mishima). 

Tekken director Katsuhiro Harada responded to Shimazaki’s Tekken 8 post, thanking her for creating wonderful designs for the series. 

Mari Shimazaki frequently posts her illustrations on her X account and more of her work can be found on her website.