I designed and modeled this character based on the traditional Portuguese character Zé Povinho, created by Portuguese artist Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro. In my approach i imagined it as if it was brought into our current era, like it could be a collectable figure, like Funko Pop figures for example.
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/37bcffc7-82a8-4b72-9c4e-3d906fc93526/8a1f62b5-9f07-4d1c-b5d2-e04ee467cc1a_rw_1920.jpg?h=08129c94e89e31e67bd537c279236975)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/37bcffc7-82a8-4b72-9c4e-3d906fc93526/fe1233b8-62fe-4a9c-a39b-88f1a37b87cb_rw_1920.jpg?h=12041b2eec7917e176204df075e42e27)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/37bcffc7-82a8-4b72-9c4e-3d906fc93526/388bc83e-1f34-4ca2-9878-873ad8d88f99_rw_1920.jpg?h=2d8cb3d8002b85d2d03780f2bd54bc36)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/37bcffc7-82a8-4b72-9c4e-3d906fc93526/cd9a3db7-eb1f-45a0-9d47-6bc776003e3c_rw_1920.jpg?h=b5272f650488f5f4407c2474aef9bfe6)
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/37bcffc7-82a8-4b72-9c4e-3d906fc93526/959cfa84-e021-4d90-8c03-c288fe787038_rw_1920.jpg?h=ef05c72e35542bd989e25e2efb596e1d)
Original Illustration of Zé Povinho by Rafael Bordalo Pinheiro
![](https://cdn.myportfolio.com/37bcffc7-82a8-4b72-9c4e-3d906fc93526/9ae00e3a-4b08-4bb4-9a9b-84c280255df3_rw_1200.png?h=14272deb79e40e9502a10d8c258267c0)
"Zé", in Portuguese, is a common short form of the name "José" – as "Joe" is for "Joseph", in English – and "Povinho" is a diminutive for "Povo", which means "people". Povinho is a well-regarded, kindly man who lives simply, and is regularly depicted as mocking the powerful.