Nini is an experimental AI chatbot built to explore the intersection of conversational AI, 3D characters, and the web.

The character was created with Blender and VRM, with AI-assisted workflows and Blender MCP helping us create and iterate on the 3D model despite having minimal Blender experience. Nini is powered by OpenAI and connected to a knowledge base that automatically stays up to date with content from the CMS used by balck.studio.

The most challenging part of the project was bringing the character to life in the browser. We explored Three.js and WebGL to render the VRM model and developed a custom shader to recreate an ASCII-art visual style while maintaining a sense of depth within the 3D scene.

Rather than aiming for a production-ready chatbot, Nini was created as a playground for exploring how AI, 3D, and creative web technologies can come together to create a more expressive digital experience.