Macel: Trailer

NESSIRIUS

MACEL, Secret Garden

These branding designs, cinematic pieces and photoshoots were commissioned by the fashion brand MACEL as the trailer for their official store launch in Toronto.

My role - sole 3D artist, animator, designer
Time frame - july to dec 2025
Skills - Brand Design, Blender, Marvelous Designer (Fashion Renders), Geometry Nodes (Procedural Tools Creation), 3D Modeling (Hard Surface Modeling, Sculpting, Procedural Creation), 3D Animation (Keyframe, Blend Shapes, Procedural, Skeletal), Rigging, Character Design, Environment Design, Lighting Design

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Process

Fashion brand MACEL wanted to relaunch their latest collection, "The Secret Garden," by expanding into an interactive 3D digital experience. My role was to design a mascot and environment that embodied the collection's visual identity, and then bring both to life.

Here's a brief overview of what the roadmap looked like. Click on any of the steps to be redirected to the respective section.

Understanding MACEL

Research & Brainstorm

Making of

the MACEL Baby

Character Design

Creating the Garden

Environment Design

Flowers, Shrooms,

Sculptures, Insects

Asset Design

Integrating the Fashion

Clothing Renders

Understanding
MACEL

Research and Brainstorm

The Secret Garden is MACEL's latest collection. My responsibility was to create a virtual world that encapsulated its whimsical nature. As directed by the client, the garden should feel enchanted, soft, and alive. Elements instructed to include were: a magical creature, dragonflies, mushrooms, morning dew, moths.

In addition to this prompt, I took particular note of all that made this collection stand out from its competitors: squiggly silhouettes, vibrant and pastel colors, diverse forms, flaps in the clothing, colorful designs, surreal shapes, references to insects and flowers, and a bundle of different textures stacked together. All of these were taken into account in order to create a virtual garden that would instinctively 'feel' like MACEL.

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dangling crystals

insect wings

moth

wings

flower pattern

flaps

contrasting textiles & shapes

dragonfly wings

face shapes

squiggles

curved silhouette

pastel gradient

Moodboard

After further conversations with the brand's designers, here is the resulting moodboard. Note the use of stone sculptures, oversized mushrooms, and flowers as props for photoshoots. I made a conscious effort to focus on organic shapes (squiggles, spirals) and surreal petals.

You can browse through the complete moodboard here.

Flowers, Mushrooms, Sculptures, Insects

Asset Design

The Secret Garden is all about whimsy. As directed by the client, the garden should feel enchanted, soft, and alive. Elements instructed to include were: a magical creature, dragonflies, mushrooms, morning dew, moths.

In addition to this prompt, I took particular note of all that made this collection stand out from its competitors: squiggly silhouettrs, vibrant & pastel colors, different forms, flaps in clothing, colorful designs, surreal shapes, references to insects and flowers, and bundle of different textures stacked together. All of these were taken into account in order to create a virtual garden that would instinctively "feel" like MACEL.

Procedural Content Creations

I wanted to have maximal freedom when playing around with the environment setup, foliage and flowers, as well as also allow future designers have a streamlined process when playing around with the brand. As a result, procedural tools were programmed to make the experience as effiecient as possible. As shown below, this ranged from flowers, foliage, bushes, plant growth and mass instancing.

Flower Control

- Control petal count, size, rotation, and layered generations

- Adjust stem thickness and material

- Place leaves precisely along the stem from start to end

- Toggle outer leaves and fine-tune every detail

Bush Control

- Control leaf size and bush expansion angle

- Random seed generates unique branch

arrangements every time

Foliage Control

- Controls shape of custom petals (for optimization), width, material, rotation, size

- Flower bud material and width

- Stamen size, expansion, and density

- Stem material and thickness

Topiary Bushes Control

- Leaf type selection

- Viewport and render density

- Size range

- Toggle original mesh inclusion

Double Branch Plants Control

- Flower type and size

- Branch count, thickness, and placement along stem

- Branch start and end angles

Other Assets

All stonework and sculptures in the garden were created through hard surface modelling and sculpting; designed to contrast the vibrant natural elements and ground the overall aesthetic. Materials were sourced from open repositories, with the exception of the water shader, which I developed myself.

Stone Sculptures

All stone and sculptures in the garden, made to contrast the vibrant nature while elevating the aesthetic, were created by me through hard surface modeling and sculpting methods. Except for the water shader, all other materials were sourced from free open repositories.

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Making of
the MACEL Baby

Character Design

A significant part of this project was introducing a mascot to MACEL's brand: a creature that would reside in the secret garden and accompany the models on their exploration.

The client's description painted a chubby-bodied creature with dragonfly-like wings, insect antennae, and round, dark, sunken eyes.

Initial Moodboard and
Concept Drawings

The direction was shaped through a collaborative mood board: comprising images submitted by the client, Pinterest references curated by me, photography from inspiring exhibitions, and concept drawings iterated on together.

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Final Looks

After moving forward with the selected prototype, I created three alternative looks for the client to choose from. Unexpectedly, all three were enthusiastically approved, so the plan evolved to include one main creature and two companions.

Note the silhouette echoing the collection's outfits, the insect antennas, and the distinct wing variations across each design. All materials are original.

Environment Design

Fashion brand MACEL wanted relaunch thei rlatest collection, "the secret garden", by expanding their brand into a digital world. My responsibility was to design a mascot and environment that encapsulated the collection's, as well as bring everything to life.

Here's a brief overview of what the roadmap looked like:

Final details are being added to this section.
Please check back for the full writeup.

Integrating
the Fashion

The initial plan was to integrate 3D scans of the models into the environment. After that was deemed unfeasible, I took charge of creating 3D fashion renders instead. I recreated the iconic white jacket, one of the central pieces of the collection, in Marvelous Designer.