The goal for the CIN Woodtec campaign was to apply a high-end beauty aesthetic to industrial wood care. Co-directing this project at Nebula Studios, I positioned CIN’s oils, stains, and varnishes as premium cosmetics rather than standard hardware supplies.
To anchor this concept, I helped develop Teca, a bespoke digital wooden mannequin serving as a “skincare influencer.” She stars across four distinct videos, placed in minimalist environments, to demonstrate how each specific finish reacts and protects in real-world applications, such as Teak Oil on a pool deck.
To achieve the beauty-ad aesthetic, I established an intimate, close-up visual language. I utilized narrow lenses (50-80mm) with a shallow depth of field, paired with a subtle lighting setup integrating bokehs, lens flares, and atmospheric dust. This approach created tactile cinematography, forcing the viewer to focus entirely on the physical texture of the wood and the product.
Authentic wood texture was critical to the campaign’s success. Rather than relying on static image maps, I analyzed the structural differences between pine, ash, and oak—studying knot distribution, pattern density, and grain direction.
Using this data, I built a fully procedural 3D shader driven by custom noise patterns and algorithms. Controlling this material directly in the pipeline allowed me to accurately art-direct Teca’s visual transformation from pale, untreated wood to a vibrant, treated surface without compromising realism.
Capturing the exact physical behavior of the products during application was just as important as the static look. I animated the brush strokes and developed specific fluid simulations tailored to the unique properties of each finish.
For example, I engineered the simulations so that varnish builds a sleek, distinct layer on top of the geometry, while teak oil immediately penetrates the surface, darkening the wood and shifting the gloss values exactly as it does in reality.
