General Motors / Territory Studios
Art Direction, 3D and Concept Art
Conceptual studio works developed in 2022 exploring a futuristic architectural terrain and landscape for General Motors.
These concepts represent a self-directed progression from an initial collaboration with Territory Studio’s San Francisco team for GM. The aim was to take the brand’s vehicles beyond traditional settings—placing them within abstract, surreal terrains that reimagine the role of environment in automotive storytelling. By blending bold architectural forms with speculative landscapes, the work pushes the boundaries of GM’s visual language and invites new interpretations of brand identity in future contexts.
Production Process
The creative development began with broad world-building sketches, translating core design cues from GM’s vehicles into environmental shapes, textures, and spatial rhythms. Early moodboards drew from architecture, fine art, and speculative sci-fi landscapes, helping establish a tone that was both forward-looking and grounded in tangible design logic.
In 3D, the terrain and structures were modeled in Maxon Cinema 4D, with careful attention to scale and composition to create a sense of cinematic immersion. Vehicle placement was treated as part of the environmental choreography—framing each shot to emphasise form, shadow, and movement.
Octane Render was used to achieve photorealistic lighting with a slightly heightened, surreal quality—balancing natural atmospheric conditions with controlled, studio-like illumination. This approach allowed for nuanced surface reflections on the vehicles, while integrating them seamlessly into the complex terrains.
Final image treatments were completed in Adobe Creative Suite, adding subtle atmospheric layers, color grading, and post effects to unify the series. The workflow encouraged iteration: each pass informed refinements in geometry, lighting, and tonal direction, resulting in visuals that feel both engineered and dreamlike.
The finished works act as a bridge between automotive design and speculative architecture—offering a glimpse into how GM’s future vehicles might inhabit worlds beyond the roads we know today.
