case study_2

Context

El Señor Miyagi franchise — a merchandising distributor, producer and clothing brand with around 30 stores nationwide — specialized in original designs inspired by cult movies, famous series, anime and comics.

Between 2017 and 2021, I worked as the brand’s main illustrator and multidisciplinary creative, contributing to graphic design, web maintenance, social media collaboration, product logistics, printing management and store openings across the country. A strong corporate image and carefully designed window displays were core elements of the brand identity.

This case study combines two representative projects: the full restoration and artistic redesign of two ninots indultats (Bat-Minion and Spider-Minion), and the creation of a large-scale 3D Star Wars diorama installation for a storefront in Málaga.

Challenge

The first challenge consisted of restoring two abandoned ninots indultats — traditional Valencian figures saved from being burned — which were severely damaged, dirty and structurally compromised.

Key challenges included:

The second challenge involved designing and producing a 3D Star Wars inspired storefront installation that would create the illusion of depth and perspective distortion when viewed from a specific point.

Additional technical challenges:

My Role

Tasks: I was responsible for both the physical restoration and artistic reinterpretation of the ninots, as well as the full conceptualization and execution of the 3D storefront diorama.

Action

For the ninots restoration: Missing areas were reconstructed using putty and carefully sanded to achieve smooth surfaces ready for repainting. Spider-Minion’s ceiling anchorage was reinforced, and repainting introduced new specular patterns to simulate illumination from above. Artistic enhancements included: Triangular highlight patterns on Bat-Minion’s suit, enhanced arachnid relief on Spider-Minion, thicker black line work, improvised detailing and a refined emerald base, fixing many damages and replacing the original desaturated tone.

For the 3D Diorama installation: A Death Star corridor scene was generated from a free 3D model from Video Copilot, lit using additional area lights placed according to texture cues. The storefront was recreated in 3D using exact measurements, and lateral images were digitally deformed to produce a corrected perspective illusion when viewed from the center. The final artworks were rendered at 150dpi in very large dimensions and divided into multiple printable sections to fit the available plotter and the two-door background structure.