From first sketch to final pixel – by hand.
From first sketch to final pixel – by hand.
This making-of captures the intensive, cross-industry teamwork between a leading automotive brand and a visionary Hollywood film production team. It highlights the collective synergy and shared vision that turned initial sketches into a groundbreaking concept car.
The Vision AVTR was built on collaboration — a multidisciplinary team of designers, creative directors, and visionaries working across disciplines and continents. I joined the project from the very beginning, having won an internal competition that placed me as lead designer on the exterior concept development. From that position, I was responsible for shaping the visual direction of the car — translating the philosophy of Avatar into surfaces, proportions, and details that felt simultaneously mechanical and alive. Throughout the process, we worked closely with concept designers Ben Procter and Dylan Cole, and had the rare opportunity to exchange ideas directly with director James Cameron and producer Jon Landau — conversations that pushed the design beyond the purely automotive into something closer to world-building.
The inspiration came during rewatching Avatar.
As night fell over Pandora, the world transformed. The flora ignited with bioluminescence, plants and creatures glowing with an organic, living light. The Woodsprites drifting through the darkness were the moment everything clicked.
I picked up a sketchbook and started sketching wildly, while the film was still running. The Vision AVTR had to carry that same quality — something that felt alive.
Working in Photoshop, the concepts were refined into more defined visual proposals. These renderings served as a communication tool within the team, bridging the gap between raw ideas and the precision required for production.
Seeing the final vehicle on the floor at CES was the culmination of everything that had gone into the process. The Vision AVTR is a concept that sparked a global conversation about the future of design.
© Mercedes-Benz AG. The Vision AVTR was developed in official collaboration between Mercedes-Benz AG and Disney/Avatar. All vehicle designs, images and trademarks are the property of Mercedes-Benz AG. Content is shown here as part of a professional portfolio to document personal creative contribution to the project within a big creative and management team. No ownership of the brand or design is claimed by the author.
