Zeljko, the Garden Spirit
Zeljko, the Garden Spirit
An original character born in the garden — designed, sculpted and animated from scratch.
Blender
ZBrushSubstance 3D
Adobe Photoshop
Adobe Premiere Pro
Unreal Engine
PureRefBlenderZBrushSubstance 3DAdobe PhotoshopAdobe Premiere ProUnreal EnginePureRef[ Intro ]
Some characters are commissioned. Željko sprouted.
He started as a doodle of a cabbage with eyebrows and grew into a fully sculpted, rigged and animated character. Every part of him — from the bark of his staff to the veins in his leaf crown — was built from scratch in 3D, as proof of what an original mascot can look like.
The Concept
Željko is a small guardian of the garden — a spirit grown from a cabbage, with a twig staff and a crown of leaves. The goal was simple: build an original character with enough personality to carry animated shorts, mascot work and brand storytelling on his own.
The Process
From first sketches to final shot: blockout and sculpting in Blender, detailing in ZBrush, hand-painted textures in Photoshop. Then rigging, foliage grooming, lighting and rendering back in Blender, with the final grade in DaVinci Resolve.
The Result
A fully rigged, render-ready character — used for animated loops and stills. Characters like Željko work hard as brand mascots: a face an audience remembers faster than any logo.
Credits
Concept, CGI & Animation · Studio Cauldron
Tools · Blender, ZBrush, Photoshop, DaVinci Resolve
Year · 2025
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