Dark Desire
Conceptual Product Design| Packaging
Role : Art Toy Designer / 3D Modeler & Brand Identity Designer
Deliverables:
3D Figurines/Renders and Logo Identity System
Project Overview
Dark Desire is a novelty collectible doll that modernizes Victorian gothic aesthetics to explore themes of resurrection and decay. Combining branding, digital sculpting, and physical craftsmanship, the character and its coffin-style packaging deliver a cohesive storytelling experience. The project was fully rendered digitally and brought to life through 3D printing and hand-finishing techniques.
The Problem
Disposable Packaging: Standard collectible packaging is built for retail shelves and usually thrown away, missing the opportunity to become a permanent part of the character's presentation and backstory.
Mass-Market vs. Fine Art Collectibles: Mainstream fashion dolls target play-line audiences, leaving a gap for darker, Victorian-gothic novelty art toys that focus on eerie themes for adult display.
3D Fabrication Constraints: Translating complex digital sculpts into physical prints introduced thickness failures creating holes in thin meshes and tolerance issues that made prototypes not fit properly.
The Solution
An end-to-end novelty collectible experience that bridges digital concept design, physical craftsmanship, and functional display through:
Interactive Storytelling Packaging: A custom coffin container designed as a permanent, displayable artifact rather than disposable trash, elevating the ritual of unboxing.
Eerie & Modernized Gothic Aesthetic: A mature, narrative-driven design exploring Victorian resurrection folklore, balancing haunting realism with stylized geometry.
Optimized Physical Prototyping: A refined 3D printing and hand-finishing pipeline where digital sculpts are re-engineered for structural printing success and detailed hand-painting.
The Strategy & Process
Historical Research: Inspired by Victorian mourning rituals, exaggerated fashion silhouettes (bustle dresses), and gothic horror, modernized for a mature novelty/art toy audience.
Narrative Concept: The doll represents a cursed soul returning from the dead; the coffin packaging reinforces the lore and elevates the unboxing into an eerie ceremony.
Silhouettes explorations
Sketching & Prototyping:
Explored hairstyles, clothing silhouettes, and proportion variations.
Designed the coffin container to fit the figure snugly while serving as a high-appeal display asset.
Full Body Doll
Hairstyle/ Props Explorations
Execution & Software Workflow
Production Pipeline
Concept Development
3D Modeling
3D Modeling
Asset Preparation
3D Fabrication
3D Fabrication
Program: Procreate
Rapid concept sketches explored form, composition, and multiple color palettes before establishing the final visual direction.
Physical Fabrication & Hand-Finishing:
3D Printing:
Printed the figure in durable PETG to preserve fine details; 3D printed the coffin and applied textured spray finishes to mimic rendered materials.
Hand-Finishing:
Hand-painted the figure in acrylic layers and applied chalk pastel contouring to add depth, shadows, and realistic eerie skin tones.
Fabrication of Doll
Fabrication of Packaging
Results & Impact
End-to-End Craftsmanship:
Successfully bridged digital 3D sculpting, print optimization, and physical prototyping into a market-ready collectible.
Audience Recognition:
Presented to an audience of 25 viewers and praised for detail, creativity, and hand-finished fabrication—recognized as a commercially ready product.