Connect with me:
Hey you, my name is Mariano, but you can call me Mars.
I’ve been sculpting characters and creatures for almost 20 years, working everywhere from small advertising studios in Brazil to Rockstar Games and VFX studios for film and TV.
I grew up in São Paulo obsessed with action figures, movies, and video games. I was always the kid sketching in class instead of paying attention. Back then, I never imagined any of those interests could become a career.
I started out in Brazil back in 2008, working in smaller advertising studios where the deadlines were brutal and the projects ranged from product packages to commercial characters. Those years taught me how to work fast, solve problems, and how to be a team player.
In 2015, I moved to Toronto to join Rockstar Games, where I created characters and assets for Red Dead Redemption 2. After that, I spent nearly six years at Spin VFX as a Senior Character and Creature Artist, eventually becoming Head of the Creature department and contributing to many projects.
Nowadays as a Senior Creature Artist at working with the incredibly talented team at MR.X, I always make room for personal work and the occasional outside project when the right one comes along, teaching a bit, and running a small community on Patreon and Discord.
The biggest influence on how I sculpt, though, didn’t come from a tutorial or a course. Years ago, while walking through Las Vegas with my dad, I came across one of Richard MacDonald’s bronze sculptures. It completely changed the way I looked at form and gesture. I still chase that feeling today, the visible tool marks, the sense of movement, and the impression that a real hand shaped the piece, even when my “clay” is nothing more than polygons.
If you’re here, thanks for stopping by. Whether you want to talk sculpture, characters, movies, or just share what you’re working on, I’d love to hear from you.
