Project 07 / 23 · Character, Environment & Prop Design · Digital Matte Painting

Corcept Therapeutics

Cortisol In Control — Two Films

2025

Project overview

Across two films for Corcept Therapeutics' Cortisol In Control campaign, excess cortisol becomes something audiences can see and feel rather than an invisible medical abstraction. The stories address its relationship to difficult-to-control blood sugar and blood pressure, placing important health information inside a warm, tactile world of handcrafted-looking characters and miniature environments. Both films were directed by Dael Oates and Stephen Beck of Left Shoe Lost, with agency partners Patients & Purpose and Link 9.

Working with Untold Studios across both spots, I designed characters, environments and props, and contributed digital matte painting. The combined visual development spans doctors' offices, domestic interiors, pharmacies, parks, a fairground, a tennis court, a stadium and even a family ski photograph. Everything from a blood-pressure cuff and fast-food truck to sports equipment and tiny winter clothing had to feel as though it belonged to the same softly stitched universe.

The trick was making the world charming without making the subject feel slight. Every character needed a distinct personality, every room needed believable scale, and even the smallest prop had to read immediately. Across two films, the work became part production design, part dollhouse logistics and part answering questions nobody expects in art school. This included how much tailoring a tiny felt pharmacist needs, whether a miniature burger can look medically suspicious, and how many spectators it takes before a model stadium becomes a crowd-control problem.

The first film, Marionette, received a 2025 VES nomination for Outstanding Compositing & Lighting in a Commercial and can be watched in full below. The blood-pressure follow-up has not been posted publicly, so the remaining artwork brings together visual development from both spots alongside a short motion study.

Selected frames

70 images

Character lineup from Corcept Therapeutics' two-film Cortisol In Control campaign — Character lineup

Sol character concept — Sol — character development

Alternative Sol character design — Sol — character development

Developed Sol character concept — Sol — character development

Gus character concept — Gus — character development

Alternative Gus character design — Gus — character development

Developed Gus character concept — Gus — character development

Isabel character concept — Isabel — character development

Alternative Isabel character design — Isabel — character development

Developed Isabel character concept — Isabel — character development

Doctor character concept — Doctor — character development

Alternative doctor character design — Doctor — character development

Developed doctor character concept — Doctor — character development

Pharmacist character concept — Pharmacist — character development

Male character concept study — Supporting character development

Alternative male character concept — Supporting character development

Developed male character concept — Supporting character development

Wide living-room environment design — Living room — environment design

Living-room environment concept — Living room — environment development

Alternative living-room environment concept — Living room — environment development

Living-room close-up concept — Living room — close-up study

Alternative living-room close-up concept — Living room — close-up study

Kitchen environment concept — Kitchen — environment design

Alternative kitchen environment design — Kitchen — environment development

Soft-blue kitchen environment variation — Kitchen — colour and lighting exploration

Park environment at sunset — Park — environment design and digital matte painting

Miniature fast-food truck at a fairground — Food truck and fairground — environment and prop design

Alternative fast-food truck environment — Food truck and fairground — environment development

Doctors' office environment and character composition — Clinical setting — visual development

Pharmacy environment concept — Pharmacy — environment design

Picnic environment visual development — Picnic — environment development

Couple in a crafted park environment — Character and environment composition

Close-up blood-pressure cuff concept — Blood-pressure cuff — prop and shot design

Close-up fast-food prop concept — Fast food — prop and shot design

Cotton-candy prop concept — Cotton candy — prop design

Miniature shoe prop concepts — Shoes — prop design

Kathy character design variation — Kathy — character development

Kathy character costume exploration — Kathy — character and costume development

Developed Kathy character concept — Kathy — character development

Kathy character design for the Corcept campaign — Kathy — character development

Alternative Kathy character design — Kathy — character development

Kathy sportswear character concept — Kathy — costume development

Refined Kathy sportswear character concept — Kathy — refined character concept

Early Penny character concept for Cortisol In Control — Penny — character development

Penny character design variation — Penny — character development

Alternative Penny character design — Penny — character development

Developed Penny character concept — Penny — character development

Refined Penny character concept — Penny — refined character concept

Early Sonny character concept for Cortisol In Control — Sonny — character development

Sonny character design variation — Sonny — character development

Developed Sonny character concept — Sonny — character development

Refined Sonny character concept — Sonny — refined character concept

Doctor character concept for the second Corcept film — Doctor — character development

Refined doctor character concept — Doctor — refined character concept

Miniature family ski photograph concept — Family history — character, prop and environment design

Alternative miniature family photograph — Family history — visual development

Developed miniature family photograph — Family history — visual development

Kitchen environment concept for the second Corcept film — Kitchen — environment development

Alternative kitchen environment concept — Kitchen — environment development

Park environment concept for Cortisol In Control — Park — environment and matte-painting development

Alternative park environment design — Park — environment development

Developed park and city environment — Park and city — environment development

Park landscape and city skyline concept — Park and city — digital matte painting

Refined crafted park environment — Park — refined environment concept

Tennis-court environment concept — Tennis court — environment and prop design

Alternative tennis-court environment — Tennis court — environment development

Tennis-court viewpoint behind a miniature net — Tennis court — shot and prop development

Miniature stadium crowd viewpoint — Stadium crowd — environment and shot development

Exterior miniature stadium concept — Stadium — environment design

Refined exterior stadium environment — Stadium — refined environment concept