3DWay: Original 3D Artists

Alex Fridlyand

5.0 (1)
Visual Arts

Conversations behind the work of 3D artists. Host Alex Fridlyand explores environment art, materials, procedural workflows, portfolios, and creative careers with working artists and independent developers. A podcast from 3DWay. Watch the full conversations and demonstrations on YouTube @3dwayio. Explore the platform at https://www.3dway.io/

1d ago

Character Art from Cloth Folds to Animation | Nicolas De La Torre

How do simple shapes become a character with personality? Nicolas (Nick) De La Torre joins Alex Fridlyand on 3DWay: Original 3D Artists to work through cloth folds, silhouette, rigging, animation and lighting. Using Venus Hart and Guffmas Tree as examples, Nick explains how he builds readable forms and responds to feedback. He demonstrates personal rigging and skinning workflows, explores key poses and manual correction in Cascadeur, and adjusts characters in Unreal Engine. The conversation also covers collaboration with his brother, their unfinished cinematic and game projects, Sculptober studies, resin printing and putting tutorials into practice. These are working demonstrations and personal experiments, with the rough edges and limitations kept in the conversation. Guest and artwork Nick’s portfolio: https://www.artstation.com/nickdlt Nick’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/de_la_tori/ Venus Hart — project and full production credits: https://nickdlt.artstation.com/projects/GvKJO1 Guffmas Tree — project and full production credits: https://nickdlt.artstation.com/projects/kNdBEz Lamarck Sa — Guffmas Tree textures: https://www.artstation.com/lamarckxxx Star Wars Republic Commando — Boss: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/d0PrzQ Credits Guest: Nicolas (Nick) De La Torre. Host: Alex Fridlyand. Venus Hart: Nick’s high-poly/low-poly modeling, bakes and textures; see the project page for all contributors. Guffmas Tree: Nick’s high-poly/low-poly modeling and bakes; textures by Lamarck Sa. Concepts and art direction are credited to Epic Games; see the project page for full credits. Nick credits his brother’s contributions to their cinematic’s environments and lighting; camera decisions were shared. The Marathon cinematic is unfinished personal fan work involving Bungie IP. Project Reclaim is a separate, paused game prototype. More conversations behind the work: https://www.3dway.io/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@3dwayio Chapters 00:00 Highlights 02:00 Meet Nick: games, brothers and character art 10:30 Character style, feedback and sustainable pace 21:00 Venus Hart: reading the character 28:00 Sculpting cloth folds with simple forms 45:00 Guffmas Tree: simple shapes, detailed results 48:30 Working through feedback 54:30 Modeling for personal rigs 1:06:30 RapidRigModular and SkinMagic in practice 1:39:30 Cascadeur: key poses and manual correction 1:48:30 Assembling an unfinished fan cinematic 1:59:30 Adapting MetaHumans 2:08:30 Lighting characters in Unreal Engine 2:26:00 Turning tutorials into practice 2:28:30 Project Reclaim: a paused game prototype 2:43:00 Sculptober: studies, time limits and presentation 2:56:30 Preparing sculpts for resin printing 3:03:30 Marathon fan art and visual direction 3:10:01 Taking the next step beyond modeling
4d ago

Environment Art Built for Production | Ondrej Malota

Ondrej Malota joins Alex Fridlyand on 3DWay: Original 3D Artists to discuss environment art built for production: modeling constraints, reuse, optimization and the handoff between artists. His career story moves from medical visualization and learning 3D to outsourced environment-art contributions for American Truck Simulator. They explore why an established team may keep its toolchain, where procedural automation helps and how beginners can move beyond following tutorials. Ondrej’s Maya and Blender comments describe the tradeoffs of a particular production pipeline. He also shares what he learns from the work of Marek Denko and Edgar A. Martinez. Chapter times below follow this edition and differ from the original YouTube conversation. Chapters 00:00 Meet Ondrej and his production background 01:11 Early models and discovering 3D 26:10 Medical-startup experience 40:03 VFX school and learning choices 50:04 Moving toward environment art 58:22 Environment-art production experience 1:07:54 Where procedural automation helps 1:22:44 Marek Denko's work as inspiration 1:31:41 Edgar Martinez and precise wireframes 1:42:56 Why teams keep established toolchains 1:52:35 Automation and artistic intent 2:09:52 Advice for beginners and learning beyond tutorials Guest and artists Ondrej’s portfolio and blog Ondrej on ArtStation Ondrej on X Marek Denko — reference artist Edgar A. Martinez — reference artist Marek Denko and Edgar A. Martinez are credited for the reference artwork discussed; it is not presented as Ondrej’s work. Original game and studio credits remain with those works. Ondrej’s supplied portfolio includes his credited game-environment contributions; surrounding game scenes can contain other artists’ work. Original YouTube conversation Follow 3DWay: Original 3D Artists for more conversations behind the work. 3DWay
Oct 12

Beyond Quads: A Game Prop Artist's Workflow | Jack Mavar

Jack Mavar explains the modeling, bevel and texturing choices behind his game-prop artwork. We discuss where topology matters, using ZBrush for bevel control, simplifying material layers and learning from detailed feedback on a project. His comments about education, portfolios and mentorship come from his own path into the field. The video combines discussion and screen-shared examples; some steps are explained verbally rather than shown. FOLLOW JACK Jack's portfolio: https://www.artstation.com/jackmavar CHAPTERS 00:00 Episode highlights 01:30 Meet Jack Mavar 21:27 Where quads, triangles and n-gons fit 24:53 ZBrush polishing and bevel control 34:01 Project review and feedback 35:03 Simplifying material layers 57:27 Learning something new on each project 59:16 Turning comparison into useful study Follow 3DWay: Original 3D Artists for more conversations behind the work. Watch this full conversation and its visual demonstrations on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cB9a1JdBJM Hosted by Alex Fridlyand for 3DWay / Original 3D Artists. Explore 3DWay: https://www.3dway.io/ Originally published on YouTube on June 16, 2026.
Oct 8

Rebuilding Old Art With New Skills | Angel Nieves

Angel Nieves revisits earlier creature and science-fiction work through the tools and judgment he developed over a long 3D career. What Lurks Beneath becomes a discussion about returning to an old idea, choosing which details matter and deciding what to change. The conversation also covers his medical-visualization production experience, a self-imposed spaceship challenge, personal artwork about AI, photography and taking breaks. He describes the team process behind medical visualization and how his own approach to breaks changed over time. FOLLOW ANGEL Angel's portfolio: https://www.artstation.com/vertexangel Angel's website: http://vertexangel.com CHAPTERS 00:00 Episode highlights 01:44 Meet Angel Nieves 07:04 Discovering early 3D tools 24:55 Revisiting early portfolio renders 36:28 Medical visualization and storytelling 46:19 Revisiting What Lurks Beneath 56:52 The spaceship challenge 1:03:37 Turning a colleague's concept into 3D 1:25:29 The personal NoAI artwork series 1:42:49 The final artwork in the trilogy 1:48:55 Personal experience of burnout and photography 1:53:03 Learning when to take breaks Follow 3DWay: Original 3D Artists for more conversations behind the work. Watch this full conversation and its visual demonstrations on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75B2XeN4JNo Hosted by Alex Fridlyand for 3DWay / Original 3D Artists. Explore 3DWay: https://www.3dway.io/ Originally published on YouTube on July 28, 2026.
Oct 5

Build Shaders as Tools, Not Just Textures | Sergio Suarez

Sergio Suarez explores environment art through systems that artists can change and reuse. His personal Unreal Engine project leads into a discussion of materials, vertex painting, procedural variation and designing shaders as useful tools. We also discuss the differences between personal work and large-team production, and how his own portfolio priorities changed with experience. The screen-shared examples come from his personal project, alongside reflections on working within large teams. FOLLOW SERGIO Sergio's portfolio: https://www.artstation.com/sergiosuarez CHAPTERS 00:00 Art education and the move into 3D 15:33 Personal work and public portfolio choices 20:14 Working within a large production team 44:14 Opening the personal Unreal Engine project 1:04:04 Reusable rock materials and vertex controls 1:13:24 A procedural moss generator 1:28:25 Designing shaders as tools 1:41:06 Shader walkthrough with the shared screen 1:54:35 What Sergio looks for in a portfolio Follow 3DWay: Original 3D Artists for more conversations behind the work. Watch this full conversation and its visual demonstrations on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPV4huYtqa4 Hosted by Alex Fridlyand for 3DWay / Original 3D Artists. Explore 3DWay: https://www.3dway.io/ Originally published on YouTube on May 10, 2026.
Oct 1

This Steak Was Made in Substance Designer | Francesco Furneri | Original 3D Artists

Visual note: Some screen-shared artwork in this video may appear brighter or more washed out than intended. Please see the linked original artwork and trailer for Francesco’s intended colors and detail. Original steak artwork: https://jackfurneri.artstation.com/projects/9Ev4Wa Redwood: https://jackfurneri.artstation.com/projects/2BDB1g This steak wasn't sculpted by hand. Francesco Furneri built its form and surface procedurally in Substance 3D Designer, using height information to displace a plane. In this episode of Original 3D Artists, 3DWay founder Alex Fridlyand explores the project with Francesco—from the main shape and muscle fibers to fat, grill marks, and the roughness choices that make the steak look juicy. We then explore Redwood, Francesco's narrative mystery thriller in Unreal Engine 5. He discusses atmospheric lighting, cinematography, deciding which assets to build or buy, and developing the game largely on his own, with help from his father on the story. We also talk about teaching 3D art and his perspective on AI tools. An in-depth artist interview and project breakdown for material artists, environment artists, and developers who want to understand the decisions behind the finished work. FOLLOW FRANCESCO Portfolio and project updates: https://jackfurneri.artstation.com/ Procedural steak: https://jackfurneri.artstation.com/projects/9Ev4Wa Redwood: https://jackfurneri.artstation.com/projects/2BDB1g Hosted by Alex Fridlyand, founder of 3DWay. Follow 3DWay: Original 3D Artists for more conversations behind the work. Watch this full conversation on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EudNcmmX1c CHAPTERS 00:00 Episode highlights 02:18 Why make a procedural steak? 10:27 Organic shapes in Substance Designer 12:21 Influences and putting shape before detail 16:23 A programmer's approach to node graphs 20:17 Building the steak's main shape 25:51 Smoothing shapes with Non-Uniform Blur 29:25 Creating bones and masks 37:05 Building muscle fibers with Tile Sampler 48:37 Why roughness makes the steak look juicy 54:06 Voronoi regions, fat, and grease 1:04:09 Creating irregular grill marks 1:06:53 Teaching lighting and rendering 1:11:21 What writing tutorials taught Francesco 1:14:33 Introducing Redwood 1:23:55 Watching Redwood's opening cinematic 1:26:49 Learning storytelling with his father 1:34:57 Environment tools and lighting for mystery 1:37:14 Which assets to build and which to buy 1:41:12 Combining C++ and Blueprints 1:42:46 Cinematography, composition, and lighting 1:48:00 Scope and release expectations 1:50:59 AI tools and artistic judgment 1:56:55 Where to follow Francesco Corrections: At five seconds: Visual note: Some screen-shared artwork in this video may appear brighter or more washed out than intended. Please see the linked original artwork and trailer for Francesco’s intended colors and detail. Which detail makes the steak feel most convincing to you: the shape, roughness, or lighting? #SubstanceDesigner #3DArt #Original3DArtists Originally published on YouTube on September 13, 2026.
Sep 28

Inside Reyner Sumarriva's Substance Designer Workflow

Reyner Sumarriva explores how he turns cultural references and game-inspired ideas into editable materials. The conversation moves from his Peruvian-inspired mask to a personal Diablo II environment study, Chavín-inspired stone carvings, flowers and material controls in Substance Designer. Alongside the finished work, Reyner explains exposed parameters, readable control names and comments that preserve the reason behind a graph decision. His AI discussion focuses on control and editability, while the personal Diablo study explores what he learned from reinterpreting a game environment. FOLLOW REYNER Reyner's portfolio: https://www.artstation.com/reyner Reyner on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tlencito/ CHAPTERS 00:00 Episode highlights 02:41 Meet Reyner Sumarriva 09:26 Peruvian references and the mask project 25:05 A personal Diablo II environment study 41:43 Chavín-inspired stone materials 50:22 Making a graph easier to navigate 53:15 Procedural flower-bed breakdown 1:04:57 Trying the material in CLO 3D 1:21:50 Comments that preserve the reason behind a node Follow 3DWay: Original 3D Artists for more conversations behind the work. Watch this full conversation and its visual demonstrations on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Agr0ZuSrB80 Hosted by Alex Fridlyand for 3DWay / Original 3D Artists. Explore 3DWay: https://www.3dway.io/ Originally published on YouTube on August 29, 2026.
Sep 27

From 3D Dragon Art to a Fantasy World | Arthur Dorety

How does a picture become a story? Artist and author Arthur J. Dorety III joins Alex Fridlyand to discuss how dragon illustrations grew into Tales of Urath. They explore reused models, posing, lighting, render times, maps, composition and the practical work of self-publishing. Arthur distinguishes his original Book 1 artwork, made with Poser and Vue before he used AI, from his later AI experiments. He also explains the exception to his shared dragon-mesh workflow and confirms that the later books are illustrated. The conversation closes with learning drums at 60 and making room for several creative interests. Watch the video conversation on 3DWay’s YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItnHbxQf1pw Explore Arthur’s art and books: https://www.arthurdorety.com/Arthur’s ArtStation: https://www.artstation.com/arthurdorety CHAPTERS00:00 Meet Arthur Dorety03:07 When pictures grow into a book08:09 Dragon models, poses and materials14:44 Lighting and long render times24:29 Building the map with the story27:40 Sound and images: a sense of space31:31 Tools, assembling and authorship34:18 Original book art and later AI experiments39:47 Starting out: learn the image-making skills43:19 Talking through the continent map45:34 The rules of a fantasy world54:28 Editing a dense world for the reader1:00:41 The realities of self-publishing1:03:32 Later illustrated books and years of work1:05:00 Keeping your interests—and starting at 60 Artwork and maps: Arthur J. Dorety III, Tales of Urath, Book 1: Dragons of Urath (supplied edition, written and illustrated by Arthur J. Dorety III).Hosted by Alex Fridlyand for 3DWay / Original 3D Artists.
Sep 24

How Houdini and Substance Designer Work Together | Travis Sindewald

Travis Sindewald explains a procedural-material workflow that combines 3D geometry and simulation in Houdini with baking, cleanup and finishing in Substance Designer. The conversation follows reusable tools, a wall of books made for The Elder Scrolls Online, and a Flood Fill example that closes gaps between color regions. We also discuss learning under deadlines, building a portfolio and the role of a referral in his own first-job story. Travis explains where setup, computation, baking and manual repair fit into his workflow. A note on the later industry discussion: the numerical comparisons and years quoted in the conversation have not been independently verified. They should not be treated as established figures or a demonstrated cause of layoffs. FOLLOW TRAVIS Travis's portfolio: https://www.artstation.com/tsindewald Travis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/travissindewald/ CHAPTERS 00:00 Episode highlights 01:49 Meet Travis Sindewald 10:50 Artistic judgment and changing tools 27:14 A personal environment and reusable tools 30:38 Why build a reusable pumpkin tool? 37:07 Procedural materials and the Apocrypha book wall 42:50 Why Travis starts some materials in 3D 51:06 Cloth simulation for leaf materials 1:06:39 A prepared leaf-simulation preview 1:18:01 Vertex-color attributes between programs 1:29:48 Flood Fill IDs and closing color gaps 1:37:58 Workflow reflections and industry discussion Follow 3DWay: Original 3D Artists for more conversations behind the work. Watch this full conversation and its visual demonstrations on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5F34lvK8HI Hosted by Alex Fridlyand for 3DWay / Original 3D Artists. Explore 3DWay: https://www.3dway.io/ Originally published on YouTube on March 24, 2026.
Sep 21

From Studio Work to a Small Indie Team | Sarah Malcom

Sarah Malcom talks through her route into environment art, studying at Gnomon, studio and contract work, and building Wizard Cleaning Simulator with the team at Three Frog Studio. The project walkthrough shows a development build and the team's planning board. Sarah explains how shared references, a realistic budget, communication and a weekly view of the work help a small team make decisions. She also reflects on uncertainty between jobs and learning from collaborators. The footage records work in progress at the time of the conversation. Follow the linked project pages for current updates. FOLLOW SARAH Three Frog Studio: https://3frogstudio.com Wizard Cleaning Simulator on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/4431630/Wizard_Cleaning_Simulator CHAPTERS 00:00 Episode highlights 02:15 Meet Sarah Malcom 07:50 Finding a route into games and education 32:46 Gnomon work and environment-art lessons 51:47 Contract work at Meta 1:02:43 Wizard Cleaning Simulator development build 1:18:51 Shared references and art direction 1:32:10 Team workflow and the Figma planning board 1:46:46 Sarah on access to game-industry careers 1:59:14 Where to follow the studio and game Follow 3DWay: Original 3D Artists for more conversations behind the work. Watch this full conversation and its visual demonstrations on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4sbJFfZUtU Hosted by Alex Fridlyand for 3DWay / Original 3D Artists. Explore 3DWay: https://www.3dway.io/ Originally published on YouTube on August 9, 2026.
Sep 17

Lighting Is Drama: Building Meaningful UE5 Environments | Artur Artinian

Artur Artinian shows how cultural references, composition and lighting give a 3D environment meaning. His Path of Pomegranates scene leads into a practical discussion of reference boards, modular pieces, unique props and planning light through a Photoshop value study. We also explore his smaller interior project and the choices behind presenting an environment-art portfolio. Artur credits teacher Jon Arellano for the lighting-planning approach and distinguishes a portfolio image from a game-production scene with different resource constraints. FOLLOW ARTUR Artur's portfolio: https://www.artstation.com/arturartinian CHAPTERS 00:00 Episode highlights 01:35 Armenian roots and artistic influences 08:06 The inspiration for Path of Pomegranates 10:45 Composition, emotion and the scene breakdown 26:31 Organizing references 36:34 Modular pieces and unique props 58:22 Lighting the scene and planning its values 1:17:26 Moving to a smaller interior project 1:30:10 Portfolio selection and first impressions Follow 3DWay: Original 3D Artists for more conversations behind the work. Watch this full conversation and its visual demonstrations on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgXLfT0pbeM Hosted by Alex Fridlyand for 3DWay / Original 3D Artists. Explore 3DWay: https://www.3dway.io/ Originally published on YouTube on July 9, 2026.
Sep 15

Build a Focused 3D Portfolio Without Losing Your Voice | Kendrick Russell

How do you make your portfolio fit the role you want while keeping the work that makes it yours? Environment artist Kendrick Russell talks through that balance, his route from game modding into professional work, and rebuilding his creative focus after layoffs. The conversation also looks closely at his environment art: what individual lights contribute, how composition directs attention, and why experimenting with skyboxes and shapes can lead to useful surprises. FOLLOW KENDRICK Kendrick's portfolio: https://www.artstation.com/kendrickrussell CHAPTERS 00:00 Episode highlights 01:05 Meet Kendrick: from modding to 3D art 07:07 Learning through courses and feedback 11:41 Layoffs and personal artistic growth 16:07 Make creative practice easier to start 20:01 Opening the Blame!-inspired artwork 31:36 Building a landscape environment 54:10 Lighting as a painting decision 1:07:19 What each light contributes to a scene 1:14:09 Experimentation and happy accidents 1:31:49 Portfolio focus and personal voice Follow 3DWay: Original 3D Artists for more conversations behind the work. Watch this full conversation and its visual demonstrations on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLcU61eva90 Hosted by Alex Fridlyand for 3DWay / Original 3D Artists. Explore 3DWay: https://www.3dway.io/ Originally published on YouTube on May 29, 2026.

12 Episodes

Conversations behind the work of 3D artists. Host Alex Fridlyand explores environment art, materials, procedural workflows, portfolios, and creative careers with working artists and independent developers. A podcast from 3DWay. Watch the full conversations and demonstrations on YouTube @3dwayio. Explore the platform at https://www.3dway.io/

Creator

Alex Fridlyand
Years Active

2026
Episodes

12
Rating

Explicit
Copyright

© Alex Fridlyand
Show Website

3DWay: Original 3D Artists