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/

  1. 6d ago

    Building Elder Scrolls Creatures | Ricardo Graham

    Ricardo Graham joins Alex Fridlyand to talk about building creatures for The Elder Scrolls Online, growing from QA into character art leadership, and finding room for personal work. They discuss sculpting versus texturing, proxy meshes, modular character variants, production constraints, and the collaboration behind game art. Ricardo also shares Guabancex, his personal character project inspired by Taíno mythology and his Puerto Rican heritage, before turning to feedback, mentoring, procedural workflows, and the tradeoffs of a career in games. The collector’s statue discussed in the episode was a character-team collaboration; Ricardo describes his work on the legs, wings and armor, alongside the other artists’ contributions. Guabancex is Ricardo’s personal interpretation, developed with concept collaboration credited to Vasco in the conversation. Ricardo’s work:https://www.artstation.com/ricohttps://ricardograham.com/Guabancex: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/KRaeBo Miregaunt: https://ricardograham.com/projects/L3ne1AThe Elder Scrolls Online art assets © 2021 ZeniMax Media Inc. Artwork belongs to its respective rights holders. CHAPTERS0:00 Highlights1:51 Welcome, Ricardo Graham3:26 From QA to character art9:52 Building and mentoring an art team13:42 A first shipped asset and career progression19:32 ESO creatures and the Miregaunt24:02 Sculpting versus texturing25:30 Proxy meshes and clean topology26:58 MMO limits and the ice horse29:31 Modular character variants34:09 A collaborative collector’s statue36:38 Reviewing outsourced art40:36 Evolving a long-running game’s pipeline45:37 Skinning and cross-discipline collaboration48:25 Guabancex: a personal character project56:14 Skin scans and tattoo textures58:55 Presenting the character in Unreal1:04:42 Making time for personal work1:05:53 Procedural shortcuts and fundamentals1:08:45 Learning to lead artists1:11:25 Mentoring and constructive critique1:16:07 Remote teamwork and art reviews1:18:33 Project management and parallel workflows1:21:19 Developing a game1:24:52 Career advice and tradeoffs1:27:44 Closing MORE 3DWAYYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@3dwayioSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1j5R6s4cBFJqIAkVGWqWqXApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/3dway-original-3d-artists/id1878821105Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/3dway.io/X: https://x.com/3dwayio

  2. Oct 18

    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

  3. Oct 15

    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

    Environment Art Built for Production | Ondrej Malota

  4. 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.

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

  5. 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.

    Rebuilding Old Art With New Skills | Angel Nieves

  6. 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.

    Build Shaders as Tools, Not Just Textures | Sergio Suarez

  7. 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.

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

  8. 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.

    Inside Reyner Sumarriva's Substance Designer Workflow
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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/

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