3DWay: Original 3D Artists

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 ANGELAngel's portfolio: https://www.artstation.com/vertexangelAngel's website: http://vertexangel.comCHAPTERS00:00 Episode highlights01:44 Meet Angel Nieves07:04 Discovering early 3D tools24:55 Revisiting early portfolio renders36:28 Medical visualization and storytelling46:19 Revisiting What Lurks Beneath56:52 The spaceship challenge1:03:37 Turning a colleague's concept into 3D1:25:29 The personal NoAI artwork series1:42:49 The final artwork in the trilogy1:48:55 Personal experience of burnout and photography1:53:03 Learning when to take breaksFollow 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=75B2XeN4JNoHosted by Alex Fridlyand for 3DWay / Original 3D Artists.Explore 3DWay: https://www.3dway.io/Originally published on YouTube on July 28, 2026.

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 SERGIOSergio's portfolio: https://www.artstation.com/sergiosuarezCHAPTERS00:00 Art education and the move into 3D15:33 Personal work and public portfolio choices20:14 Working within a large production team44:14 Opening the personal Unreal Engine project1:04:04 Reusable rock materials and vertex controls1:13:24 A procedural moss generator1:28:25 Designing shaders as tools1:41:06 Shader walkthrough with the shared screen1:54:35 What Sergio looks for in a portfolioFollow 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=gPV4huYtqa4Hosted by Alex Fridlyand for 3DWay / Original 3D Artists.Explore 3DWay: https://www.3dway.io/Originally published on YouTube on May 10, 2026.

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/9Ev4WaRedwood: https://jackfurneri.artstation.com/projects/2BDB1gThis 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 FRANCESCOPortfolio and project updates: https://jackfurneri.artstation.com/Procedural steak: https://jackfurneri.artstation.com/projects/9Ev4WaRedwood: https://jackfurneri.artstation.com/projects/2BDB1gHosted 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=1EudNcmmX1cCHAPTERS00:00 Episode highlights02:18 Why make a procedural steak?10:27 Organic shapes in Substance Designer12:21 Influences and putting shape before detail16:23 A programmer's approach to node graphs20:17 Building the steak's main shape25:51 Smoothing shapes with Non-Uniform Blur29:25 Creating bones and masks37:05 Building muscle fibers with Tile Sampler48:37 Why roughness makes the steak look juicy54:06 Voronoi regions, fat, and grease1:04:09 Creating irregular grill marks1:06:53 Teaching lighting and rendering1:11:21 What writing tutorials taught Francesco1:14:33 Introducing Redwood1:23:55 Watching Redwood's opening cinematic1:26:49 Learning storytelling with his father1:34:57 Environment tools and lighting for mystery1:37:14 Which assets to build and which to buy1:41:12 Combining C++ and Blueprints1:42:46 Cinematography, composition, and lighting1:48:00 Scope and release expectations1:50:59 AI tools and artistic judgment1:56:55 Where to follow FrancescoCorrections: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 #Original3DArtistsOriginally published on YouTube on September 13, 2026.

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 REYNERReyner's portfolio: https://www.artstation.com/reynerReyner on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tlencito/CHAPTERS00:00 Episode highlights02:41 Meet Reyner Sumarriva09:26 Peruvian references and the mask project25:05 A personal Diablo II environment study41:43 Chavín-inspired stone materials50:22 Making a graph easier to navigate53:15 Procedural flower-bed breakdown1:04:57 Trying the material in CLO 3D1:21:50 Comments that preserve the reason behind a nodeFollow 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=Agr0ZuSrB80Hosted by Alex Fridlyand for 3DWay / Original 3D Artists.Explore 3DWay: https://www.3dway.io/Originally published on YouTube on August 29, 2026.

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=ItnHbxQf1pwExplore Arthur’s art and books: https://www.arthurdorety.com/Arthur’s ArtStation: https://www.artstation.com/arthurdoretyCHAPTERS00:00 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 60Artwork 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.