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/KRaeBoMiregaunt: 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 ClosingMORE 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

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 artworkNick’s portfolio: https://www.artstation.com/nickdltNick’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/de_la_tori/Venus Hart — project and full production credits: https://nickdlt.artstation.com/projects/GvKJO1Guffmas Tree — project and full production credits: https://nickdlt.artstation.com/projects/kNdBEzLamarck Sa — Guffmas Tree textures: https://www.artstation.com/lamarckxxxStar Wars Republic Commando — Boss: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/d0PrzQCreditsGuest: 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/@3dwayioChapters00:00 Highlights02:00 Meet Nick: games, brothers and character art10:30 Character style, feedback and sustainable pace21:00 Venus Hart: reading the character28:00 Sculpting cloth folds with simple forms45:00 Guffmas Tree: simple shapes, detailed results48:30 Working through feedback54:30 Modeling for personal rigs1:06:30 RapidRigModular and SkinMagic in practice1:39:30 Cascadeur: key poses and manual correction1:48:30 Assembling an unfinished fan cinematic1:59:30 Adapting MetaHumans2:08:30 Lighting characters in Unreal Engine2:26:00 Turning tutorials into practice2:28:30 Project Reclaim: a paused game prototype2:43:00 Sculptober: studies, time limits and presentation2:56:30 Preparing sculpts for resin printing3:03:30 Marathon fan art and visual direction3:10:01 Taking the next step beyond modeling

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.Chapters00:00 Meet Ondrej and his production background01:11 Early models and discovering 3D26:10 Medical-startup experience40:03 VFX school and learning choices50:04 Moving toward environment art58:22 Environment-art production experience1:07:54 Where procedural automation helps1:22:44 Marek Denko's work as inspiration1:31:41 Edgar Martinez and precise wireframes1:42:56 Why teams keep established toolchains1:52:35 Automation and artistic intent2:09:52 Advice for beginners and learning beyond tutorialsGuest and artistsOndrej’s portfolio and blogOndrej on ArtStationOndrej on XMarek Denko — reference artistEdgar A. Martinez — reference artistMarek 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 conversationFollow 3DWay: Original 3D Artists for more conversations behind the work.3DWay

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 JACKJack's portfolio: https://www.artstation.com/jackmavarCHAPTERS00:00 Episode highlights01:30 Meet Jack Mavar21:27 Where quads, triangles and n-gons fit24:53 ZBrush polishing and bevel control34:01 Project review and feedback35:03 Simplifying material layers57:27 Learning something new on each project59:16 Turning comparison into useful studyFollow 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=1cB9a1JdBJMHosted by Alex Fridlyand for 3DWay / Original 3D Artists.Explore 3DWay: https://www.3dway.io/Originally published on YouTube on June 16, 2026.

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.

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 TRAVISTravis's portfolio: https://www.artstation.com/tsindewaldTravis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/travissindewald/CHAPTERS00:00 Episode highlights01:49 Meet Travis Sindewald10:50 Artistic judgment and changing tools27:14 A personal environment and reusable tools30:38 Why build a reusable pumpkin tool?37:07 Procedural materials and the Apocrypha book wall42:50 Why Travis starts some materials in 3D51:06 Cloth simulation for leaf materials1:06:39 A prepared leaf-simulation preview1:18:01 Vertex-color attributes between programs1:29:48 Flood Fill IDs and closing color gaps1:37:58 Workflow reflections and industry discussionFollow 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=j5F34lvK8HIHosted by Alex Fridlyand for 3DWay / Original 3D Artists.Explore 3DWay: https://www.3dway.io/Originally published on YouTube on March 24, 2026.