This section is comprised of personal and professional work I’ve created over the years.

You can see more progress work on my Artstation page by clicking the link below.

Creative Generalist

As a 3D generalist, I have developed a diverse skill set encompassing multiple aspects of the 3D production pipeline. My strengths lie in the artistic side of CG, with a particular focus on four areas: modelling, texturing, rigging, and animation. I utilize industry-standard software such as Maya, Zbrush, and Substance Painter to bring my creative vision to life. I have demonstrated my abilities through the work showcased on my website, and also have a collection of personal projects that display my imaginative ideas and technical expertise.

Over the past decade, my main focus has been the classroom. As a result, my reel hasn’t been updated for some time. The work on my reel was completed at various boutique studios I had worked at. Due to the size of these companies, most projects were handed off to an artist to run with from start to finish.

Cartoon avocado character playing soccer on a field.

3D Concept Artist - 1st Place

I'm pleased to share that I won first place in the 3D Concept Artist challenge with my character, Steve. Steve is a small, chillaxed, snail-like alien, skilled in electronics, from the planet Gastropodia. This month-long challenge in November was a way to kick off the beginning of Pablo Munoz Gomez's The Extra Mile (TEM) 2.0. While participating in this challenge, I was lucky to meet other talented artists and received great feedback from the current TEM cohort.

Person holding Xencelabs Pen Tablet Medium Bundle SE box, wearing a cap and glasses, in a grey shirt.

Image of a digital art challenge titled 'The Extra Mile Sidekick Challenge' featuring three alien character designs. One large alien character stands on the left, and three framed designs labeled HOWALD111, JOSEORTIZ3629, and JSTYLES are displayed on the right, with trophy icons indicating their ranking. Sponsored by Xencelabs, the image includes logos and a gaming theme.

Two illustrated aliens in spacesuits, labeled 'Steve' on the left and 'Qublix' on the right, inside an open sketchbook. Steve is a snail-like alien with blue and orange attire, while Qublix is a humanoid with a large head and detailed armor, standing next to a 2ft height marker.

3D model of an alien character with a snail head wearing an astronaut suit and helmet, viewed from different angles.

3D alien creature with a snail-like appearance wearing a spacesuit and helmet, featuring a name tag labeled "Steve," viewed from multiple angles.

Alien character with snail-like features wearing a space suit and helmet, with a name tag reading 'Steve,' standing in a futuristic environment.

Futuristic snail character wearing orange armor, helmet, and a name tag that reads "Hello, my name is Steve."

Zbrush Central Featured Work

My latest work, an alien twist on Mrs. Roper from the 1970s sitcom Three's Company, just received a Staff Pick on Zbrush Central! This piece resulted from a three-day workshop facilitated by Pablo Munoz Gomez, where I used ZBrush for the sculpt, Substance Painter for texturing, and Maya with Redshift for the final output.

Check out the whole project here.

A futuristic alien character with purple hair and ornate green clothing, standing in a sci-fi setting.

3D character design progression over 3 days, showing stages from concept art to a final detailed and colorful 3D alien creature with distinct features.

Collage of digital 3D art and character designs on ZBrush Central's gallery.

Exploring Anatomy Through Digital Sculpture

Certificate of completion for Scott Eaton's Digital Figure Sculpture course showing abstract human figures.

A marble statue of a muscular male figure holding a pole, with curly hair tied back, standing on a round base, set against a plain background.

A classical-style marble sculpture of a muscular man with long hair tied up, holding a long vertical staff, standing on a circular base.

Blue sculpted arm flexing with a visible bicep muscle on a white background.

Sculpture of a hand holding a blue sphere with a red face design

Four blue sculptures resembling muscular human legs in various poses on a white background.

During my sabbatical, I focused on anatomy sculpting through Scott Eaton’s Digital Figure Sculpture course. Working in ZBrush, I created a series of studies, each targeting a different part of the body: the torso, shoulders, arms (exploring pronation and supination), and legs. These sculpts pushed me to break down complex anatomical forms, translating them into three-dimensional structures with as much precision as I could manage. For the final renders, I experimented with various materials to emphasize muscle structure and movement, which added a new layer to my understanding of form.

Classical-style sculpture of a nude male figure holding a pole, posed dynamically. The figure has a bun hairstyle and is positioned on a round base.

Green sculpted torso figures resembling muscular human bodies without heads or arms.

Four sculpted arm designs, two in blue and two in yellow, displayed on a neutral background.

Three silver-painted hands emerging from a surface, each holding a blue sphere with pink accents.

3D printed blue sculpture of a human torso with multiple arms extending from the back.

Five blue, headless 3D-printed torsos with varying arm positions against a neutral background.

Sketchbook Explorations

These are the places where I let my creativity flow freely, without any set goals or guidelines. You'll see a mix of quick sketches, doodles, and more. It's a more relaxed space where I explore ideas that might or might not make it into bigger projects. Feel free to browse and get a glimpse of my day-to-day artistic explorations.

Illustration of a shirtless man juggling clubs with sketches of athletes in a notebook

Sketches of indigenous people with traditional face paint and hairstyles in an open sketchbook.

Sketchbook with various detailed head portraits, including a central figure with a bob haircut, and others showing different expressions and styles. The word 'heads' is written in orange.

Illustrated fantasy journal with sketches of a green humanoid flower creature named Floradora and a beetle-like warrior called Scarabix. Includes handwritten notes and symbols.

Fantasy sketchbook page featuring creatures called Treewisks with descriptions, showing a standing and a crouching character with earthy features, surrounded by forest elements.

A sketchbook showing six illustrated portraits of diverse faces, both realistic and fantastical, in grayscale and color, titled "Even More Heads."

Sketchbook with illustrated portraits of diverse faces and text "More Heads."

Open sketchbook displaying various artistic portraits of women, including a woman in a crop top and leggings, a woman balancing on one foot with an axe behind the word "FEMME," and other monochrome sketches of women in casual clothing.

Illustrated journal page featuring various fantasy creatures and characters, including a blue giant called "The Elephant Shepard" holding a baby elephant, sketches of faces labeled "Luminelle," "Peppletoe," "Verdantem," "Cragclaw," and a forest guardian known as "The Keeper," holding an insect and standing next to a scale indicating 10 cm.

Illustrated journal entry depicting the fictional creature Lumpqua with its life cycle stages: egg, tadpole, terrofin, and adult. The creature is shown with vibrant colors and distinct features in each stage. Text details its habitat in vibrant swamps and adaptation to aquatic and terrestrial realms.

Illustration of a humanoid figure lying among blue flowers with textual notes on parasitic fungus called Mycosprite.

Illustration of Teyo and Xol, sky nomads. Teyo is depicted wearing a wide-brimmed red hat and colorful attire. Xol is a creature with leathery wings shown in a sketch. Text describes their journey trading rare sky-gems on floating islands.

Anatomy Écorché Drawings: The Basics, Explored

These works are my way of diving deep into the human form, understanding its structure and function. It's a fundamental part of my education and artistic journey. Here, you'll find detailed studies that have helped me grasp complex anatomical concepts. Take a look to see the building blocks of the human body through an artist's lens

Marble statue with anatomical drawings of muscles and labels.

Side-by-side comparison of a male anatomy illustration showing labeled muscles and a photograph of a man in black briefs leaning on a white cube.

3D Work: Zbrush, Maya, Substance Painter, Yeti, Redshift, Photoshop

Here, you'll find original models I've created using ZBrush and Maya, all textured with Substance Painter. These works range from personal projects to models I've developed with my classes. Each piece starts as an idea and goes through a detailed process to become a fully realized 3D model.

Photography

This section highlights a handful of photos from various regions worldwide, including Taiwan, Germany, Iceland, and Japan. The focus is on architecture, nature, and historical sites. As an amateur photographer, I aim to capture moments that tell a story or highlight a unique perspective, whether they're from far-flung corners of the globe or closer to home.

Enhanced AI-Generated Art (Midjourney and Photoshop)

I've had a blast delving into the world of AI-generated art. It's been an exciting journey to discover new techniques and approaches to creating art, and the possibilities seem endless. As a tool for ideation, AI-generated art is especially compelling. By providing an endless stream of new and unexpected images, it can help to spark new ideas and open up fresh avenues of creative exploration. The unpredictability of AI-generated art can be both exhilarating and challenging, but it ultimately yields surprising and compelling results.

That said, working with AI-generated art isn't always straightforward. Sometimes the images generated by the algorithm can be a bit wonky, with strange distortions or unusual proportions. This is where extra work in Photoshop comes in. I've found that with some careful tweaking and corrections, I can enhance the images generated by AI to create truly striking and captivating art pieces. From minor adjustments to things like eyes and proportions to more significant editing, there's always room to take AI-generated art to the next level.

The integration of AI in art, much like the past shifts to 3D animation, digital artwork, and digital photography, has sparked a lively debate. Questions about authenticity and originality are part of this evolving conversation. However, having experienced similar shifts in the past, I see AI as a powerful tool that, while it may challenge traditional notions of creativity, also holds immense innovation potential. It's a testament to the dynamic relationship between technology and human creativity, shaping the future of art in the digital age.