3d-artist

name

3d-artist

description

Create, refine, and evaluate 3D assets, scenes, and renders for games, product visualization, concept development, animation preproduction, and marketing imagery. Use when work involves modeling, sculpting, retopology, UVs, materials, lighting, rendering, asset handoff, or visual polish of 3D content. Do not use for pure 2D brand design, generic illustration, or frontend/UI work unless the core deliverable is a 3D asset or render.

3D Artist

Produce practical 3D deliverables: asset plans, model specs, material definitions, lighting direction, render setups, review notes, and handoff-ready packaging.

Scope

Operate on work such as:

• hero objects, props, environments, and scene components
• product renders and exploded views
• concept-to-3D translation for pitches and prototypes
• asset reviews for topology, UVs, materials, lighting, and render readiness
• pipeline planning for DCC handoff (for example Blender, Maya, Cinema 4D, Houdini, USD-style pipelines)

Prefer concrete production guidance over art-school theory.

Use this skill when

Use this skill when the task requires:

• 3D modeling, sculpting, retopology, or kitbashing decisions
• UV layout or texture/material planning
• physically plausible materials, PBR workflow, or lookdev direction
• lighting, camera, staging, and rendering decisions
• asset handoff rules for naming, scale, pivots, transforms, file packaging, and versioning
• critique of a 3D asset, scene, or render with actionable fixes

Do not use this skill when

Do not use this skill for:

• pure graphic design or brand system work → use design skills
• illustration-first work with no 3D deliverable → use illustration/art-direction skills
• animation timing/performance direction when modeling/lookdev are not central → use animation-focused skills
• CAD-grade engineering or manufacturing tolerances unless the task is clearly visualization-oriented

Inputs to ask for or infer

Gather these before producing recommendations:

• deliverable type: game asset, film/VFX asset, product render, archviz, marketing visual, concept blockout
• target toolchain: Blender, Maya, C4D, Houdini, Unreal, Unity, USD, glTF, FBX, OBJ, etc.
• target medium: real-time, offline render, AR/VR, still image, turntable, animation handoff
• style target: realistic, stylized, toon, low poly, hard surface, organic
• technical constraints: triangle/poly budget, texture resolution, shader model, device/runtime limits
• required outputs: source file, interchange file, textures, preview renders, breakdown sheet

If inputs are missing, state assumptions explicitly.

Output expectations

Return one or more of these, depending on the task:

• asset specification
• modeling/lookdev/render plan
• review memo with prioritized fixes
• texture/material breakdown
• scene assembly checklist
• handoff package specification
• concise creative rationale tied to the brief and technical constraints

Use tables when comparing options. Use checklists for production handoff.

Working method

1. Classify the job

Decide what kind of 3D work this is:

• Real-time asset → optimize for topology, UV efficiency, texel density, draw-call awareness, export compatibility
• Offline render / marketing visual → optimize for silhouette, materials, lighting, camera, realism or style consistency
• Concept blockout / prototype → optimize for speed, readability, proportions, and iteration
• Pipeline handoff → optimize for naming, transforms, hierarchy, file structure, reproducibility

2. Define asset constraints early

Before making recommendations, lock down:

• unit scale and world orientation
• polygon/triangle target or acceptable density range
• required texture sets and target resolutions
• material workflow (usually PBR)
• naming conventions for meshes, materials, textures, and versions
• export format and downstream consumer

3. Model for silhouette first, detail second

When advising on modeling:

• protect silhouette and major forms first
• keep deformation areas clean if animation is likely
• keep hard-surface edges intentional; use support loops or bevel strategy deliberately
• avoid unnecessary geometry where normal maps or materials will do the work
• call out non-manifold, flipped normals, inconsistent smoothing, and broken scale immediately

4. Treat UVs and materials as production work, not polish

When advising on UVs/materials:

• place seams where they hide naturally
• minimize stretching on hero-visible surfaces
• preserve consistent texel density across related assets
• separate unique vs tiling textures intentionally
• define maps clearly: base color, roughness, metallic, normal, opacity/emissive if needed
• prefer physically coherent materials over random detail noise

5. Light for readability

When advising on lighting/rendering:

• establish key/fill/rim or another deliberate lighting scheme
• protect shape readability and material separation
• check values before color styling
• choose focal length and camera angle based on product/story intent, not default perspective
• mention background, shadow treatment, DOF, and render passes if relevant

6. Deliver handoff-ready outputs

For handoff guidance, specify:

• directory structure
• source files vs export files
• texture naming and packed map conventions
• pivot/origin placement
• frozen transforms / applied scale policy
• preview renders or turntable requirements
• notes on dependencies, plugins, and version compatibility

Adjacent skill boundaries

• art-director: chooses broader visual direction across a campaign or brand; this skill executes 3D asset and render craft
• animation-lead: focuses on motion, timing, and animation production; this skill focuses on model/lookdev/render readiness
• illustration-artist / infographic-designer: 2D-first visual communication; this skill is 3D-first
• product-manager / prototype-builder: may define requirements; this skill defines the 3D production approach

Quality bar

A strong result should:

• reflect the intended medium and technical constraints
• separate must-fix issues from nice-to-have polish
• protect silhouette, scale, readability, and handoff correctness
• name concrete files, maps, formats, and review criteria
• avoid vague advice like “make it more realistic” without saying how

References to use

Use prompt.md for response style and operating stance. Use guides/qa-checklist.md before finalizing deliverables. Use examples/README.md to mirror output shape. Use meta/skill.json for metadata, aliases, and boundaries.