Rafael Rodriguez
Rafael Rodriguez
Artist @ AEXLAB
Miami Beach, United States

About

I'm a 3D game environment & prop artist. I am actively involved in the pipeline working with high poly & low poly modeling, map baking, texturing, and importing assets into real time engines using both traditional and Physically Based Rendering pipelines. I am proficient with 3Ds Max, Photoshop, Substance, Quixel Suite, Unreal Engine 4 & 5, and Unity 3D Engine.

Resume PDF

View

Skills

3D ModelingTexturingLightingEnvironment ModelingDigital SculptingLevel DesignPBR Texturing

Software proficiency

Unreal Engine
Unreal Engine
Unity
Unity
3ds Max
3ds Max
Substance 3D Painter
Substance 3D Painter
Substance 3D Designer
Substance 3D Designer
ZBrush
ZBrush
Quixel Mixer
Quixel Mixer
Megascans
Megascans
Quixel Suite
Quixel Suite
Marmoset Toolbag
Marmoset Toolbag
Photoshop
Photoshop

Productions

    • Video Game
      VAIL
    • Year
      2024
    • Role
      Senior Environment Artist
    • Company
      AEXLAB
    • Video Game
      Myst - Rime Expansion
    • Year
      2025
    • Role
      Environment Artist
    • Company
      Cyan Worlds Inc.
    • Video Game
      Riven
    • Year
      2024
    • Role
      Environment Artist
    • Company
      Cyan Worlds Inc.
    • Video Game
      Firmament
    • Year
      2023
    • Role
      Environment Artist
    • Company
      Cyan Worlds Inc.

Experience

  • Senior Environment Artist at AEXLAB
    Remote, US
    August 2025 - Present

    Key Responsibilities and Outcomes:

    ● Modeled, textured and lit high-quality/optimized assets and scenes in collaboration with

    level artists and tech artists, delivering visually stunning and detailed environments while

    ensuring performance and quality.

    ● Brought entire scenes and props to life from concept to prototype to polished final versions

    enhancing the immersive experience and elevating visual storytelling while ensuring smooth

    transitions in builds updates.

    ● Spearheaded full-scene development, ensuring tight optimization standards, contributing to

    some of the best-performing VR games in the industry.

    ● Created modular kits using Unreal Blueprints for seamless integration and performance

    optimization across platforms, ensuring modular building and fast prototyping.

    ● Designed widgets, AssetActionTools, Actor Tools and Blueprints to streamline workflows

    and reduce repetitive tasks for the level & art team, enhancing productivity and optimization

    ● Set dressed areas, created golden paths, and implemented collision blockers to ensure

    smooth navigation and immersive gameplay.

    ● Provided creative and technical feedback to support the artistic vision, playing a key role in

    shaping the overall look and feel of highly scene and areas.

    ● Coordinated with art and programming teams to balance visual quality and performance,

    resulting in optimized games recognized for their exceptional performance on VR platforms

    and high-end consoles.

  • Environment Artist at Cyan Worlds Inc.
    Remote
    November 2021 - May 2025

    Cyan, Inc., also known as Cyan Worlds, Inc., is a video game studio developer and publisher based in Mead, Washington. Founded as Cyan Productions by brothers Rand and Robyn Miller in 1987, the company created the Myst series. The Legendary Cyan Worlds, Inc stand as one of the oldest indie-game studios of the United States.

    * Modeling, Texturing, and Lighting:

    - Created high-quality assets and entire scenes.

    - Collaborated closely with fellow artists and followed art direction.

    * Platform Expertise:

    - Developed assets for both high-end platforms and low-end platforms like Meta Quest.

    * Blueprints and Modular Kits:

    - Designed and implemented modular kits using Unreal Blueprints.

    * Optimization and Quality Assurance:

    - Worked alongside art and programming teams to optimize levels for performance while

    maintaining visual excellence.

    - Leveraged advanced custom tools and our studio’s production pipeline.

    * Landscape Artistry:

    - Sculpted landscapes and added foliage using Unreal Engine 5’s landscape tool.

    - Collaborated with concept artists on modeling, texturing, and prop creation.

    * VR Integration:

    - Ensured quality and performance in VR during production.

  • Environment Artist, Technical Artist at Threedee IO
    Remote - Freelance
    February 2022 - September 2022

    Threedee IO is a software company currently developing a procedural building software that can generate a whole city model with few clicks. My work with them was into creating a pipeline for an easy integration from their software to Unreal Engine. For this work my roles where:

    * Set Dressing & Environment Storytelling:

    - Contributed to immersive environments through set dressing and storytelling elements.

    * Optimization & Quality Assurance:

    - Ensured scenes met FPS targets without compromising visual quality.

    - Developed tools and shaders to maintain pipeline health.

    * Art Pipeline Development:

    - Designed and implemented production pipelines, including shaders and blueprints.

    - Collaborated with Metahuman for city population and animations.

    * Landscape Artistry:

    - Sculpted landscapes and added foliage using Unreal Engine 5.

    - Leveraged Unreal Engine Sequencer for camera setups and film exports.

    * Documentation:

    - Created and maintained documentation for the team and fellow artists.

Report User