Seth Smith - About
I am an aspiring artist, looking to become a 2D/3D character/creature designer and animator. I seek to contribute creative, stylized, and technically polished art to an innovative game studio. I am Skilled in character modeling, sculpting, texturing, and animation for the 3D pipeline, and I additionally excel at 2D digital art. My goal is to bring works to life and devote soul filled art to visionary teams and passionate projects. I'm currently attending college in Raleigh NC to continue honing my craft, and will graduate in spring 2026.
​
From the initial 2D concept to a fully rigged and textured 3D model retopologized and optimized for game animation, I'm perfecting it all. Perhaps I'll make a great addition to your team?
About My Skills
I am proficient in both 2D and 3D art, and I quite enjoy both. Out of all the various practices of the discipline, I am Am proficient in a variety of styles, from semi-realistic, to stylized, to even more niche disciplines like pixel art.
​
In addition, I have experience with SFX engineering, video editing, and I have even dabbled in creating game mods between working on projects. I also consider myself to be an amateur writer and voice actor, eager to learn more and apply the skill set I already have whenever given the opportunity.
About My Process
Almost all of my works regardless of medium start from 2D concept art sketched traditionally, then adjusted and refined using Paint Tool Sai. For characters and creatures that need more thorough design, I may go through several iterations of concept art and will finalize the design with a fully rendered character illustration as well as a reference sheet featuring front, back, and side views.
​
I am especially fond of creature design, as well as anthropomorphic character design. Any project that gives me a chance to research animal anatomy is a fulfilling project for me. One of my favorite parts about the design process is the research stage itself. Learning about history and engaging with relevant art and literature, as well as familiarizing myself with characters themselves and collaborating to create a design that is both unique and communicative of their story role is highly satisfying.
For 3D work, I use Z-brush to make a high poly sculpt, and then create the low poly model, UV, rig, and animations in Maya. I use the high poly model as a normal map via the baking tools in Substance Painter to preserve the high poly model's details, and use Substance Painter to create my textures as well. When necessary, I will additionally create custom alphas for Substance Painter using Adobe Photoshop. For models that need to be optimized for animation, I retoplogize manually using the quad draw tool in Maya to ensure proper model deformation. I additionally am able to perform tests and adjustments in Unreal Engine and Unity when necessary.
​
For 2D sprite work, I create a colored concept art sketch, and then import it into PixelOver, using the tools to turn it into a rough 2D pixel sprite. I then import that rough sprite into Pixelorama or Asperite, and then use it as a reference to finalize the design. I typically animate frame by frame by hand, though on occasion I import the finished sprite into PixelOver and use the 2D rigging tools to animate it using keyframes. I am also familiar with sprite sheet creation and usage within the 2D Unity engine. I am currently branching out into learning more about creating normal maps for 2D sprites.
I do not use AI in any part of my creative workflow. Everything I create I prefer to be of my own design created by my own hand. I find that this forces me to be more creative, do more research to aid in design, gives me more control over the artistic process, and overall aids in a more thorough development of my skills.