I’m Josh Loera, a 3D artist and CAD operator who loves turning ideas into characters and visuals that feel alive. I’m especially drawn to storytelling through art, and I enjoy pairing a creative mindset with an engineer’s problem-solving approach—whether I’m designing a stylized look for a studio pipeline or working through real-world constraints to produce clear, usable outputs. Across contracts and freelance work, I’ve contributed to character modeling and rigging, look development, prop creation, and fast-paced asset production for well-known properties. I also bring practical technical skills from my background in engineering and software, and I like collaborating with directors, art directors, and teams to deliver high-quality results that match the intended style and timeline.…

Josh Loera

Pro

I’m Josh Loera, a 3D artist and CAD operator who loves turning ideas into characters and visuals that feel alive. I’m especially drawn to storytelling through art, and I enjoy pairing a creative mindset with an engineer’s problem-solving approach—whether I’m designing a stylized look for a studio pipeline or working through real-world constraints to produce clear, usable outputs. Across contracts and freelance work, I’ve contributed to character modeling and rigging, look development, prop creation, and fast-paced asset production for well-known properties. I also bring practical technical skills from my background in engineering and software, and I like collaborating with directors, art directors, and teams to deliver high-quality results that match the intended style and timeline.…

Available to hire

I’m Josh Loera, a 3D artist and CAD operator who loves turning ideas into characters and visuals that feel alive. I’m especially drawn to storytelling through art, and I enjoy pairing a creative mindset with an engineer’s problem-solving approach—whether I’m designing a stylized look for a studio pipeline or working through real-world constraints to produce clear, usable outputs.

Across contracts and freelance work, I’ve contributed to character modeling and rigging, look development, prop creation, and fast-paced asset production for well-known properties. I also bring practical technical skills from my background in engineering and software, and I like collaborating with directors, art directors, and teams to deliver high-quality results that match the intended style and timeline.

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Language

English
Fluent
Spanish; Castilian
Advanced

Work Experience

3D Artist + Illustrator (Contract) at The Animist Studios
June 1, 2026 - Present
Worked with a director to create high-quality 2D and 3D animation assets for commercial and non-commercial clients, supporting production needs from concept through asset delivery.
CAD Artist at Skylar Hope Designs
April 1, 2026 - June 30, 2026
Developed drawings for a high-priority interior design and remodeling project to enable clear communication of concepts for construction and analysis.
Product Visualization & CAD Drafter (Freelance) at HH Co
February 1, 2026 - April 30, 2026
Modeled reverse-engineered products to support realistic renders in Blender, then transitioned to AutoCAD to produce technical drawings for delivery and documentation.
3D Artist at The Animist Studio
January 1, 2026 - Present
Character Model and Rig (Freelance) at Schatz Publishing
October 1, 2025 - October 31, 2025
Modeled and rigged a character based on an AI-generated design, resolving inconsistencies while preserving the intended feel so the asset was ready for animation.
Modeling and Look Development (Props / Character) at MindShow Studios
February 1, 2025 - August 31, 2025
Modeled, textured, and published up to 20 stylized props and character assets per week for Mattel properties, adapting to different IP styles while meeting a fast studio turnaround.
3D Artist - Props at Mindshow Studio
February 1, 2025 - December 30, 2025
3D Concept Art (Freelance) at Dichotomy Studios (Summer of '69 movie)
July 1, 2024 - July 31, 2024
Created large-scale, print-quality 3D/2D concept work on a tight schedule, incorporating art director feedback to help translate the filmmaker’s vision after AI-generated images fell short for on-screen needs.
Prop Weapons Modeling (Freelance) at If(True) Studio
May 1, 2024 - May 31, 2024
Interpreted AI concept art imperfections and delivered rig-ready weapon props for a game studio demo and investor pitch, focusing on production usability.
Texturing + Rigging (Freelance) at The Animist Studios
February 1, 2024 - February 29, 2024
Brought a car character to life by creating facial rigging for mocap, used in a talking animation for a local commercial broadcast across the state.
Illustrator at Comedeme
December 31, 2023 - December 30, 2025
Illustrator (Freelance) at Stand Up Comedeme (Webcomic)
December 1, 2022 - October 31, 2024
Delivered a weekly philosophy-based educational comic strip, working with a professor to keep lessons engaging and clear while improving visual storytelling through creative illustration guidance.
Consultative Sales (Team Lead) at Contech Engineered Solutions
December 1, 2018 - March 31, 2021
Managed a team of specialists internally and built relationships externally with industry leaders to consistently deliver complex projects and deliverables.

Education

3D Modeling Certificate at AnimSchool
January 1, 2024 - December 31, 2024
B.S. Civil Engineering + Entrepreneurship Certification at Purdue University, West Lafayette
January 1, 2011 - August 31, 2015

Qualifications

3D Modeling Certificate
January 1, 2024 - September 3, 2026
Cert. in Entrepreneurship
January 1, 2015 - September 3, 2026

Industry Experience

Media & Entertainment, Gaming, Education, Real Estate & Construction, Professional Services
    Space Cowboy Stylized Production Level 3D Character Model

    I found this concept art by an artist that goes by seven七七七 on ArtStation a while back and really loved the style and theme. It reminded me of something out of the Netflix show , ‘My Dad the Bounty Hunter’ from which I drew some inspiration. I also drew from things like Lightyear and the Spiderverse Series.I was lucky to get feedback along the way from the great Nina Tarasova. I’m also grateful to have learned much about the look development side from Jackson Spencer.I went with a high texel density to try to get a very defined lookdev look. I also got to learn a method of creating dreads in xGen though, I’d be excited to keep learning ways to improve that execution.It would be awesome to work on a project with some Space Cowboys one day!

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