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I'm a hands-on 3D environment and prop artist specializing in modular kits and optimization for real-time engines. I’ve shipped multiple games across indie and student teams, led a 10-person art department, and enjoy turning concepts into game-ready assets that balance performance with striking visuals. Beyond production, I mentor students and fellow artists, run focused critique sessions, and push for clear asset standards and efficient collaboration between designers and programmers. I’m excited to keep building immersive worlds in Unreal Engine 5 and other engines, while sharing knowledge through workshops, classes, and mentorship.…I'm a hands-on 3D environment and prop artist specializing in modular kits and optimization for real-time engines. I’ve shipped multiple games across indie and student teams, led a 10-person art department, and enjoy turning concepts into game-ready assets that balance performance with striking visuals. Beyond production, I mentor students and fellow artists, run focused critique sessions, and push for clear asset standards and efficient collaboration between designers and programmers. I’m excited to keep building immersive worlds in Unreal Engine 5 and other engines, while sharing knowledge through workshops, classes, and mentorship.

Michael Nicholas

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I'm a hands-on 3D environment and prop artist specializing in modular kits and optimization for real-time engines. I’ve shipped multiple games across indie and student teams, led a 10-person art department, and enjoy turning concepts into game-ready assets that balance performance with striking visuals. Beyond production, I mentor students and fellow artists, run focused critique sessions, and push for clear asset standards and efficient collaboration between designers and programmers. I’m excited to keep building immersive worlds in Unreal Engine 5 and other engines, while sharing knowledge through workshops, classes, and mentorship.…I'm a hands-on 3D environment and prop artist specializing in modular kits and optimization for real-time engines. I’ve shipped multiple games across indie and student teams, led a 10-person art department, and enjoy turning concepts into game-ready assets that balance performance with striking visuals. Beyond production, I mentor students and fellow artists, run focused critique sessions, and push for clear asset standards and efficient collaboration between designers and programmers. I’m excited to keep building immersive worlds in Unreal Engine 5 and other engines, while sharing knowledge through workshops, classes, and mentorship.

Available to hire

I’m a hands-on 3D environment and prop artist specializing in modular kits and optimization for real-time engines. I’ve shipped multiple games across indie and student teams, led a 10-person art department, and enjoy turning concepts into game-ready assets that balance performance with striking visuals.

Beyond production, I mentor students and fellow artists, run focused critique sessions, and push for clear asset standards and efficient collaboration between designers and programmers. I’m excited to keep building immersive worlds in Unreal Engine 5 and other engines, while sharing knowledge through workshops, classes, and mentorship.

Skills

Experience Level

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Expert

Intermediate

Intermediate

Intermediate

Work Experience

Lead 3D Artist | Co-Founder at Oathbound Studios

May 1, 2025 - Present

Co-founded a 25-person Purdue indie studio building a third-person co-op stealth heist game in Unreal Engine 5; lead a 10-person art department, assign tasks, run critique meetings, demo workflows, and bridge designers and programmers; optimize and integrate 20+ environment/prop assets; define and enforce “game ready” asset standards (UV efficiency, texel density targets, LOD policy, naming conventions, UE5 import guidelines); review employee and outsource assets for engine integration; streamlined weekly art meetings into focused critique sessions using TAC (Talk-Announce-Critique) with slides and forums.

Student Ambassador at Autodesk

June 1, 2025 - Present

Founded and managed a 25+ member Discord server for Autodesk Ambassadors, serving as a centralized hub for events, resources, and mentorship. Organized three events: Mastering Maya Part 1 and 2, a full Maya workshop covering industry modeling and animation workflows, and a portfolio review with a professional 3D artist.

3D Artist Intern at Empyrean Gaming Studios

January 1, 2025 - May 1, 2025

Planned and delivered a modular environment kit of 12 game-ready assets for the Governor's House in the main level of Curing Corruption. Collaborated directly with designers and programmers through weekly syncs to ensure seamless gameplay integration and visual consistency. Implemented optimization techniques such as asset batching, efficient UV layouts, and consistent texel density to achieve a low-poly, performance-optimized 3D world compatible with all hardware levels.

Instructor at Lavner Education

June 1, 2025 - August 1, 2025

Taught 50 students across group classes on 3D modeling, 3D printing, Lua scripting in Roblox, and foundational game design principles. Mentored five students on 3D and game design projects, fostering creativity and problem-solving skills.