Hi, I'm Yilong Mu, a Senior 3D Artist with a passion for creating immersive and photorealistic 3D characters and assets. I've been working in the industry for several years, leading projects like the TikTok Avatar Project and developing innovative VR/AR minigames. My expertise spans from modeling, rigging, and rendering to AI-driven asset generation using cutting-edge tools. I enjoy collaborating closely with engineering teams and mentoring others to push creative boundaries. With skills in Blender, Maya, and various rendering pipelines, I aim to bring high-quality visual storytelling and technical excellence to every project I work on.…

Yilong Mu

Hi, I'm Yilong Mu, a Senior 3D Artist with a passion for creating immersive and photorealistic 3D characters and assets. I've been working in the industry for several years, leading projects like the TikTok Avatar Project and developing innovative VR/AR minigames. My expertise spans from modeling, rigging, and rendering to AI-driven asset generation using cutting-edge tools. I enjoy collaborating closely with engineering teams and mentoring others to push creative boundaries. With skills in Blender, Maya, and various rendering pipelines, I aim to bring high-quality visual storytelling and technical excellence to every project I work on.…

Available to hire

Hi, I’m Yilong Mu, a Senior 3D Artist with a passion for creating immersive and photorealistic 3D characters and assets. I’ve been working in the industry for several years, leading projects like the TikTok Avatar Project and developing innovative VR/AR minigames. My expertise spans from modeling, rigging, and rendering to AI-driven asset generation using cutting-edge tools.

I enjoy collaborating closely with engineering teams and mentoring others to push creative boundaries. With skills in Blender, Maya, and various rendering pipelines, I aim to bring high-quality visual storytelling and technical excellence to every project I work on.

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Language

English
Advanced
Chinese
Advanced

Work Experience

3D Modeling Software Technician at Anatomage Inc.
May 31, 2020 - July 21, 2025
Constructed photorealistic muscles, nerves, and bone structures of human/animal anatomy for a virtual dissection table. Sculpted, unwrapped UVs, textured, and integrated high and low polygon 3D meshes using Blender within a PBR pipeline to create video assets. Used Blender for Cycle/Eeve rendering of quick prototypes to improve visual quality and load times. Built 3D meshes using segmentation and proprietary extraction software ensuring anatomical accuracy.
3D Modeling Software Technician at Anatomage Inc.
May 31, 2020 - July 21, 2025
Constructed photorealistic muscles, nerves, and bone structures of human/animal anatomy for a virtual dissection table. Sculpted, unfolded UVs, textured, and integrated high and low polygon 3D meshes with Blender in a PBR pipeline to create video assets. Utilized Blender for Cycle/Eevee rendering of quick prototypes/explorations to improve visual quality and load times. Built 3D meshes using segmentation and proprietary extraction software ensuring anatomical accuracy.
Senior 3D Artist at TikTok
May 1, 2020 - Present
Led 3D character and asset creation for the TikTok Avatar Project using Blender, including modeling, rigging, rendering, lighting, blend shapes, and bug fixing—launched globally with S-rank performance. Developed full-body and facial-tracking 3D avatars for VSeeFace/VRC (Meta Quest, Unity). Collaborated with engineering to create and deliver 300+ VR/AR minigames, contributing to 3D asset creation, visual scripting, Python tool development, and concept ideation within an in-house engine for iOS/Android launch. Created 3D animal GAN effects and worked on AI-driven 3D asset generation, including training models for Stable Diffusion and AI social avatar projects. Created high-quality Blender renders and animations optimized with procedural materials and Python scripts. Designed 3D icons and rendered animations to enhance visual storytelling and managed project pipelines and task assignments.
Senior 3D Artist, Technical Artist at TikTok
May 1, 2020 - Present
Led 3D character and asset creation for the TikTok Avatar Project using Blender, including modeling, rigging, rendering, lighting, blend shapes, and bug fixing—launched globally with S-rank performance. Developed full-body and facial-tracking 3D avatars for VSeeFace/VRC (Meta Quest, Unity). Collaborated closely with engineering teams to develop level design/gameplay and deliver 300+ VR/AR minigames, contributing to 3D asset creation, visual scripting, Python tool development, and concept ideation within an in-house engine, launching on iOS/Android devices. Created 3D animal GAN effects, AI-driven 3D asset generation, and worked on AI social avatar projects. Produced high-quality Maya/Blender renders and animations with advanced shaders, HDRI lighting, and path-traced rendering while optimizing pipelines with procedural materials, Python scripts, and complex node setups. Designed 3D icons and rendered animations to enhance visual storytelling and presentations. Managed project pipelin
3D Artist at Aniden Interactive
March 31, 2019 - July 21, 2025
Created over 50 photorealistic commercial CG works using Blender for clients like HP, Dell, GoPro, and more. Troubleshot and optimized 3D meshes, Maya, UV, and Vray rendering issues. Developed 3D Printer models in Unity for HP's VR Experience to enable virtual testing. Modeled, textured, and rigged high/low poly character and environment assets for marketing campaigns. Developed asset creation pipeline for HP Omen gaming peripherals optimizing efficiency and managing technical constraints like poly counts and texture memory. Reviewed style guidelines and provided design feedback to Creative Director while collaborating cross-functionally.
3D Artist at Aniden Interactive
March 31, 2019 - July 21, 2025
Created over 50 photorealistic commercial CG works with Blender for clients including HP, Dell, GoPro, Titan JUXT, Norton, and Logitech. Troubleshot and optimized 3D meshes, Maya, UV, and Vray rendering issues to improve processes and quality. Developed 3D printer models in Unity for HP's VR Experience allowing customers to test printers virtually. Modeled, textured, and rigged high/low poly character and environment assets for HP and Dell marketing campaigns. Developed asset creation pipeline for HP Omen gaming peripherals, optimizing for efficiency and cross-dependencies. Used GPU rendering solutions for key 3D art and paid media assets. Managed technical constraints such as poly counts, texture memory limits, and gameplay boundaries. Reviewed style guidelines with Creative Director, providing design feedback through draw-overs.
Lead 3D Modeling Texturing & Lighting Artist at "Air Pirates" Short Film
December 31, 2017 - July 21, 2025
Created high/low polygon 3D models of characters, clothes, accessories, and props to meet aesthetic and technical guidelines using Maya, ZBrush, Arnold, Vray, Substance Painter, and more. Translated 2D concept art into 3D stylized characters with realistic textures and lighting for animation. Devised retopology designs to facilitate UV unwrapping, texturing, and baking optimizing models for animation pipelines. Mentored team members to improve collaboration and efficiency in the 3D modeling and texturing pipeline.
Lead 3D Modeling Texturing & Lighting Artist at "Air Pirates" Short Film
December 31, 2017 - July 21, 2025
Created high and low polygon models of 3D characters, clothes, accessories, and props with tools including Maya, ZBrush, Arnold, Vray, Substance Painter, Designer, and Mari. Translated 2D concept art into 3D models of stylized characters with realistic texture and lighting for animation and composition. Devised retopology designs to ease UV unwrap, texturing, and baking for animation optimization. Mentored team members on 3D modeling and texturing pipelines to improve collaboration and efficiency.
3D Modeling Texturing & Lighting Artist at San Francisco Giants - "FoodieCat" animations
October 31, 2017 - July 21, 2025
Textured stylized 3D props such as hoverboards and headphones using Substance Painter for an animated short series. Composited lighting and characters in Nuke and rendered in Vray to create visual consistency across team members.
3D Modeling Texturing & Lighting Artist at San Francisco Giants - "FoodieCat" animations
October 31, 2017 - July 21, 2025
Textured stylized 3D props like hoverboard and headphones using Substance Painter for an animated short series. Composited lighting and characters in Nuke, rendered in Vray, to ensure visual consistency across multiple artists.
Interior Designer at SHE Decoration
December 31, 2013 - July 21, 2025
Created 3D interior environments of stylized homes for clients including Longhu Real Estate, one of China’s top real estate companies. Modeled, textured, and lit photorealistic furniture, plants, and decorations.
Interior Designer at SHE Decoration
December 31, 2013 - July 21, 2025
Created 3D interior environments of stylized homes for clients including Longhu Real Estate, a top 10 real estate company in China. Modeled, textured (leather, ceramic, glass), and lit photorealistic 3D furniture, plants, decorations, and more.

Education

Masters of Fine Art at Academy of Art University, San Francisco, CA
January 1, 2017 - December 31, 2017
Bachelor of Fine Art at Chongqing Technical and Business University, Chongqing, China
January 1, 2014 - June 30, 2014
Masters of Fine Art at Academy of Art University, San Francisco, CA
January 1, 2017 - December 31, 2017
Bachelor of Fine Art at Chongqing Technical and Business University, Chongqing, China
January 1, 2014 - June 30, 2014

Qualifications

Add your qualifications or awards here.

Industry Experience

Software & Internet, Gaming, Media & Entertainment, Healthcare, Real Estate & Construction