Hi, I'm Nyako Arana, a multidisciplinary artist with a passion for character design and visual development. I specialize in creating playful and stylized assets for toys, collectibles, and interactive media, working across both 2D and 3D workflows. I love translating form language, silhouette, and storytelling into appealing physical figures and pitch-ready illustrations. I am proficient in sculpting, digital modeling, 3D-print preparation, and have experience leading art teams and projects. Whether I'm designing characters or guiding the visual aesthetic of a game, I enjoy bringing creative ideas to life and collaborating with others to create engaging and production-ready art assets.…

Nyako Arana

Hi, I'm Nyako Arana, a multidisciplinary artist with a passion for character design and visual development. I specialize in creating playful and stylized assets for toys, collectibles, and interactive media, working across both 2D and 3D workflows. I love translating form language, silhouette, and storytelling into appealing physical figures and pitch-ready illustrations. I am proficient in sculpting, digital modeling, 3D-print preparation, and have experience leading art teams and projects. Whether I'm designing characters or guiding the visual aesthetic of a game, I enjoy bringing creative ideas to life and collaborating with others to create engaging and production-ready art assets.…

Available to hire

Hi, I’m Nyako Arana, a multidisciplinary artist with a passion for character design and visual development. I specialize in creating playful and stylized assets for toys, collectibles, and interactive media, working across both 2D and 3D workflows. I love translating form language, silhouette, and storytelling into appealing physical figures and pitch-ready illustrations.

I am proficient in sculpting, digital modeling, 3D-print preparation, and have experience leading art teams and projects. Whether I’m designing characters or guiding the visual aesthetic of a game, I enjoy bringing creative ideas to life and collaborating with others to create engaging and production-ready art assets.

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Skills

Experience Level

Character Design
Expert
ZBrush
Expert
3D Model
Expert
3D Design
Expert
Autodesk Maya
Intermediate
Blender
Intermediate
Substance Painter
Intermediate
Adobe Photoshop
Intermediate
Clip Studio Paint
Intermediate
Procreate
Intermediate
Unity
Intermediate
Unreal Engine 4
Intermediate
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Language

English
Fluent

Work Experience

Teaching Assistant – 3D & ZBrush Pipeline at Louisiana State University
May 31, 2025 - July 29, 2025
Instructed full character art pipeline; led sculpting demos, crits, and in-class mentorship focused on silhouette clarity, form appeal, and production readiness.
Research Assistant – 3D Modeler at Louisiana State University
May 31, 2025 - July 29, 2025
Created assets for VR and digital twin projects; collaborated on interactive, production-worthy designs optimized for game engines.

Education

M.S. at Louisiana State University
August 1, 2023 - May 31, 2025
B.F.A. at Louisiana State University
August 1, 2019 - May 31, 2023

Qualifications

Add your qualifications or awards here.

Industry Experience

Gaming, Media & Entertainment, Education, Consumer Goods, Software & Internet
    paper VEROCITY

    VEROCITY is a high-speed mech racing game and the capstone project for the grad program I was in. I served as the visual development artist and art director, responsible for a wide range of contributions, including concept art, character and prop design, splash illustration, and overall visual direction. Available to play now on Steam!