Mikel Julián Villena | Technical Artist & 3D Artist

About Me

I am a motivated and enthusiastic Technical Artist, focusing on 3D modeling, texturing, and enhancing real-time art pipelines. My experience includes working with Unreal Engine 5, optimizing assets for performance, and creating tools to streamline production workflows. Currently, I am working on my own projects and looking for my first professional role in the game industry. I enjoy collaborating with teams and learning new techniques to improve both artistic and technical aspects of game development.

Education

Bachelor's Degree in Game Design and Virtual Environments
UDIT - University of Design and Technology, Madrid
2020 – 2025 (Expected)

Technical Skills

• Real-Time Art Pipelines: Unreal Engine 5 (2 years), Material/Shader Authoring, Performance Optimization
• Programming & Scripting: Blueprint (2 years)
• 3D Modeling & Sculpting: 3ds Max (3 years), ZBrush (2 years), Blender (3 years), Maya (2 years)
• Texturing & Rendering: Photoshop (5 years), Substance Painter (3 years), Substance Designer (2 years), Marmoset Toolbag (3 years)
• Procedural Workflows & Automation: Tool Creation & Workflow Optimization (2 years)
• Other Tools: Adobe Illustrator (2 years), Unity (3 years)

Projects & Experience

Kelpie
*Technical Artist (Current Project)*
A visual therapy game where I am the only artist involved. I manage everything from modeling and texturing to optimizing assets for Unreal Engine 5. The game emphasizes both visual appeal and performance efficiency.

Sacramentum (DreamHack Valencia 2023, Indie Dev Play Madrid, Play Córdoba)
*3D Artist / Character Artist / VFX*
Responsibilities: 3D modeling, digital sculpting, character creation, and visual effects (VFX). I worked on optimizing assets for Unreal Engine and ensuring smooth performance across different platforms.
You can learn more about Sacramentum on its official website.

La Taberna de Chompo – Citara Games
*3D Artist / Producer*
Worked on creating 3D models and assets, integrating them into Unity, and focusing on optimization for smooth performance across devices.

Tapfrogs
*Pixel Artist / Programmer*
Created 2D pixel art assets and assisted in optimizing them for various screen sizes and mobile platforms.

Plop! Studio (Internship)
*Unity Migration Assistant*
Project: Dark Rally (2023)
Responsibilities: Assisted in migrating projects between different Unity versions, set up colliders, and performed visual adjustments to ensure project stability across platforms. You can learn more about Plop! Studio on their official website.

Languages

• Spanish: Native
• English: Advanced (Fluent in reading, writing, and conversational English with professional proficiency. No official certification.)