Introduction
Forgive my candor. My growing soul needs to eat.
Sir Ian McKellen’s performance of Kurt Vonnegut Jr’s letter, ‘practice any art,’ reignites the spark every artist worth their salt feels at the beginning of their unexpected journeys. Of course, at the time he wrote it, I doubt Vonnegut envisioned Gandalf himself performing the letter to the millions of Shire folk on the internet some 20 years later, but here we are. The wizard did his thing, and this artist is heeding the call.
Obviously, I’m not launching my cosmetics brand, but if I were, I'd use product visualization to create limitless digital assets. And wouldn’t you know it, product visualization is just the tip of the 3D ice-berg. Over the past few months, I’ve drawn on the counsel of some of the most talented artists and marketers, trying to thread the needle between form and function, technical knowledge and taste, and photo-realism and hyper-realism. The question: what makes a visual art captivating? I’ve come to appreciate the time, skill, and experience it takes to properly position brands, communicate value, and convert casuals into loyal consumer bases. So, as a late opener for the 2026 season, I thought it prudent to talk a little about the internal debate I’ve had as a 3D artist on my way to producing world-class work.
The AI Elephant in the Room
Generative AI is the great equalizer, making senior art directors, creative directors, and graphic designers from your heads of marketing and sales. Art is being democratized on a global scale, and for a sector that rarely gets its due, it seems to be losing even more value. With this as the backdrop of my journey into 3D Artistry, it's hard not to feel disillusioned and out of place. It seems like a fool’s errand pursuing something that can be done with a simple prompt by someone who is not only technically challenged as an artist, but whose motivations have nothing to do with the tragic romance an artist has with their art.
So, naturally, the foundational thought I’ve had, ruminating in my background, is that the things that matter to me don’t matter at all. Which leads me to my second question. Is taking this fork down the road worthwhile, or are Frost’s conclusions just as meaningless in the face of all this democracy? Granted, the term ‘AI Slop’ manages to get a smile out of me every time I hear or read about it, the progress we’ve seen over the last three years is nothing to scoff at.
Fact: Companies as huge as Coca-Cola are turning more to AI to create their ads every day.
Fact: It costs a lot less to make these ads than it would to hire a studio or creative agency.
Fact: With AGI lurking just around the corner, the full breadth of the technology will likely to get even the most hard-liner skeptics on the AI train to the dystopian and unemployable future.
It seems all too inevitable. In fact, I’d be lying if I said I have not considered going to my village to become a fisherman. I mean, AI can’t make fish… Right?
The Price of Admission
There are no shortcuts to creating lasting work. It’s a hard realization to accept, especially when there are a lot of people making a lot more money doing a lot less, and in record time. Great art, from a technical perspective, is like braising short ribs. You have to do it low and slow. There are no magic remedies or shortcuts to greatness. It’s thousands of hours of repetitive tasks, building the muscle to understand how to approach solving different problems, unlearning bad lessons, and coming into your own style.
The lucky people started young and stayed on course, but that’s no excuse for those whose desire burns bright even at the more mature stages of life. Robert Greene published his first book at 39, and Vera Wang launched her first brand at 40. It occurred to me that the best time to start was 20 years ago, but the second-best time to start is now.
What’s immediately clear is that in five years, I’d want to look back and find my 10,000 hours complete and my fly-in-the-ointment world view reframed.
Connecting my dots
The third chapter of this ongoing debate is how to make sure my experiences as a 10-year-old adult works to my advantage. Surely all those years post-adolescence were not misspent in vain, I tell myself. You see, I am a recovering optimist, which means all I see in life’s grey clouds are silver linings. For one, being a copywriter has been my linchpin justification for pursuing a career in 3D, the obvious pivot being to create high-converting marketing assets.
Diving into the deep end of product visualization has come naturally, particularly because I’ve spent sometime of time working alongside graphic designers and under the tutelage of a few art/creative directors. It’s become the missing link that, dare I say, connects the dots to some of the copy ideas I’ve had. It’s precisely why I submit to you, that there are limitless possibilities on this side of the aisle.
Product launch, motion graphics, concept pitches, and entire ad campaign assets can all be done in 3D. We can complement the real-world set with CG character assets or break down some of the key selling points of your SaaS start-up in the tradition of elite showmanship, come salesmanship. It’s captivating visuals and compelling storytelling, all wrapped up in this artist.
At the tail end of Mr. Vonnegut’s letter, he says,
‘Write a six-line poem, about anything, but rhymed. No fair tennis without a net. Make it as good as you possibly can. But don't tell anybody what you're doing. Don't show it or recite it to anybody… Tear it up into teeny-weeny pieces, and discard them into widely separated trash receptacles. You will find that you have already been gloriously rewarded for your poem. You have experienced becoming, learned a lot more about what's inside you, and you have made your soul grow. ’
Wise words from a sage. However, I restate my position that, just like children, a growing soul also grows in its appetite. Hence, these mid-project renders. I’m eager to take on new projects and collaborate with brands large and small, marketers, solopreneurs, and start-up founders alike. Have an ineffable product or service idea? Let’s talk visualization. In the meantime, I hope the still renders serve as an insightful introduction to what it's all about.