Academic — Cullen Scott

Maya · Meshy

3D Modeling

A collection of 3D modeling studies spanning environment dioramas, organic sculpting, hard-surface prop design, and character mannequin work. 3D elements play a big role in the motion graphics and static pieces I build — blending 2D and 3D adds a level of depth and polish that a flat design alone can't match.

Blade

A high-poly rendering of a prop from my Diorama Blockout project.

Dragonhead Sculpt

A low-poly rendering of the dragon head hero prop from my Diorama Blockout project.

Diorama Blockout

A blockout of "Battle for Ninjago City," a Lego set depicting a temple from the TV show Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu.

Set Reference

Mannequin Study

A 2D drawing turned into a 3D render using Meshy.ai — rigged, this mannequin would be used to model for the different conceptual apparel brands I've worked on.

Level Design · Game Art

Jamin Bass Game

A semester-long project for Games and Interactivity at UT Austin — using provided code and assets, I designed a 2D platformer level in the Unity engine, with a focus on level design and art implementation.

Play it on itch.io ↗

The Process

My first time working in Unity — and a crash course in staying brand-minded even inside a game.

How do you build a cohesive narrative and brand image for a game?

Start with a theme. I'm passionate about aquatics and marine life, so I built the game around that instead of borrowing someone else's world.

What ties it all together visually?

Color — finding a palette that complements itself, with some hues standing out while everything else stays cohesive, did most of the heavy lifting.

How do you tell a story with limited resources?

Interactive characters with dialogue carry a lot of weight. The whole project reinforced why I want to design brands and identities — an identity is what pulled the game together, rather than it reading like a hodgepodge of stuff that just looked cool.

Concept & Characters

Environment & Scenes

Tileset & Title Screen

Playthrough

Game Design · Level Layout

Level Design Final

A complete level design project, from initial layout planning through in-engine screenshots of the finished space.

The Process

The question going in: how does a video game environment project relate to where I'm taking my career?

Where does brand thinking show up in a game environment?

In the user experience — making the flow through the space feel seamless.

How do you make people want to explore?

Build an environment that tells a story on its own, then keep the themes consistent across it using the assets I had available.

12 Principles of Animation

Animation

A switch animation demonstrating the use of smears, alongside a walk cycle composite using the principles of animation.

The Process

I've got patience, but I underestimated just how much of it animation actually takes.

What did frame-by-frame animation actually teach you?

Principles I now apply to the motion graphics I build — what makes something read as smooth, and what makes it feel good to look at.

Clips

Commercial Project · Advertising

GloveRock

A class project demonstrating proficiency in Adobe Photoshop and After Effects — combining hand-drawn elements from Photoshop with stock footage to create the GloveRock commercial. The producer tag was illustrated in Photoshop and animated in After Effects using paths and keyframes, with a voice memo recorded and layered over royalty-free music for the voiceover.

The Process

One of my earliest ad projects — the question was how to market this product and find the right audience for it.

How do you make the producer tag feel authentic?

Lean into who I actually am — a guy from a small town where hunting was just part of everyday life.

What's the product, and how do you sell something that's basically a joke?

An ointment that grows callouses overnight so you can do the nitty-gritty work — sold under the slogan Seek the Hunt. Hardcore music, a raspy voiceover, and a satirical, lighthearted tone carry it through — a wink at how disconnected we've gotten from the old, primitive ways.