What’s New in the 3D Artist Community
An Update
It’s been about nine months since I’ve shared an update on what’s happening in the 3D Artist Community (3DAC), so I thought this would be a good time to bring everyone up to speed.
I’m traveling this week but I’m excited to share where we are and where we’re going next.
First, what is the 3DAC?
For those new here: the 3D Artist Community is an online membership-based community of professional 3D creatives. We come from every corner of the industry, fashion, product visualization, games, VFX, broadcast, AR, and more, and every stage of career, from early professionals to 25-year veterans.
The goal has always been to create a “third space” or one that exists outside of work and home, where artists can connect, grow, and build something together. We share knowledge, trade workflows, run experiments, discuss the challenging aspects of creative work, and simply support each other as humans.
Everyone chips in $20/month, and that money goes straight into a shared community fund that we use to make cool things happen. As of today, we’ve got 42 paying members, which gives us about $820/month to work with. Every dollar is transparently reinvested back into the group.
What we’ve been doing
The heart of our community has always been our AMA series (live “Ask Me Anything” sessions with leading 3D professionals across all industries.) Over the past year, we’ve welcomed guests like Patrick Foley (Patrick 4D), Jonathan Winbush, EJ Hassenfranz, Steve Diamond, Nikki Tomaino, Jeryce Dianingana, and Chad Knight (A guy with his own shoe named after him!) and many more. Topics have ranged from freelancing strategies to motion graphics to fashion to the ethics of AI in creative work.
Every single one of these conversations has been a highlight and they’re not going anywhere.
What’s changed
About six months ago, a shift began to occur in the community.
Initially, we had envisioned using our pooled funds to hire outside professionals for workshops. But then it hit us, this community is full of professionals. And not just any professionals…actual leading voices in the industry. Innovators. People who are at the cutting edge of their fields.
That realization pushed us to start thinking more structurally about what the 3DAC could become.
We brought in the excellent Debra Coleman, former Global Head of Compositing at DNEG and now a coach working with artists and teams across the industry, to help guide us through a group coaching process. She helped us clarify our goals, our values, and what kind of future we might want to build together.
That work resulted in something new: a leadership structure with six working groups to help steer the direction of the community.
Our six new working groups
Each of these groups focuses on a different part of the community’s growth:
Research & Development: Exploring workflows, testing tools, creating unbiased resources the industry actually needs.
Production: Running events like AMAs, Discovery Nights, and member-led workshops.
Marketing: Helping share our members' stories and building awareness of what’s happening inside the community.
Membership & Onboarding: Making sure new members feel welcome, included, and supported from day one.
Finance & Training: Managing how our pooled funds are spent and investing in professional growth opportunities.
Corporate Partnerships: Building relationships with studios, toolmakers, and other orgs for access, funding, and future collaboration.
It’s all still evolving, but the structure gives us space to grow beyond just meetups and Slack threads, toward becoming something with real weight and impact.
So where is this going?
We’re dreaming big, but staying grounded.
The long-term vision is to turn the 3DAC into a truly independent voice in the 3D space. A place that can do unbiased R&D, share hard-won knowledge, and (hopefully) create consulting and freelance opportunities for members who are in between jobs or looking to transition.
We’re not there yet. But we’re planting seeds.
If we can build a place where people are paid to do genuinely interesting work and we do it together…that’s the dream.
There’s a lot more going on under the hood, but I’ll save those updates for another time. If you're curious about joining or just want to learn more, feel free to email me or drop a comment.
This community has become something special.
And we’re just getting started.
3D Merch is here and we have a new hoodie!
3D Job Spreadsheet
Link to Google Doc With A TON of Jobs in Animation (not operated by me)
Hello! Michael Tanzillo here. I am the Head of Technical Artists with the Substance 3D team at Adobe. Previously, I was a Senior Artist on animated films at Blue Sky Studios/Disney with credits including three Ice Age movies, two Rios, Peanuts, Ferdinand, Spies in Disguise, and Epic.
In addition to his work as an artist, I am the Co-Author of the book Lighting for Animation: The Visual Art of Storytelling and the Co-Founder of The Academy of Animated Art, an online school that has helped hundreds of artists around the world begin careers in Animation, Visual Effects, and Digital Imaging. I also created The 3D Artist Community on Skool and this newsletter.
www.michaeltanzillo.com
Free 3D Tutorials on the Michael Tanzillo YouTube Channel
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