iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

I'm not sure why now. Maybe the bulging eyes and general weirdness. I guess at age three(?) that's some form of Lovecraftian horror.

The "yip yip" aliens from Sesame Street. Kind of frilly jellyfish-like plush creatures, with weird loose hanging mouths and staring, bulging eyes. Two little antenna on top. They would float around and make noises.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

I don't mean to look a gift horse in the mouth, and honestly this guy's work is top-tier and highly recommended, but

The meme with a bunch of guys watching a presentation. First panel shows CARBON 13 Printable Jointed Figure in a dynamic pose, matched with everyone looking stoked. Second panel shows the male and female versions printed at the same size. There is extremely exaggerated sexual dimorphism, to the point that the female mannequin is as tall as the male's shoulder. This is paired with the audience looking tired and unenthusiastic.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

I actually got a nice view of this during an otherwise cloudy day. Not bad for a suburban area with a lot of lights.

A view of the moon during a partial eclipse. There is a sliver of light on top of a dark, reddish shadow covering most of the visible surface.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

I opened this tab yesterday and just remembered. Somehow this rocky area (apparently on the High Tatras) speaks to me. Haven't been, just ran across the photo.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Hi #portfolioday ! I'm Arrow, a senior generalist with over a decade of experience in indie games. I'm currently available for freelance or full-time work in 3D game art, as well as concept art & illustration. I love scifi, painterly, & retro 3D game art! 💼: www.locus7.com 📧: arrow_freelance@pm.me

Several renders of a fairly low-poly ASP handgun with a hand-painted stylized texture. The ASP was an effort to create a custom tactical handgun in the 1970s, cutting down and polishing any sharp edges or snags on a full-size pistol, fitting a custom sight, and adding custom transparent plastic grips, among other things.

A paintover of a work-in-progress sci-fi game character, showing a couple of helmet designs. One is tight and form-fitting, featuring an articulated neck ring. The other is a larger, bubble helmet in which the head moves freely.

A low-poly rat in several poses. This one uses the #256fes parameters, meaning it is made up of 250 triangles, and uses a 256x256 texture.

Made for Swordtember 2025. A digital illustration of three fantasy/scifi swords. One is a thick-bladed sword roughly forged from impure ore, with moss growing on it. Another is a cut and sharpened section of a massive abalone shell, affixed to a fragment of a ship's wheel. Another features a modern precision-machined blade, and uses the gripper-hand of a robot as the hilt and handle.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 16/06/2026

I've been working on a scifi game character for a portfolio project, wearing a mechanical counterpressure suit for planetary/space use. The helmet bubble is a placeholder - the neck ring houses an emergency self-inflating setup, like those bike helmets. Need to find some time to finish it up soon.

A Blender EEVEE render of a short-haired young woman floating in the air wearing a form-fitting mechanical counterpressure suit and part of a climbing harness.

A Blender EEVEE shot of the futuristic-looking boots.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Ran across this 2017-era meme I made in 2021. #valheim

A "why not visit" meme, kind of like a travel brochure, with a series of images. The first is a Valheim player character soaking wet, with the text "experience moisture". Then a picture of Yggdrasil in the sky, with text "important branch". Then a picture of a character holding a polearm, with the text "knife 3.0". Then a bunch of trees chopped down with the text "lumberjackering". Then a picture of a giant troll half-hidden in a pine tree looking down at the player with the text "Large Harold". Then a deer, with the text "forest borkers". The last is a reference to the deer in the game making a snorting honk-like sound which is very similar to a barking dog.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 29/05/2026

A personal ray gun design I've been working on for fun. I'm going to use it as a sticker on that portfolio character's space suit, and might play around with modelling it in 3D if I can find the time. #conceptart #raygun

A retro scifi ray gun, made of brass and teal metal.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 24/05/2026

Spent some time this afternoon trying to keep my old thrift store speakers out of the landfill. The fixed input line got unreliable, so I cut it out and wired in a 3.5mm jack. It was a pretty hacky job, but it was nice to re-acclimate to electronics after not making or repairing anything for ages.

A photo showing the internals of a Sony VAIO desktop speaker. The audio input wires have been snipped close to the motherboard (where the ground had split and been incorporated into the left and right channel lines), and there's an ancient Radio Shack multimeter and an X-ACTO blade nearby.

A view of the back, showing a freshly installed 3.5mm jack sitting where the glued-in cable used to be.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 18/05/2026

This kind of thing, but without the little clip. 💀🗡️

A stainless steel thermometer with a large dial, out of which pokes a sharp, 5" long stabby thing. When you drop one on a surface, there's a good chance they land on the dial, with the stabber pointing straight up.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 02/05/2026

What about slab-side revolvers?

A photograph of a revolver with a huge block of steel around the barrel and another block of tall square sights on top.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

A couple more shots of the low poly rat and a clearer picture of the space suit boots. #portfolioday #b3d

Several views of a low-poly rat sniffing the air, standing, and scampering. Blender EEVEE renders.

A low-angle view of the astronaut character kneeling on one knee, and adjusting her suit neck ring. This view shows the boot in particularly pretty clearly.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

A Blender EEVEE render of a real-time scifi character.

Two low-poly medieval-style houses, 256 triangles each, using 256x256 resolution trimsheets.

Three fantasy/scifi swords from Swordtember 2025.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 11/04/2026

Picking this project back up and putting some time into the boots. I didn't fully commit to a concept on these, which slowed me down, but I like how they're starting to turn out now. Substance Painter and Blender screenshots, respectively. #b3d #gameart

A pair of futuristic boots, made of a leather-like material, with straps in place of laces, and a small armored plate over the metatarsal region.

A screenshot from Blender of the boots in a pose, at lower texture resolution.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 09/03/2026

I got carried away, but it did make me happy. #b3d #gameart #lowpoly

A Blender screenshot showing a low poly rat model and texture. The animal is a Brown Rat, otherwise known as a Norway Rat, and has a chunky build and a flatter nose than some species.

Several renders of a low poly rat model in various poses. The animal is a Brown Rat, otherwise known as a Norway Rat, and has a chunky build and a flatter nose than some species.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 05/03/2026

It's finally done! My 2026 Seasonal Tier List! ✨📊✨

One of those multicolored image "Tier List" things with the letter S at the top, then an alphabetical ranking down to the letter F. A picture of Autumn leaves is in the S position. A picture of fresh blooming flowers on the branches of a tree representing Spring is in the A position. A picture of snow and ice covered trees is in the B position. Down in F is a photo of a window air conditioner unit representing Summer.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

This is about 330 tris. I'll probably see how 128x128 can do texture-wise, as that's a more sensible geometry-to-texture ratio for the era I'm going for. #b3d

A Blender screenshot of an untextured low poly rat model.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

Helmet brainstorming, via a #b3d render paintover. #conceptart

Two digital paintovers of an astronaut wearing different types of helmets. One is a form-fitting helmet with an articulated neck, the other is a roomy bubble helmet.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

A couple more digital figure drawings today (photo ref). Getting into practice by being a little more strict with my timers. #figuredrawing

A digital sketch of two women, both are sitting on the ground.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

I felt thwarted by the extreme perspective on this guy's left arm yesterday, and did another study from the photo ref today. That angle, foreshortening, and contrapposto is hard mode! #figuredrawing

A digital figure study of a man. He is holding a wooden pole, high in his left hand, and resting low on his right hand. He is very muscular, and his left arm is extremely foreshortened.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

Some digital figure drawings from today. I'm a little rusty from focusing so much on 3D lately. Photo refs from Satine Zillah.

A drawing of several figures in different poses.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

Very happy with the elbows and shoulders, even in a pretty extreme position like this. Also trying different color/texture blocking on the suit. I'm planning to do a few suit variations. #b3d #gameart

A Blender EEVEE render of a character wearing a form-fitting space suit, in the standing position of a barbell back squat.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

A full squat is part of my range of motion tests for this portfolio character, so I figured they might as well have a barbell. There was plenty of weight painting, a few fixes, and added bones, but now that I'm happy with joint deformation and range, it's time to dig into texturing! #b3d #gameart

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

Yesterday was storm prep day (luckily ended up not losing power), today is cozy day.

A photo of a mug of hot cocoa coffee with marshmallows and a candy cane, in front of a Blender UV editor screenshot.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

I've been exploring using extra bones at some of the joints of this character to maintain volume at extreme angles. It can be more efficient than blend shapes for modern mid-poly game models, and is just simpler. Here's the current elbow setup and basic driver I'm using in Blender. #b3d #gameart

An image showing a Blender screenshot of a character's elbow during a near-complete folding motion, and an overlay of an elbow bone, its weight painting, and driver affecting its angle.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

The dual-jointed elbows and knees in particular allow for nice range.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

Congratulations on the 8K, and thanks for organizing a share! Here's some 3D and 2D pieces of mine from the past year. My professional work is mostly in indie gaming, but I do all kinds of art, and love seeing what the wider creative community are making. 💼: www.locus7.com 📧: arrow_freelance@pm.me

A Blender EEVEE render of a feminine character in a form-fitting counterpressure (space) suit and an open helmet floating in the air.

A 3D medieval house, made up of 256 triangles, and using a 256x256 trimsheet/texture map.

Concept art of a top-down scifi game, with a futuristic pod and several suited figures exploring an alien landscape.

Several illustrations of fantasy swords, for the Swordtember 2025 challenge.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 15/01/2026

Post a game you remember playing that nobody else remembers A real deep cut on the second.

A screenshot from the game Lode Runner 2.

A screenshot from the ancient online Macintosh FPS mech game Avara.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

A wireframe view (Blender modifier which extrudes the edges). I noticed I could actually shave off four triangles by disconnecting the roof at the wall center lines on the back of the structure. If I worked more on this, I'd probably also reduce the tower roundness, and put those tris elsewhere #b3d

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

Here's a wireframe view. Blender's Wireframe modifier extrudes geometry out from the lines, which is how you can see areas where the walls intersect with the roof. Depending on the specific game engine's math, and the use case, those areas might be adjusted to have greater clearance. #b3d

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 14/01/2026

Hi #portfolioday ! I'm Arrow, a senior generalist with over a decade of experience. I'm currently available for freelance or full-time work in 3D game art, as well as concept art & illustration. I love scifi, painterly, and retro 3D game art! 💼: www.locus7.com 📧: arrow_freelance@pm.me

A Blender EEVEE render of a human floating in microgravity. They are wearing a partial vacuum suit.

A Blender EEVEE render of a small, very low-poly house, which uses a single 256x256 pixel trim sheet.

Two Blender EEVEE renders of a low-poly Gasser M1870 and old lantern.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 11/01/2026

A structure testing out an evolution of the trimsheet, with both stone and plaster walls available. The blue roof gives me distant childhood memories of Warcraft... II I think? Also, cylinders of any kind really eat up the poly budget! #256fes #b3d

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

A little warmup project to start the year. I think the 256 festival constraints (256x256 texture and 256 triangle maximum) is really cool and provides a fun challenge. #256fes #b3d

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 28/12/2025

The tiny holiday tree I made this year, out of an easel and green cloth.

A small winter holiday tree. It's made out of an artist's easel wrapped in cloth, streamers, and decorated with LED lights and mini ornaments.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 25/12/2025

Hey folks! Happy Christmas/Yule/Solstice/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Saturnalia to all who celebrate. I'm Arrow. I dabble in every kind of art, but my main focus is on concept art, real-time 3D game art, and illustration. Thank you for setting up an art share for the smaller accounts!

A digital illustration of a ceremonial sword, shortened and reshaped from a much longer zweihander. It is adorned with lit candles, mounted on the hilt and parrying hooks.

A figure drawing done in colored pencils on toned paper. It shows a bearded man facing away from the viewer, with one arm raised and bent, the hand resting on the back of his head.

A digital concept drawing of a woman wearing a futuristic space suit.

A real-time 3D model of a woman wearing a space suit.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

#7dfps update: Still making graphics instead of a game. Trying to decide whether to make a proof of concept shooting range, or pivot hard into a 2.5D shooter with sketched in graphics. 4.5 days remaining. #b3d

Blender screenshots of a compact pistol.

Blender screenshots of a pistol magazine with different numbers of cartridges loaded in it.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

I started working on something for #7dfps yesterday and got carried away immediately. (Prettier #b3d screencap created by overlaying a few different material views in Photshop)

A view from Blender showing a low-poly handgun magazine, complete with spring, window, and follower. The material is a rainbow checker pattern to assist with UV layout.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 28/11/2025

Got the tongue, teeth, and mouth interior integrated. Still need to tweak the size and angle of the overall dentition slightly. These tests are all a Rigify rig in Blender, with quick vertex weight assignment to fix teeth/eyelids, and no actual weight painting. Surprisingly functional! #b3d #gameart

Four portraits of a 3D character making different facial expressions.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 28/11/2025

I'm fine with human mouths IRL, but making a semi-realistic mouth for a 3D character is the weirdest/grossest part for sure. #zbrush

A ZBrush sculpt of a set of upper and lower teeth and gums. There is also a tongue resting between them.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

Update: Retopology is done, and I'm testing out poses and range of motion with a skeleton in Blender. The suit's texturing is a placeholder, and the face and hair are a work in progress, but it feels great to have gotten to this stage! Lots of test poses next, then refining. #b3d #zbrush #gameart

A render of a sci-fi character wearing a form-fitting vacuum suit. They're handling their gloved hand with their bare hand while looking off into the distance.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

Decided I want to include gloves as an option in the base UV layout of the portfolio character. Aiming for semi-realistic on the form-fitting counter-pressure stuff (as opposed to pressurized) can get a little Giger-esque. Work in progress. #zbrush

A ZBrush screenshot of some futuristic form-fitting gloves.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

I did a quick bake and texture of the head and hair to test out my topology, get a better look at facial proportions, and decide how stylized I want the eyes to be. It feels good to get to this stage after a lot of sketching and sculpting. EEVEE renders in Blender. #zbrush #b3d

A portrait render of an androgynous feminine character wearing a space suit.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

This was actually pretty quick to make. Here's the low-poly textured version. #b3d #zbrush #substancepainter

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

Good shortcut for radial organic shapes. I'm playing around with sculpting an eye in ZBrush, and having a starting point is nice. Shape with: Array + rotated target object > Skin > Geometry node [Noise Texture > an axis of Combine XYZ > offset value of Set Position] > Subdivision Surface. #b3d

A screenshot from Blender showing the construction of an iris-like shape by using a rotated array modifier.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

Progress update: Pretty much done with the high-res sculpt, minus some mechanical odds and ends, and part of the way into retopology and UV unwrapping for the more finalized areas. Aiming for about 50K tris in the end, similar specs to something like Valorant or Apex Legends. #zbrush #b3d #scifi

Untextured renders of a human character from the front and back. They are wearing a form-fitting body suit, boots, a partial ascent harness, and a backpack/neck-ring for a space helmet.

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Arrow 🍂☕ @locus7.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

The Pawnee had a hairstyle somewhat similar to what call a "Mohawk" but theirs generally emphasized a bare front of the scalp. The receding hairline aesthetic isn't currently in fashion as a masculine feature, but was pretty mainstream in the Americas and elsewhere (see also Edo period Japan!).

A photograph of A-sau-taw-ka, or White Horse, a Pawnee scout serving in the U.S. Army in the 1870s. He has a shaved or plucked head, except for a short mane or fin starting high up on the head, and continuing back to a series of long strands and at least one braid on the very back of the head.

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