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Yulia Sokolova
Yulia Sokolova
Senior 3D Character Artist | Art Mentor
Valencia, Spain

Summary

I’m a Senior 3D Character Artist in the gaming industry and a 3D Art Mentor in Coco School, Spain.

Over the past 10+ years, I’ve collaborated with leading companies such as Disney, SEGA, Adobe, Envato, Digital Sun Games, Beresnev Games, and NineZyme to create captivating 2D concepts and appealing 3D characters for games and animations. My work also extends to design and illustration projects for advertising, publishing, and mobile applications.

Some of the notable projects I’ve contributed to include Call of Duty, Men In Black (SEGA), Cataclismo, Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault, Tile Tales: Pirate, Pixelwoods, Laura Bow and the Mechanical Codex, and many more.

I’m passionate about sharing knowledge and inspiring others in the field. I teach both advanced and beginner-level 3D and 2D courses at Coco School, Vertex School, and Envato, helping students develop the skills they need to thrive in creative industries.

I’m fluent in English, Spanish, and Russian, which allows me to connect and collaborate with teams and students from around the world.

My interviews and articles:

80 LVL: Sculpting a Stylized Samurai in ZBrush
https://80.lv/articles/001agt-sculpting-a-stylized-samurai-in-zbrush/

Marmoset: Stylized Character Presentation in Toolbag
https://marmoset.co/posts/stylized-character-presentation-in-toolbag/

Autodesk: 3D Women Made by Women
https://area.autodesk.com/life-in-3d/3d-women-made-by-women/

My course at Vertex School:
https://blog.vertexschool.com/stylized-characters-in-3d/
https://blog.vertexschool.com/stylized-character-challenge-course/
https://www.vertexschool.com/quarantine

NVIDIA: Stunning Art from Incredible Women Artists
https://youtu.be/4mKT5i3DXWQ?si=aTOjWqJ0x-ND_eox&t=83

Skills

Character Design3D ModelingDigital SculptingIllustrationRendering3D AnimationCharacter ModelingHard Surface ModelingLow-poly ModelingTexturingUV MappingGame DevelopmentHigh-poly ModelingVisual DevelopmentLevel DesignPBR TexturingConcept ArtTexture BakingDigital PaintingLook DevelopmentMotion Graphics

Software proficiency

ZBrush
ZBrush
Maya
Maya
Substance 3D Painter
Substance 3D Painter
Marmoset Toolbag
Marmoset Toolbag
3DCoat
3DCoat
Illustrator
Illustrator
Photoshop
Photoshop
Affinity Designer
Affinity Designer
Unity
Unity
Marvelous Designer
Marvelous Designer
InDesign
InDesign
Unfold 3D
Unfold 3D
Premiere
Premiere
Procreate
Procreate
CLIP STUDIO PAINT
CLIP STUDIO PAINT
Redshift
Redshift
Affinity Photo
Affinity Photo
DaVinci Resolve
DaVinci Resolve
Megascans
Megascans
Krita
Krita
Character Creator
Character Creator
3ds Max
3ds Max
R3DS ZWRAP
R3DS ZWRAP
After Effects
After Effects
Blender
Blender
Cinema 4D
Cinema 4D
DAZ Studio
DAZ Studio
Mari
Mari
Sculptris
Sculptris
Unreal Engine
Unreal Engine

Productions

    • Video Game
      Moonlighter 2: The Endless Vault
    • Year
      2025
    • Role
      3D Character Artist | 3D Generalist
    • Company
      Digital Sun
    • Video Game
      Tile Tales: Pirate
    • Year
      2024
    • Role
      Concept Artist | 3D Artist
    • Company
      NineZyme
    • Video Game
      Cataclismo
    • Year
      2024
    • Role
      Concept Artist | 3D Artist
    • Company
      Digital Sun
    • Mobile Game
      Pixelwoods – Color by number
    • Year
      2022
    • Role
      Character Concept Artist | 3D Artist
    • Company
      Beresnev Games
    • TV Production
      Star Darlings
    • Year
      2014
    • Role
      CG artist | 3D Artist
    • Company
      Disney

Experience

  • 3D Modeling Instructor | Senior Character Artist at Coco School
    Alicante, ES
    September 2024 - Present

    Teaching a course on 3D Modeling and Character creation for games and cinema.

  • Senior 3D Character Artist | 2D Concept Artist at NineZyme
    Remote Job, EE
    February 2019 - Present

    Responsible for the visual development of the characters, including concepts, lookdev and game-ready 3D models (full pipeline).

    Creating 3D props and environment assets.

    Level design in Unity, setting up and decorating scenes, lighting, shaders, etc.

  • 3D Graphics Instructor at Vertex School
    Remote Job, US
    November 2019 - Present

    Creating a video course "Stylized Characters In 3D". Teaching a full game development pipeline of how to create a real-time game-ready 3D character from concept to sculpting, modeling, retopology, UV-mapping, texturing, rendering and final presentation for portfolio. More than 13.000 students enrolled.

  • Freelance 3D Character Artist at SEGA
    JP
    April 2019 - July 2019

    Creating 3D character models (full pipeline) for games

  • 2D/3D Artist at Digital Sun Games
    Valencia, ES
    April 2019 - January 2021

    Creating 2D concepts

    Modeling 3D Characters, props and environment assets for games

  • 2D/3D Character Artist at Beresnev Game
    Prague, CZ
    August 2019 - May 2020

    During the work on ‎Pixelwoods: Coloring & Decor game, I was responsible for creating the initial characters' concepts and 3D modeling of some of the characters

  • CG Artist | 3D Artist at Disney Publishing Worldwide
    Remote Job, US
    May 2014 - June 2016

    Creating 2D vector illustrations, assets and 3D models for Star Darlings franchise: accessories, special items, frames and borders, seamless patterns, symbols, etc.

    Creating vector versions of the characters and their musical instruments.

  • Illustrator | Designer at Macrovector
    Remote Job, SG
    January 2014 - March 2016

    Creating stock vector illustrations, design elements, icons sets, UI elements, characters, seamless backgrounds and designing templates and banners for wed, mobile apps, advertisement and publishing

  • Tutorial Instructor at Vectips
    Remote Job
    May 2016 - February 2021

    Creating text tutorials, teaching vector graphics in Adobe Illustrator (designing patterns, icons, logos, characters, etc.)

  • Tutorial instructor | Illustrator at Envato
    Remote Job, AU
    April 2013 - April 2019

    Creating characters, icons and patterns, designing handlettering and fonts, creating text tutorials and video courses teaching Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, Affinity Designer, Corel Draw, Glyphs, Fontself Maker and other software.

  • 2D game artist at i-Jet Media
    Chelyabinsk, RU
    January 2010 - January 2011

    Creating game assets, items, icons and environment elements for browser and mobile games