Hi! I’m Jackson Popiel, a multidisciplinary 3D designer, CG generalist, and creative technologist with a background in pre-visualization, Unreal Engine, technical art, AI R&D, video production, design, and hands-on fabrication.
I studied for my BFA in 3D Animation and Visual Effects at the School of Visual Arts, where I focused heavily on Unreal Engine, real-time workflows, virtual production, and the bridge between technical problems and visuals. During and after school, I worked at The Artery VFX on a range of commercial, immersive, and experimental projects, including Mercedes-Benz commercial work, DoorDash ads, Apple Vision / VR previs, XR museum exhibits, and internal AI-driven digital human R&D.
A lot of my work lives in the space between art and pipeline. I’ve handled raw CAD and vendor assets, optimized heavy production files, processed camera tracking and matchmove data, built Unreal Engine previs scenes, created shaders and materials, prepared assets for Nuke and compositing workflows, and developed experimental AI systems using MetaHumans, Python, Blueprints, voice transcription, and real-time facial animation.
Outside of VFX, I also have a strong background in carpentry, construction, furniture, kitchen and bath design, sculpture, ceramics, woodworking, and hands-on fabrication. I grew up around art, construction, design, and IT, so I’ve always been drawn to work that combines creative thinking with problem-solving.
More recently, I’ve worked in design consultation, STEAM education, and creative technology instruction, teaching students stop-motion animation, coding, robotics, 3D concepts, and moviemaking. I’m also developing my own enrichment program focused on bringing professional filmmaking and animation concepts into the classroom.
I’m interested in work that lets me combine my visual, technical, and hands-on background: real-time visualization, technical art, 3D design, video production, creative technology, fabrication, education, CAD/manufacturing-adjacent workflows, and anything that needs someone who can learn fast, solve weird problems, and make ideas look real.