Vessel Forge

🎨💡 One of the biggest challenges for Technical Artists is effectively showcasing their work!

Many technically minded artists have strong skills, but their portfolios don’t communicate the full range of what they can do.

Grayson Cotrell’s Technical Art Mentorship isn’t just about improving your technical skills—you’ll learn how to review and present a portfolio for a career in the industry.

Explore his mentorship below 👇
https://vesselforge.com/services/technical-art-mentorship/

👉 Don’t just show in grayscale or as an isolated effect
🌍 Place it in an environment
🎮 Show how it works in a real-world game scenario
📖 Tell the story of the problem you solved

Context turns a technical demonstration into a compelling portfolio piece. Your portfolio shouldn’t just prove that something works; it should demonstrate how your technical and artistic skills come together.

These Vessel Forge Mentorship spots are open from June to July, and they’re filling fast!

Don’t miss out! Grow with professional support and sign up today with the link below 👇
https://vesselforge.com/mentorship/

You’ll get 1-on-1 guidance from experts who’ve contributed to AAA titles. Our mentors with availability include: Raouf Bejaoui, Dorottya Kollo, Edgar A. Martinez, Damon Woods, Maxim Dorokhov, Romain Jouandeau and Ted Mebratu! 🎮

With 5–20 years of experience, our mentors will help you level up your skills, refine your portfolio, and move closer to your dream career in the games industry. Keep an eye out for Grayson Cotrell’s, Ivanna Liittschwager’s, Jonathan Benainous’ and Jared Sobotta's mentorship availability in the months ahead. 👀

Take the next step in your game dev journey with guidance that makes a real difference at Vessel Forge! 🚀

In today's Mentee Spotlight, see Payton Odierno's amazing work prior to Vessel Forge!⚡️

Payton took our Lighting Art Mentorship with Ted Mebratu! Check out the mentorship with the link below:
https://vesselforge.com/services/lighting-art-mentorship/

Payton shares what his favourite thing about creating video game art is:
“The iterative phase, where you are constantly exploring different ideas and looks.”

🔦 We asked why he signed up for a Vessel Forge mentorship:
“The high-level team of mentors made me feel I would be able to learn a great deal.”

🎉 Celebrating our 1 Year Anniversary! 🎉

What an incredible first year for Vessel Forge! In 2025, Jonathan Benainous launched our first mentorship programs, inspiring artists to build the skills they need to chase their dreams. Today, we’ve grown to 13 mentorships led by 11 incredibly talented mentors…and we’re just getting started!

Meet our team and explore our mentorships below 👇
https://vesselforge.com/meet-your-mentors/

Thank you: Ivanna Liittschwager, Jared Sobotta, Grayson Cotrell, Damon Woods, Romain Jouandeau, Ted Mebratu, Edgar Martinez, Maxim Dorokhov, Raouf Bejaoui and Dorottya Kollo — for sharing your knowledge and passion with our community of artists. We couldn't do this without you! 🦾

A special thanks to ALL of our mentees! Your dedication makes Vessel Forge what it is. From start to finish, we couldn’t be prouder of your hard work! 🏅

Some unforgettable milestones:
🎉 Seeing our mentees hired at top studios including Naughty Dog, Respawn Entertainment and Tencent!
🌟 Connecting with our community at GDC (and soon to be Lightbox Expo!)
🎨 Teaming up with The Rookies for Meet Mat 5 and our GDC Mixer!
✨ License support from Adobe, ArtStation, SpeedTree, and Maxon!
🙏 ...and so many more reasons to celebrate!

We are honored to be part of our artists’ growth and development, and we are SO excited for what's in store this year. To see our latest updates, join our Discord server! It's open to all, and we'd love to get to know you:
https://discord.gg/pcPf6A5Pwt

Thanks to everyone else who has supported and followed us along the way. Let’s keep forging the future of art together!

In today’s Mentee Spotlight, see Pris Chng’s amazing work prior to Vessel Forge! 🎍

Pris, Associate Environment Artist at LightspeedLA, took Jared Sobotta’s Vegetation Art Mentorship! Take a look at the program with the link below 👇
https://vesselforge.com/services/vegatation-art_mentorship/

🌼 We asked Pris what he loves about creating game art:
“Bringing the most awesome stuff into living, breathing reality. I love the problem-solving that comes with creating art in a 3D space, and it's a thrill and a reward in itself to puzzle out the nuances of it every step of the way as you feel it come to life.”

🌿 Why Pris signed up for a Vessel Forge mentorship:
“To push the depths of my passion! I wanted to see how far I could take my love for environment art whilst confidently knowing I had the guidance of a mentor to help achieve my ambitions.”

🎉 We are heading to LightBox Expo 2026! 🎉

We’d love to meet you at our booth! LightBox Expo is an amazing event for anyone passionate about the entertainment industry. Learn from industry leaders, get inspired by world-class artwork and connect with studios and peers.

📅 October 23–25
📍 Pasadena Convention Center, California
👉 View our profile on the LBX website here: https://lightboxexpo.com/?post_type=participant&p=31533

Our founder and CEO, Jonathan Benainous, along with our other talented mentors and mentees, can’t wait to chat with you! We’ll also have some of our amazing mentees presenting at our booth! We’d love to connect and help you explore how Vessel Forge can support your journey in video game art.

Mark your calendars and join us at LightBox Expo! We will be sharing more news of all the exciting events we have planned soon!

Portfolio Advice 🎨

Lead Material Artist at Lightspeed L.A. and CEO of Vessel Forge, Jonathan Benainous, shares two key tips to make your portfolio stand out…context and presentation!

“Place your work in context. For instance, having material balls in your portfolio doesn’t tell us how everything comes together in an environment. By showcasing your materials in a scene, using blends, and presenting game-ready workflows and breakdowns, you show potential employers exactly the kind of work they’re looking for.”

A strong portfolio isn’t just about what you create—it’s about how you present it.

“Presentation is a skill in itself. Create clean thumbnails with strong lighting, thoughtful composition, and balanced saturation.”

Jonathan leads Environment Art, Material Art, and Career Coaching programs at Vessel Forge, helping artists push their work to a professional level!

Ready to level up your art? Explore our mentorships here:
https://vesselforge.com/meet-your-mentors/

✨ Sage Park’s Project Showcase LIVE on Discord + Q&A! ✨

Learn and get inspired by a talented 3D Artist at The Planar Danse!

📅 Thursday, May 28th, 9am PT | 11am CT | 12pm ET
📍 On our Live Stage Discord channel—Open to all!
👉 https://discord.gg/pcPf6A5Pwt

Sage will walk us through:
🛸 A visual breakdown of her "The Fallen TIE Fighter" project!
🔍 Behind‑the‑scenes insights into her process!
📘 Her experience as a Vessel Forge mentee!
🎮 Her journey in the games industry!

💬 Got questions? Send them in early through the live-stage-qa channel. We’re excited to have you join us and get behind the scenes of our mentees’ incredible work. See you there!

We interviewed Senior Environment Artist, Maxim Dorokhov, who leads our 3D Prop Art Mentorship!

In the Q&A, Maxim talks about how he got into games, his proudest work, how his mentorship will equip you with actionable skills and more!

Read his Q&A with the link below!
https://vesselforge.com/meet-3d-prop-art-mentor-maxim-dorokhov/

Here’s a sneak peek of how Maxim got to work on Stray! 🐈
“I came across a devblog by two guys building a game about a cat. I sent them an email with a link to my portfolio and a photo of my cat, offering help from both of us, and that’s how I got to work on Stray.”

Environment Artist and Vessel Forge Mentee, Sage Park, was interviewed by The Rookies!

In the interview, Sage reflects on her time taking our Environment Art Mentorship with Jonathan Benainous, and the “lightbulb” moments that transformed her art.

See the interview below 👇
https://www.therookies.co/blog/education/vessel-forge-environment-art-modular-workflow-systems

Inside, Sage discusses:
💡 How her mentorship with Jonathan transformed her workflow
🧩 How she learned to navigate the complexities of Unreal Engine and professional scene composition
🌎 The importance of relationships and systems over assets in environment art

We are super proud of her work and can't wait to see where the future takes her! If you want to take your environment art to the next level, check out our mentorship below:
https://vesselforge.com/services/environment-art-mentorship/