Ex-Insomniac artist on how cinematic lighting and cosy scenes shaped his art

Daniel Dana is a concept artist and illustrator working across film, TV, games, and advertising, and his work has that instantly readable, cinematic clarity studios look for. He’s currently collaborating with Terraform Studios, crafting bold environment concepts and keyframes that feel lived-in, atmospheric, and built for the screen.

Freelancing across entertainment, Daniel blends 3D and 2D in a way that feels practical rather than flashy. Photoshop and Blender sit at the core of his workflow, enabling him to block out complex 3D scenes before painting them with mood, texture, and story. The result is efficient, production-aware artwork that doesn’t lose its sense of drama. (Read our guides to the best 3D modelling software and best laptops for 3D modelling.)

Fantasy environments modelling in 3D — (Image credit: Daniel Dana)

Christmas in the City
“When the Christmas holiday season is approaching, I often feel the desire to make a piece like this one; something cosy, wintery, or perhaps possibly even romantic.”

The Hobbyist
“This piece was made with the intention of practising more cinematic lighting and composition. It was one of those ‘aha’ pieces for me early in my process of learning 3D.”

Rare Mineral Mines
“This one is an exploration of otherworldly shapes and forms. The environment was designed using an array of deform modifiers on terrain photoscans in Blender.”

Passage to Xibalba
“This piece was nominated for excellence in independent environment concept art by the Concept Art Association. It was awesome seeing it presented at the 2023 Concept Art Awards!”

This article originally appeared in ImagineFX. Subscribe to ImagineFX to never miss an issue. Print and digital subscriptions are available.

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Ian Dean is Editor, Digital Arts & 3D at Creative Bloq, and the former editor of many leading magazines. These titles included ImagineFX, 3D World and video game titles Play and Official PlayStation Magazine. Ian launched Xbox magazine X360 and edited PlayStation World. For Creative Bloq, Ian combines his experiences to bring the latest news on digital art, VFX and video games and tech, and in his spare time he doodles in Procreate, ArtRage, and Rebelle while finding time to play Xbox and PS5.

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