TL;DR: My creative journey began at twelve with Adobe Photoshop. What started as graphic design experiments eventually grew into a passion for visual storytelling. After earning my Associate's Degree and Certificate of Graphic Design, I stepped into the world of 3D art with Blender, where I discovered a love for creating cinematic environments and concept art. Along the way, I built an online art community, lost it overnight due to a platform suspension, and rebuilt from the ground up. Today, I focus on creating the work I love while using my platform to support and uplift other artists.
More details below...
THE BEGINNING
When I was twelve, my brother installed Photoshop onto my computer. Over the next several years, it was my entire creative outlet. Graphic design became a way to express myself and make others feel emotions as well as releasing my own. I created everything: video game cover art, logos, flyers, music cover art, and personal pieces. I even had the pleasure of freelancing for a while, working with some big musical artists both in my hometown and across the world. I went to and finished college with an associate's degree and consequent certificate in graphic design.
A NEW FRONTIER
In May 2024, I had decided to take up a new medium: Blender 3D. I became fascinated with the software and its possibilities. It felt infinite! Another hyper-fixation that came from it was that of environmental design and concept art. I watched hundreds of hours of online tutorials on how to create captivating environments and stunning scenes that told stories. I struggled my way through those tutorials until the results of my practice started to show.
@RIVALCLAY IS BORN
After I felt comfortable enough with Blender, I decided to create an art account on Instagram to document my progress and growth as an artist, as well as meet other creatives. Over the next year, I did just that; my style transformed over time, and I began to foster a small community of like-spirited creatives! I learned so much about the power of social media management and marketing. However, I also learned about the pitfalls of those things. As a hungry artist, I became obsessed with engagement metrics. If one of my artworks performed well, I felt amazing. When they didn't, I didn't. I began to get away from my original 3D environment work, and used my skills to make more "algorithm-friendly" content. Things that I knew would perform well. This burned me out more often and worse than I had ever felt up to that point. I was convinced the engagement was a measure of my worth as a creative. When I reached ~3,900 followers, tragedy struck.
@RIVALCLAY IS GONE
In July 2025, my Instagram page was suspended by a faulty AI that claimed my art had broken community guidelines along with tens of thousands of others. I was absolutely gutted. Up to that point, I had never given any thought to building up any other platforms like X or TikTok. I had accounts on those platforms, but seldom opened them. I appealed the decision, and was left in limbo. Without an audience, what was the point of making anything? I mulled over the regret of putting all of my eggs in one basket, and decided to take a break from creating anything at all. Nothing felt the same. Something I had put over a year into was gone without reason and I felt hopeless, bitter, and foolish. Over the next month and a half, I began to accept my new reality, and decided to blow the metaphorical dust off of Blender. And for the first time in what felt like months, I created for myself instead of others.
THE RETURN
When I returned to my original goal of creating 3D environments and concept art, my passion reignited. I began to post my new art on X, and they started to get some attention, but I no longer relied on it. I was creating without expectation, and without worry whether or not it would "perform." In September 2025, my Instagram was reinstated, but all of my prior works were flatlined on the algorithm, meaning I had zero motion. Even so, I was delighted to interact with all of my mutual creatives and community again! That was what I missed the most. I deleted most of my old content, and started a new chapter in my journey, one that carried my new philosophy of sticking to my roots and creating what I've always loved to. Since then, my Instagram page has eclipsed 80,000 followers and millions of views. My X page has also surpassed 16,000 followers as well! I now focus on hosting community events and art contests so I can promote as many small artists as possible with my platform, with my most recent contest gaining over 140 submissions in a week! There has never been a more important time in history for human art to be celebrated, cherished, and seen. I continue doing my part to this very day.
Thank you for taking the time to read my story (so far).