With the revival of GarageFarm’s monthly newsletter, the 3D Art Spotlight has returned to celebrate artists who push the boundaries of skill and creativity. For August 2025, we’re featuring the works of Felipe Pavani and Mike Laptev, two artists who transform ideas into stunning visuals through technical and artistic mastery.
Their latest projects showcase just how limitless 3D design can be: from hyper-realistic renders of mouthwatering desserts to sleek, nostalgic, and unique product visualizations.
Want to be featured in our upcoming issues? Keep reading to find out how!
Felipe’s collaboration with studio Blank for Brothers Desserts brought to life a full product line. From the creamy textures of ice cream to the soft crumbly cookies, each render looks so convincing it could tempt you straight off the supermarket shelf. His attention to detail, spending over 40 hours sculpting just one product, ensures that every bite looks as good as it tastes.
Mike’s project took a different route. What started as a Geometry Nodes experiment for a music visualizer evolved into a fully realized music player design. Balancing minimalism with a nostalgic touch, he created a sleek, functional-looking device, complete with tactile buttons. His final animation ties everything together in a way that feels both modern and timeless, with a great touch of vintage.
Felipe’s journey began in jewelry design in 2014 with the help of his late father, a goldsmith. Though his first steps in 3D came with Rhinoceros software, he eventually transitioned into the advertising world, producing 3D elements for campaigns. By 2020, with the mentorship of Andre Caputo, he shifted his focus to food visualization, a field he continues to thrive in today.
Mike’s roots lie in photography, where a single exhibition left a lasting impression and led to a career in product advertising photography for over a decade. Eventually, he felt the need to expand his skills and grew an interest in 3D. Although his first attempt and the first few months to several years were rough, he changed his approach into something more serious on his second attempt. In 2022, after moving countries, Mike pivoted to 3D visualization and motion design. His background as a photographer helped in his lighting, composition, and sense of realism in 3D, and the new and countless possibilities inspire Mike to keep moving forward.
Felipe drew inspiration from the work of his mentor Andre Caputo, Mike Campau, Erik Johansson, a Brazilian chef named Juliano Albano, and many more. This project in particular was heavily focused on the visuals of competitors and how they solved the relationship between the product image and packing design. Felipe’s favorite part of working on food-related visuals is the challenge of translating food into something irresistible and almost tangible through a digital medium. For him, it wasn’t just about reproducing the icecream, but to find the right balance between realism and appeal, the intersection where art, technology, and psychology meet.
“When I’m sculpting textures like creaminess, crunchiness, or the glossy shine of chocolate, I know that every small detail can trigger an emotional reaction in the viewer.” - Felipe Pavani
Mike, on the other hand, came into 3D from a background in photography, which greatly helped in creating CG projects. What began as a Geometry Nodes experiment evolved into a full product design animation when he decided to create the player itself after feeling that the experiment would be incomplete without the device. To balance modern minimalism with a nostalgic touch, he used blocky shapes with rounded corners and physical buttons, and purposely avoided including too much details and a cyberpunk aesthetic. Mike’s favorite part of the process for this project was creating the animation itself, watching his imagined device take shape.
“ There’s something almost magical about seeing a product, character, or scene you imagined come to life on screen. “ - Mike Laptev
For Felipe, the toughest stage was digital sculpting. Ice cream has a softness and irregularity that is hard to capture digitally. He overcame this by studying the physical product directly, photographing it, and translating those observations into procedural textures and sculpting until the result was indistinguishable from the real thing. He used Blender for modeling, which was refined in Cinema 4D with Redshift, and polished in Photoshop for the final lifelike finish.
Mike’s challenge was different: bringing all the elements together. While his music player project was planned as something fun and simple, balancing the device design, animation, and overall style required thoughtful refinement. The final result was well worth it, with a stunning animation of his imagined device, looking straight out of a professional, tech brand advertisement.
Felipe had tried many rendering services before but found GarageFarm to be “the most transparent, reliable, and fastest one out there.” In one case, GarageFarm rendered all 150 animation frames in just 5 minutes, saving him from potential delays and giving him more freedom to experiment with variations and lighting. Furthermore, since long render times were no longer an issue, Felipe felt free to test out more variations and experiments with lighting set ups and small details, which in turn allowed him to push the visuals further.
“I wouldn’t trade your service for any other. Thank you for being transparent and always assisting me whenever I have questions through your online support.” – Felipe Pavani
Mike had a similar experience, noting that GarageFarm’s speed and reliability made all the difference. The render farm’s speed in particular made a big difference during animation tests which gave Mike the freedom to experiment more without having to worry about long render times. Thanks to GarageFarm’s intuitive interface and add-on, integrating it with his workflow was fairly straightforward.
“Quick renders make it easier to stay focused on the process and keep a creative flow. When rendering takes too long, it limits your freedom to experiment.” – Mike Laptev
Felipe plans to expand further into food animation, a growing market with endless opportunities, while also studying how to integrate AI tools into his workflow to stay reliable and efficient, with consistent results.
Mike, meanwhile, is excited to continue exploring the endless possibilities of 3D. While product visualization remains his primary focus and where he will primarily grow as an artist, he’s eager to experiment with new directions and discover unexpected paths along the way.
Felipe and Mike’s experiences with GarageFarm.NET highlight how the right technology can empower artists to focus on their craft. Whether it’s Felipe spending hours perfecting the texture of jaw-dropping ice cream cookie, or Mike experimenting with procedural tools to design a one-of-a-kind music player, both artists were greatly helped by GarageFarm’s speed and reliability, and were able to bring their visions to life without compromise.
By removing rendering bottlenecks, GarageFarm gave them the freedom to refine, iterate, and deliver polished results that truly reflect their artistry. When asked on what advice they would give to other artists who might be considering a render farm for their projects, Felipe and Mike had this to say:
“Don’t see a render farm as just a backup solution for when your hardware can’t handle the job. See it as a creative tool that can expand your possibilities. Having the freedom to test more variations, refine details, and still deliver on time can make a huge difference in the quality of your work and the confidence you give to your clients. Do the test, explore the interface, ask for support, and see for yourself how GarageFarm can help you become more efficient with your deliveries. “ - Felipe Pavani
“When it comes to rendering animation, there’s no doubt that a render farm is insanely faster than relying on a personal computer. [...] Double-check your settings, and then just sit back and enjoy the speed!“ - Mike Laptev
To see more of Felipe Pavani and Mike Laptev’s work, view their portfolios or contact them below:
Felipe Pavani:
Instagram: ofelipepavani
Mike Laptev:
Instagram: mikelaptev
We are always looking for great artists to share their work, and that includes you! If you are interested, feel free to share your project, your process, and your story with us in this form.
You might be the next artist in our monthly spotlight and win free render credits!
Happy rendering!
