About William
WilliamTheThird is a natural-born artist whose journey began with pencil and pen sketches, clay sculptures, and paintings. With over a decade of experience, he seamlessly blends storytelling and digital artistry, creating compelling visuals that merge his deep-rooted artistic skills with modern design.
The surreal and far-ranging imagery that appears throughout the work of 3D artist William Willoughby III strikes the viewer with its balance of sophisticated conceptualizations of the future and imaginative, playful themes. Driven by a deeply personal philosophy, William believes that human life is an exploration of every possible perspective, with Earth serving as a filter for both positive and negative energy. This perspective, that we are energy in physical form, influences the dynamic interplay of light and dark, and the fusion of the familiar and futuristic that defines his work.
WilliamTheThird’s pull toward the visual arts began at age 4, starting with his love of sketching and fascination with the ability to create something from nothing. Even in high school, his personal commitment to art and the fulfillment it brings was evident, as he turned down his teacher’s offer to purchase a work of his for $500—a piece he still owns today.
This passion evolved into a mastery of digital art software like Photoshop, where William developed his signature photo manipulation techniques. His journey eventually led him into the world of 3D art, using Cinema 4D and Substance Designer to create his unmistakable blend of surrealism, futurism, and digital landscapes. His dedication to digital art also inspired him to build C4DCenter.com, a Cinema 4D asset library offering hundreds of free PBR materials and textures, which he released to enrich the digital art community.
WilliamTheThird’s work has gained significant recognition, with features on platforms such as Kitbash3D, Greyscalegorilla, New York Times, and Adobe. His innovative approach is evident in large-scale projects like his design for Dearly Beloved Cocktail Restaurant, where he crafted a monumental 40-foot 3D-printed statue as a bar centerpiece, merging architectural scale with artistic vision.
In his creative process, William merges futuristic themes with traditional imagery, creating a visual language that speaks to how our world evolves, retaining memories of the past while looking toward the future. His 3D illustrations, filled with vibrant landscapes and symbolic figures like ancient statues and skulls, explore the spectrum of human experience—sometimes bright and energetic, other times dark and introspective.
After founding William Willoughby Design Co., he found his surreal, future-facing style resonated with the world of crypto art, where he sells NFTs on Makersplace, with some pieces valued in the thousands. His dedication and unique voice in digital art led to recognition in the Substance Designer gallery on Behance twice in one month and a Render Competition win hosted by The Pixel Lab in 2020.
Just as he did as a child, William lets intuition and personal experiences guide his art, merging his thoughts on life and creativity into a deeply personal and continually evolving body of work. Through his art, he explores the infinite possibilities of human existence, pushing the boundaries of digital landscapes and surrealism in ways that are both universal and intimately unique.
