A Jono Niko Studio Portfolio

A JONO NIKO STUDIO

ABOUT ME

Hello there! I'm Nikolai Jónasson, based in Matinkylä, Espoo, Finland. Renowned for my meticulous attention to detail and boundless passion across various creative spheres. I have successfully collaborated with esteemed clients such as the City of Tampere, Sisätila Design, Aalto University, Klikkaus Entertainment Group, and Caddyboo, consistently delivering projects on time and exceeding expectations.

My proficiency spans both traditional and digital mediums, allowing me to bring versatility and innovation to every project. With expertise in traditional art, print and digital design, as well as specialized skills in 3D Design, 3D Art, Animation, Illustration, Game Art, Graphic Design, and Logo Design, I am dedicated to infusing enthusiasm, creativity, and excellence into each endeavor.

A JONO NIKO STUDIO / Nikolai Jónasson

EMPLOYMENT HISTORY

3D Designer

Caddyboo | iCleanic Estonia | Hong Kong

Jul 2021 - Jan 2024 • 2 years 7 months

Logo Designer

Klikkaus Entertainment Group Espoo, FI

Jul - Aug 2021, Jan - Mar 2022, May - Oct, Dec 2023 • 1 year

DIGITAL SKILLS

Illustrator

Sisätila Design & Interior Architecture Helsinki, FI

Jul - Dec 2019 • 6 months

PROFESSIONAL SKILLS

EDUCATION

Master of Science, Digital Media Design

The University of Edinburgh Scotland, UK

Sep 2022 - Ongoing • 120 / 180 Credits

Bachelor of Culture and Arts, Media

Tampere University (TAMK) Tampere, FI

Aug 2017 - Nov 2020 • 245 / 240 Credits • GPA 4.39 / 5

LANGUAGE SKILLS

Caddyboo • 3D Designer

Nov 2023

Promotional visuals featuring a lifelike version of the Caddyboo mascot made for the product and social media pages.

Using Blender, I sculpted a realistic base head, maintaining the mascot's facial features. By applying the mesh-to-MetaHuman technique, I created a fully posable, lifelike character. This streamlined process enables easy posing, animation, and rendering in Unreal Engine, enhancing marketing visuals. Additionally, it provides customers with a scale reference for each product.

Product Design: François Hurtaud 3D Design: Nikolai Jónasson

Caddyboo • 3D Designer

Jun 2023

Created ahead of the Apple WWDC 2023 event, this 3D illustration accurately portrays the new Apple Vision Pro product for Caddyboo's website article "Caddyboo Revolutionizes Shopping Experience With AR Technology And Apple's Participation In WWDC2023".

I posed my original 3D character mascot for Caddyboo and refined the lighting on June 2nd 2023. The Vision Pro 3D model was modelled on June 3rd based on Apple rumours, leaks, and patents. The focus remains on showcasing Caddyboo lifestyle products, utilizing the very same AR-viewable models I worked on previously.

3D Design: Nikolai Jónasson

• Closeup with wireframe preview • Adobe After Effects (layered motion paths)

Caddyboo • 3D Designer

Apr 2022 - Nov 2023

During my employment at Caddyboo, I spearheaded a photorealistic virtual photography series for the brand. This involved leveraging 3D image compositing and rendering techniques using Adobe Photoshop and Blender Cycles.

The primary challenge revolved around seamlessly integrating hyperreal 3D product models with in-house or royalty-free stock images. Achieving a flawless match in terms of lighting and scale proved to be particularly demanding.

3D Design: Nikolai Jónasson

02

ECA • Student

Feb 2023, Apr 2023

My original Bulb Bot character 3D model that features heavily in my short animation "Guiding Light" made during the Digital Playgrounds for the Online Public course at the University of Edinburgh.

The short explores the story of a bulb bot's longing to escape the repetitive routines of an automated life in the miniature prototype world of tomorrow. The stylistic approaches to the visuals and animation, which I aimed to replicate (hand-made miniatures and stop-motion), support the recurring themes of control, automation, and reflection.

Idea: Nikolai Jónasson

3D Art: Nikolai Jónasson

Caddyboo • 3D Designer

Nov 2022

Editorial 3D illustration (multi-seasonal) for Caddyboo's website article "Guide: How To Build A Sustainable Relationship With Flowers + Tips On How To Extend The Life Of The Cut Flowers" centred around FloweRescue (Finland).

I developed a custom female mascot and Wabi Sabi- inspired cozy interior. This approach maintains brand consistency across diverse article themes while optimizing time and resources.

Article: Ksenia Saburova

3D Art: Nikolai Jónasson

A Jono Niko Studio • 3D Artist

Feb 2024

My submission titled "Gloved Maestro" for the "Eternal Ascent" International 3D Community Challenge organized by Clinton Jones (Pwnisher).

Making my debut in the renowned 3D Artist / VFX challenge series, I brought my original pianist character to life in a unique way. Embracing minimalism and featuring a sentient glove, my submission in the "puppet" category aimed to replicate the appearance and motion of stop-motion animation.

Dec 2023

Entitled "Niko & Jono’s Electric Piano Chest", this project melds Victorian Era aesthetics with cutting-edge technology reminiscent of the late 19th to early 20th century. It presents a conceptual interactive device comprising a modular piano, camera projector, holographic fog screen, and drone, tailored to the requirements of traveling musicians.

Advanced modeling, rigging, texturing, and animation were handled in Blender, with sound design in After Effects. Lighting, VFX (Niagara), rendering (Lumen), and node-based programming (Blueprint) were executed in Unreal Engine 5.3. Find a brief preview and breakdown in my screencast on the following page.

Idea: Nikolai Jónasson

Animation: Nikolai Jónasson

Caddyboo • 3D Designer

Oct 2021

This Halloween-themed 3D animation unfolds in a witch’s kitchen, featuring a seamless long take sequence, focusingon a Caddyboo golf towel, a key-adorned Charm, and a pumpkin with the logo.

Caddyboo showcased this three-partanimation in both story and reel formats in October 2021, and it continues to be one of their most-watched reels.

Idea: Nikolai Jónasson

Animation: Nikolai Jónasson

Caddyboo • 3D Designer

Feb 2023

In this editorial illustration for Caddyboo's website, I feature François Hurtaud, a respected Industrial Designer crucial to Caddyboo's product designs. Using Adobe Illustrator, I created a stylized digital portrait of François, enhancing it with a subtle halftone effect to emphasize facial features. My goal was to capture his likeness and add dynamism with a threeview head turn, resulting in an engaging portrayal.

Article: Rosie Beech

2D Illustration: Nikolai Jónasson

Caddyboo • 3D Designer

Jan 2022

Anime-inspired Ghibli-like editorial illustration for Caddyboo's website article "Introducing An Innovative Approach To Tackle The Plastic Ocean Pollution" centred around River Cleaning (Italy).

The illustration depicts hands protecting a fish from pollution, the ripples form the shape of the Caddyboo logo.

Article: Ksenia Saburova

2D Illustration: Nikolai Jónasson

Sisätila • Illustrator

Jul - Dec 2019

I created three digital murals, "2nd Life", "3rd Element", and "4th Dimension", serving as floor level indicators in the I-wing stairwell at A Grid Aalto University campus. Each mural, measuring 6.1 by 1.8 meters, features a distinct art style and color palette tailored to the companies and startups at A Grid.

Each illustration is also brought to life through animation in Mobile AR ( via platforms like Artivive and Onirix ).

Client: A Grid (Aalto University)

Supervisor: Sebastian Sandelin

Illustration: Nikolai Jónasson

Printing: FinStudio Systems OY

• The mapped location of the murals at A Grid

• I helped Sebastian Sandelin conceptualize the grid-focused event space interior, now integral to the A Grid campus

Nov 2018 - May 2019, Sep - Oct

2019, Jan - Mar 2020

I was responsible for creating all major 2D and 3D assets for the game, as well as designing the logo and main mascot. The mascot interacts with well-known Finnish landmarks, and I also designed ten learning cards that double as image targets for the Globi-Kamu Mobile AR game.

The City of Tampere distributed 400 Globi-Kamu cards to kindergartens in the area.

Client: City of Tampere

Company: City of Tampere

Game Artist: Nikolai Jónasson

• Three featured card designs, with the 7th design featuring the stone man statue, following official approval by VR Group

Prakticum • Game Artist

May - Aug 2021

I led the initial stages of the Prakticum Virtual Learning Project 2021, concentrating on developing a 3D depiction of the complete Prakticum campus tailored for the Altspace VR platform.

Employing a stylized, low-poly technique, I fine-tuned the project to align with Altspace VR’s specifications, ultimately reducing the polygon count to just 56,372 faces. The 3D environment adhered to building floor plans and reference images.

Client: Prakticum

Game Artist: Nikolai Jónasson

ECA • Student

Mar 2023

Created under the "A Jono Niko Studio" brand, this short third-person survival horror platform game is a modern adaptation of Charles Perrault's tale "Bluebeard (Barbe Bleue)" (1697).

I developed the game independently in Unity within just a month (March 2023), leveraging a fully modular asset approach for efficient real-time processing. Inspired by Nintendo and Supercell games, the project stays faithful to the original narrative while enhancing the gameplay experience.

Game Developer: Nikolai Jónasson

ECA • Student

Nov - Dec 2022

I designed the CRED website by creatively manipulating basic template elements, ensuring a seamless experience across desktop and mobile. The site adopts a futuristic narrative, portraying life in Shanghai in the year 2146. The CRED brand remains central, with the logomark featured prominently in the customized Bootstrap NavBar and as a grey Favicon for brand consistency. A text typing animation adds a dynamic touch, highlighting the contrast between technology and nature .

• The idea behind the names of the hybrid coins is further emphasized on the website using a customized Bootstrap carousel

• I made use of the basic flip card expression by adjusting the rotation axis to present the different cards on their page

GEOLOGICA

The chosen design approach highlights minimalism, modernity, dynamism, and playfulness, aiming to capture authenticity through a loose, doodle-like interpretation of the "ECA" initials. This method ensures the logo stands out while remaining recognizable across different scales, accommodating both print and digital media. Considering the diverse art and design disciplines of Edinburgh College of Art, a less formal and abstract strategy was adopted. The resulting logo maintains a minimal yet dynamic appearance, crafted for easy recognition. Its adaptability facilitates diverse marketing and communication strategies across various faculties and disciplines, including animation.

Thin Regular Bold Black

Client: Edinburgh College of Art

Company: The University of Edinburgh

Designers: Nikolai Jónasson and Katie Marsden

LOMBOK

The Hackot.fi logo captures movement and playfulness with stylized characters symbolizing the process of moving belongings. Each character's distinct physique and expression are designed for visual impact, while their recognizable silhouettes allow for engaging animations. The characters vocalize "HA" and "KOT", showcasing teamwork as they handle furniture and boxes.

Client: Ricky Carranza

Company: Klikkaus Entertainment Group

Designer: Nikolai Jónasson

MONTSERRAT

The FRIFF logo intricately blends isometric illustrations of Florence's landmarks, including Palazzo Vecchio, the Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore, and the iconic statue of Michelangelo's David.

It captures Florence's essence while emphasizing the romance theme of the film festival which is held annually in Spring / Summer.

Client: Ricky Carranza

Company: Klikkaus Entertainment Group

Designer: Nikolai Jónasson Thin Regular

FUTURA PT COND

Seifup aimed to specialize in internet and computer safety as a startup company. The logo depicts two hands reaching out, forming the capital "S" and symbolizing support in both adult-to-child and child-toadult directions. The Seifup logo and logotype maintain full readability even when rotated 180 degrees. These elements significantly enhance the logo's functionality, holding power, and visibility. Futura PT text type was exclusively chosen for its visual and thematic alignment with technology.

Light Book Medium

Bold

Client: Helmer Viinikka

Company: Oy VHV Smart Secure Ab

Designer: Nikolai Jónasson