Aurel Manea

Multidisciplinary Technical Artist / Shader Artist / VFX Artist / Rendering Specialist / Photographer&Videographer / Generative AI Specialist

Country: Romania
Email: aurelm@gmail.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/manea-aurel-7775421

I am a highly experienced technical artist, shader artist, and rendering specialist with a strong background in
both traditional and cutting-edge technologies. In this CV, I have chosen to begin with key achievements that
I consider essential to understanding my profile, followed by my professional career timeline.

Key Achievements

• First Romanian VR Application
  I developed the first Romanian VR application that combined my skills in photography, 3D, and
  development. It was created in under three weeks, during which I taught myself Unity and the necessary C#.
  Typically, I learn just what I need for a project, then move on and forget the rest. Review of the app (10 years
  ago): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTjPjjyvpKM&t=121s&ab_channel=Otonka
  Key Skills
  Adaptability across challenges and disciplines , very technical and creative at the same time
  Experimented with hundred of AI tools and adapt and use as needed the best one for the job and always keeping
  up-to-date
• Pioneer in Generative AI
  I was among the very few experimenting with generative AI before it became mainstream, starting in 2021
  with Disco Diffusion and early beta Stable Diffusion. This early edge in AI tools, including technical mastery
  of platforms like ComfyUI and LoRA training, has brought me national and international media attention.
  Example: https://petapixel.com/2022/08/16/these-are-not-photos-beautiful-landscapes-created-by-new-ai/
• Viral Creative Work
  My creative work has led to several viral videos, including what became the most viral video ever in
  Romania, one featuring a local celebrity where I trained the models and voice, generated music, wrote the
  text myself, also trained a model on myself also. The viral video became a sensation and it was covered and
  also I was invited on a lot of television stations and picked up by the whole press.
• First Mobile SSAO Shader
  I developed the first mobile Screen Space Ambient Occlusion shader fast enough to run on phones.
  https://aurelm.com/2014/08/16/ssao-for-the-masses/
• Universal Prototyping Shader
  Created a 3ds Max prototyping shader used worldwide. https://aurelm.com/envo/
  https://polycount.com/discussion/100187/envo-realtime-environment-shader-for-3d-studio-max
• Strong Lighting & Artistic Vision

Informed by extensive experience in photography and video: https://aurelm.com/
Speaker about AI at DevPlay in Romania in 2023
https://dev-play.ro/speakers/aurel-manea/

Created the Stable Diffusion (since I was beta tester) facebook group now called “Open Source
AI Multiverse “, the biggest group for open source AI and generally one of the biggest for AI.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/stablediffusion

Professional Career Timeline
Fortis Games – Senior Technical Artist / GFX Artist
September 2023 – March 2025 – Bucharest, Romania

• Unity shaders development
• VFX creation
• AI integration in company workflows
• AI research and development

Gameloft – 18 years 8 months – Bucharest, Romania
Senior Technical Artist (Nov 2021 – Sep 2023) / 3d Technical Director (Nov 2019 – Nov 2021) / Lead 3d Artist (2008 – 2019) / 3d Artist (2005 – 2008)

• Shaders for environment, postprocessing, Unreal blueprints
• Generative AI for concept art (weapons, characters, environment) using Stable Diffusion, Midjourney
  3D Technical Director (Nov 2019 – Nov 2021)
• Supervised technology in the 3D rendering pipeline
• Provided technical solutions for visual requirements
• Prototyped new technologies
• Oversaw 3D art department
• Shader writing, materials, scripting, GFX
  Studio Lead 3D Artist (Feb 2008 – Nov 2019)
• Managed 3D arts department
• Supervised visual quality of the Bucharest studio
• Shaders, postprocessing, GFX development
  3D Artist (Feb 2005 – Feb 2008)
• 3D modeling
• Tool and engine development
• Technical advice
  
  
• Technical advice
  
  

Games worked on at Gameloft:

• Gangstar: New York (PC) – Senior tech/VFX artist (Unreal Engine materials, postprocessing, weather
  system, day/night cycle, car damage system)
• Asphalt Streetstorm (Mobile) – Studio lead 3D artist (GLSL shaders, postprocessing, visual supervision)
• Modern Combat 5 (Mobile) – SSAO shader (first performant SSAO for mobile, presented at GDC),
  postprocessing
• The Dark Knight Rises (iOS/Android) – Lead technical artist (shader systems, special FX)
• N.O.V.A. 3 (Mobile) – Lead technical artist (shader & GFX dev, tools, tech supervision)
• N.O.V.A. 2 / N.O.V.A. 1 / Terminator 4 / Shrek Karting (iPhone) – Modeling, tool & engine development,
  technical supervision
• Asphalt 4 (iPhone) – Supervision, technical advice
• Ferrari Challenge (iPhone) – Engine development, technical artist, modeling, GFX
• Wild West Guns (Wii) – Lead 3D artist, engine development, modeling, animation, GFX
• Assassin’s Creed: Altair’s Chronicles (DS) – Lead 3D artist
• Brothers in Arms (DS) – Lead 3D artist
• Brothers in Arms 3D (Vcast) – Lead 3D artist
• Vijay Singh Pro Golf 2005 3D (Vcast) – 3D artist

Image Promotion – Graphic Designer / 3D Artist
August 2000 – November 2004

• 3D work for commercials, TV shows, printed advertising, web design
  Skills
  Advanced gen-ai skills and a time advance being one of the first to early adopt
  Unity, Unreal Engine, GLSL, C#, Blueprints
  Shader writing, material systems, VFX, rendering
  AI tools: Stable Diffusion, ComfyUI, LoRA training
  3D modeling, pipeline supervision
  Advanced photographic lighting & composition

Education
Romanian-American University