https://www.mjspad.ca/home daily 1.0 2026-03-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69ac86a4433afa7b3496d1ce/036c08e2-4ec3-4789-b89e-a90cda896d3b/personal_work_button.png https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69ac86a4433afa7b3496d1ce/389a7801-596b-4501-92b9-d9bbb5a01ccf/button_feature.png https://www.mjspad.ca/about daily 0.75 2026-03-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69ac86a4433afa7b3496d1ce/244c2f9b-d56b-4b62-af06-82d224603bd4/20240914_123653.jpg https://www.mjspad.ca/personal-work daily 0.75 2026-03-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69ac86a4433afa7b3496d1ce/485089c4-62ab-45ef-b537-3334edbfea5e/keyart_COMBINED4.jpg Personal Work Key Art for an indie game I am currently developing https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69ac86a4433afa7b3496d1ce/69d4b7e8-03de-429c-a621-a6c034f937be/LR_painting_v01+copy_Original.jpg Personal Work For this personal piece I was inspired by the book "14" by Peter Clines. In it, they describe a mysterious laundry room for an apartment building in LA. It is described as a laundry area with mismatched machines, damp, somewhat musty, fluorescent lights, exposed pipes and seems to hide more than it reveals. The sense of “something off” is part of the mood. There is a door that is overly locked that the main character is drawn to. I took some liberties but this art piece. In the book the laundry room is in the basement and there is no natural light. However for my concept I incorporated a direct evening sun light coming in from the window, to add some interest to the center area and contrast the fluorescent lights. I enjoyed the exercise of visualzing a set from a book. I recently have been reading quite a lot and I am excited to do it again from a different book. I started with a super rough sketch then put together my scene in blender. Then for the final image I painted over a render in Photoshop https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69ac86a4433afa7b3496d1ce/4090f37c-53fe-4414-bf71-b2be2e3c6430/painting_v11_small.jpg Personal Work I made this piece as an illustration for a Halloween story I wrote for my daughter. 3D base in Blender, painted in Photoshop https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69ac86a4433afa7b3496d1ce/8badd870-d6b9-4e02-bccd-9459e4ea3074/NWH_painting_v04+copy2FINAL.jpg Personal Work This painting was inspired by Nowhere House from the book "The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches" by Sangu Mandanna. I enjoyed that book very much, a mix between cozy and whimsical. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69ac86a4433afa7b3496d1ce/058cfef7-754c-4ecc-aae8-b5bbe49bcb34/london0.jpg Personal Work Here is a fun painting I recently finished. I started with a 3D base that I modeled in Blender, which I then brought in to Photoshop and painted over. I tried to push myself to use the lasso tool more than I am used to and I found that process quite enjoyable. The pigeons I think were my favorite part! I pushed the lighting and colors quite a bit for this for an "animated" look, and added subtle color variations everywhere https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69ac86a4433afa7b3496d1ce/d10b5a63-8f2a-4b6a-8d27-db655f7b5f5d/mj-venegas-spadafora-photo-2023-09-21-3-40-40-pm.jpg Personal Work Another personal piece, inspired by the artwork from The Last of Us. This time I did not have a thumbnail to start working from, instead I blocked out simple shapes in Blender until I found a composition I liked and then modeled for the camera. Some of the debris and textures are from Quixel bridge. I added quite a bit of paintover work in Photoshop. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69ac86a4433afa7b3496d1ce/d5208e95-d48c-44ea-8d70-71e70830946d/mj-venegas-spadafora-langley1.jpg Personal Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69ac86a4433afa7b3496d1ce/7eb06ed5-554e-4df7-a11b-fb22c186ae94/garage_v03_painting_v04+copy0.jpg Personal Work I've been very much into sci fi thrillers and wanted to capture something along the vibes of shows like Fringe, but a little more retro. My self assigned brief is this little story below: In a snowbound garage turned lab a retired professor spends his days surrounded by haphazardly built machines and intricate research. Years ago, his wife vanished in what was ruled a tragic accident (*notice the Severance influence*), but he’s certain she wasn’t lost, only misaligned. Through a mix of forgotten physics and untested theories, he believes he's found echoes of her. Maybe residual patterns or resonance trails; proof that she exists in a nearby dimension, one that is slightly out of sync with ours. As usual, I modeled everything in Blender and painted in Photoshop. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69ac86a4433afa7b3496d1ce/a89ae624-0d16-43af-9653-c05c051ea444/comp9+copy.jpg Personal Work This is my latest personal piece, I had so much fun with this one. I started building the environment on Sketchup to get the overall measurements right, then I worked the rest of it in Blender. I used some of Quixel and Textures.com for surfacing. I rendered using Cycles with passes and then painted over in Photoshop The lighting was inspired by the work of cinematographer Lawrence Sher on The Joker. Additional reference was the work of Silvia Mingolla. https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69ac86a4433afa7b3496d1ce/df66d19a-ab31-48ce-a710-edfc05c976bf/mj-venegas-spadafora-highresscreenshot00006.jpg Personal Work First time I started playing with Unreal Engine (5). It was new and fun! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69ac86a4433afa7b3496d1ce/c276895a-865e-42b9-9f26-f7f78de7fe54/mj-venegas-spadafora-building-front-design03.jpg Personal Work Project made for CGMA's Fundamentals of Design https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69ac86a4433afa7b3496d1ce/f18d23f1-25d6-4186-a0e6-0f84c84d49f0/mj-venegas-spadafora-desktop-design01-copy+%281%29.jpg Personal Work Project made for CGMA's Fundamentals of Design https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69ac86a4433afa7b3496d1ce/fd7b1dc0-ccf3-409e-92bc-f4856ed970b6/mj-venegas-spadafora-box-design.jpg Personal Work Project made for CGMA's Fundamentals of Design https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69ac86a4433afa7b3496d1ce/9f206703-fcb8-4b9b-ab51-50a70cf5da07/mj-venegas-spadafora-scooter-painting-v03-copy.jpg Personal Work A stylized scooter cart design I made for fun. I made a few 2D sketches, then I chose one and modeled it in Blender. I added some surfacing in Blender as well but later I painted over and added details in Photoshop https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69ac86a4433afa7b3496d1ce/1d04d7fc-e2f6-4294-9cb6-bc36199dec27/trunk_v02+copy.jpg Personal Work A compilation so far of a daily practice. My goal is to study from reference and incorporate design choices in the process. This way I am not merely copying pixels but also incorporating visual vocabulary and practicing stylization. It has been quite a fun process! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69ac86a4433afa7b3496d1ce/889cd276-5433-45c3-bd4f-033ec3fdb6a0/rocks_v02+copy.jpg Personal Work A compilation so far of a daily practice. My goal is to study from reference and incorporate design choices in the process. This way I am not merely copying pixels but also incorporating visual vocabulary and practicing stylization. It has been quite a fun process! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69ac86a4433afa7b3496d1ce/243c7b69-f160-4766-8aa8-41b48d8e370f/mushrooms_v02+copy.jpg Personal Work A compilation so far of a daily practice. My goal is to study from reference and incorporate design choices in the process. This way I am not merely copying pixels but also incorporating visual vocabulary and practicing stylization. It has been quite a fun process! https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69ac86a4433afa7b3496d1ce/f9bc1c6c-fbe2-41a4-bc5a-6d48eca8daa2/mj-venegas-spadafora-witch-house3.jpg Personal Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69ac86a4433afa7b3496d1ce/8c9990d6-b9d3-4166-8f5e-a9c54e50834e/mj-venegas-spadafora-coffee-shop0212.jpg Personal Work One of my favorite things to do is to go with someone to get coffee! I wanted to make a personal piece with a stylized and cozy feeling. After doing some exploration doodles on my sketchbook I did a very rough base on Blender and used that for the perspective reference. Then I refined the design and painted it in Photoshop https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69ac86a4433afa7b3496d1ce/378636c6-8f04-4b15-a0c7-f92416f980cf/mj-venegas-spadafora-night-stand.jpg Personal Work https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69ac86a4433afa7b3496d1ce/b3bfcb07-f5ec-4f43-8ecc-126e4afe6108/mj-venegas-spadafora-1000003535+%281%29.jpg Personal Work Part of my landscape studies series, Photoshop https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69ac86a4433afa7b3496d1ce/80deefff-8482-494d-be7d-298a049d0e97/mj-venegas-spadafora-plenairstudy4-v01-copy2+%281%29.jpg Personal Work Part of my landscape studies series, Photoshop https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69ac86a4433afa7b3496d1ce/0cec9102-fdbb-44f3-b971-2da5431820c8/mj-venegas-spadafora-plenairstudy15-v02-copy-alt2.jpg Personal Work Part of my landscape studies series, Photoshop https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69ac86a4433afa7b3496d1ce/23f12696-ac8f-4cdb-baa9-f5d542fe055d/mj-venegas-spadafora-tree-trunk-v06-copy.jpg Personal Work Part of my landscape studies series, Photoshop https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69ac86a4433afa7b3496d1ce/df4ea8af-4018-4dc9-aa31-e662c97b2049/mj-venegas-spadafora-viewpoint-v03-copy-1.jpg Personal Work Part of my landscape studies series, Photoshop https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69ac86a4433afa7b3496d1ce/3ad49f63-0e86-4820-916d-0241c3c54a34/mj-venegas-spadafora-mushroom-journal-copy-1-1.jpg Personal Work Part of my landscape studies series, Photoshop https://www.mjspad.ca/book-a-consultation daily 0.75 2026-03-08 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69ac86a4433afa7b3496d1ce/6a3c9b40-a22d-42c3-9986-a497332c9e83/mj+resume+%281%29_1.png https://www.mjspad.ca/personal-work-1-1-1-2 daily 0.75 2026-03-25 https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69ac86a4433afa7b3496d1ce/239928a3-68c8-49c7-b9cf-0d8654680429/key_Art_final.jpeg Whispers In The Steam https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69ac86a4433afa7b3496d1ce/cdc2dbbb-dbd3-47f8-b347-06ada651ad0c/asset_Design+copy.jpg Whispers In The Steam https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69ac86a4433afa7b3496d1ce/0ee3a1dc-f7a4-4cbf-a0c4-f57c62e2f2a2/asset_Design3+copy.jpg Whispers In The Steam https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69ac86a4433afa7b3496d1ce/c4f937cc-8ff1-4401-b044-5650a35681ba/BROOM.jpg Whispers In The Steam https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69ac86a4433afa7b3496d1ce/33450dfe-93ad-4f21-8b91-946047ad5411/sink_design_sheet+copy.jpg Whispers In The Steam https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/69ac86a4433afa7b3496d1ce/33c5ea20-a208-4df6-b7ed-23bb70a5b9c7/asset_Design4+copy.jpg Whispers In The Steam