Wes Cockx’s Bold Geometry and Experimental Motion + Using Redshift on Render Network
Render Network Foundation grant recipient, Wes Cockx (aka Wes Cream) is a Brooklyn-based creative director known for crisp, abstract 3D design and experimental Redshift-driven motion work. He specializes in creative design systems and digital animation, and through his studio CREAM3D he has collaborated with leading tech companies including Microsoft, Google DeepMind, Meta, and Apple. His visual style pairs bold color gradients with hyper-real materials in striking geometric compositions — a signature look that feels both playful and precise.
He’s passionate about exploring new visual styles, techniques, and software to push the boundaries of every project. Whether it’s concepting a branding system or crafting an abstract animation, Wes embraces an iterative R&D process — continually experimenting with materials, shaders, and motion to discover fresh creative possibilities. His personal experiments (like the recent “COLLECTED — Explorations” series released on Behance) exemplify this exploratory approach, blending Cinema 4D, Houdini, and Redshift to build evocative digital visuals.
In 2025, Wes also began tapping the Render Network to speed up his Redshift rendering workflow, which lets him tackle more complex scenes without local hardware bottlenecks. And after years of being asked about mentorship, he just launched a Patreon tier to offer one-on-one guidance in design, animation, workflow, freelancing, and career development. From balancing high-profile client projects to self-driven passion projects, Wes remains motivated by a love of experimentation and a desire to share his expertise with the next generation of digital creators.
Q&A with Wes Cockx
Your work is highly experimental and exploratory. Can you walk us through your approach when starting a new self-initiated design experiment or R&D project? What sparks your ideas, and how do you go about pushing into unfamiliar creative territory?
I don’t follow a strict workflow when starting personal projects — these explorations usually begin with a simple idea or technique. From there, it becomes about pushing that idea into something unique and finding a way to bring it to life through motion.
Inspiration can come from anywhere. I’m lucky to live in Brooklyn, and in a city like New York, there’s something visually interesting around every corner. I usually carry a camera with me to capture quick references — materials, colors, textures, or anything that catches my eye.
You’re known for crisp geometric abstractions and intricate material R&D in your renders. What draws you to those geometric forms, and what drives the extensive material and shader development behind your signature style?
I have a lot of respect for artists who create hyper-realistic CGI — where only the smallest details give away that it’s not a photo. But personally, I approach my work with the mindset that ‘reality is boring.’ I’ve always been drawn to abstract realism and minimalism.
I love taking simple, primitive shapes and giving them depth through Materials — using real-world lighting and subtle imperfections to make viewers question whether what they’re seeing is real.
I bring that same philosophy to how I create materials. I like breaking the rules — connecting the nodes the manual tells you not to, just to see what happens. I often mix material properties that can’t coexist in real life, but together they create something unexpected and uniquely engaging.
After years of people asking, you recently launched a Patreon mentorship tier. What made you decide to start offering one-on-one mentorship now, and what do you hope to provide your patrons (and perhaps learn yourself) through that experience?
I expect most of the questions will revolve around technical or 3D-specific topics, but what I really felt was missing when I was starting out as a designer was guidance on everything that happens outside the creative process. Things like managing projects, working with clients, navigating the freelance world, and figuring out how to build a sustainable, long-term career.
These are the kinds of lessons that don’t show up in tutorials, but they’ve been just as important in shaping my path. Over the years, I’ve learned a lot — often the hard way — and I’m hoping to share some of that experience as well, especially with those who are just getting started.
Since English is my second language, I still sometimes find it challenging to clearly express my ideas or explain the thinking behind my work and workflow to clients or team members. While I’m eager to share knowledge, I also see this as an opportunity to grow and improve my communication skills along the way.
You’ve been leveraging the Render Network for some of your Redshift projects lately. What has your experience been like using a distributed GPU rendering service like the Render Network? Were there any notable breakthroughs it enabled for your workflow, or challenges in integrating it into your pipeline?
In short, it’s faster and more affordable than any other render farm out there. Over the years, I’ve tried several farms and had been sticking with one for quite a while — but I watched it become increasingly expensive and slower, while also falling behind on software version support.
As with any new farm, there was some initial trial and error to get things set up the way I needed, but after a few test scenes, everything ran smoothly. I was genuinely blown away by the speed and cost efficiency compared to traditional render farms. It’s opened the door for me to bring all of my personal work to life, including experiments with 60fps and complex, glass-heavy motion scenes.
You juggle big client projects with your own personal exploration series. How do you balance the demands of client work with time for self-directed experiments? Do the explorations help aid or feed into your client work creatively?
Most of the time, they do — I’m lucky that clients are drawn to my style and approach, rather than asking me to imitate someone else’s work. Over the years, I’ve built a solid library of personal projects that also serves as ongoing R&D. While I always strive to create something fresh, it’s incredibly useful to have that archive to pull from and share relevant references during early conversations with clients.
I’ve never been a fan of posting daily work on social media, where the focus often shifts from quality to quantity. I usually have a few personal projects in progress and work on them whenever time allows, but I’d rather take the time to finish them the way I want than to feel pressured to share something just for the sake of staying visible. The downside is that personal work often gets delayed for longer stretches when things get busy.
Even though your visuals are abstract, they often evoke a strong mood or atmosphere. When you craft these pieces, are you aiming to convey a specific story or emotion — or are you more interested in unique visual languages and uncovering something new and fresh with each iteration?
I often use visual metaphors in my work as a way to represent ideas that are typically intangible or difficult to visualize — like data, AI, or sound. I’m drawn to abstract interpretations because they allow room for emotion, ambiguity, and unexpected connections. Instead of trying to explain something literally, aiming to create visuals that evoke a feeling or concept, using form, texture, and motion to suggest what can’t be directly seen. It’s a way to make the invisible feel present — and to engage on a more intuitive, imaginative level.
Your projects frequently involve inventing new materials, shaders, and motion systems. Can you share a bit about your process for developing those technical and artistic elements? For example, do you start with real-world references and research, or is it more of a playful trial-and-error inside Redshift and/or Substance to get the look you want?
I’m definitely inspired by real-world references — materials, surfaces, lighting conditions — and I often pull elements from different sources, combining them in unexpected ways to create something unique that still feels familiar. It’s less about replicating reality and more about reimagining it.
My process usually begins with a simple foundation: I focus on establishing an overall look or mood by blocking out basic shapes and applying rough shaders to get a sense of how everything sits together. Once that’s in place, I start layering in detail — refining materials, adding subtle imperfections, and gradually building complexity. It’s always a balance between reference-driven decisions and playful trial-and-error, which often leads to results I didn’t plan from the start.
You’ve created several self-directed series (such as your Motion Playground and the Collected Explorations collections). How do you approach a personal series versus a client brief? Do you set specific constraints or themes for yourself when building a series, or do you prefer to let each exploration evolve organically?
Personal work is definitely more open-ended. I usually set some constraints and a general direction, but things often evolve in unexpected ways — especially when happy accidents occur. What I enjoy about commercial projects is the clear goal: solving a client’s problem. I try to recreate those conditions for myself in personal work as well. Of course, the constraints are much more flexible when working solo, and there’s no external feedback or fixed target keeping me on a specific path.
Now that you’re formally mentoring others, how important is the role of mentorship and teaching in your own creative life? Has guiding other artists one-on-one started to influence the way you think about your own work or given you a new perspective on design and animation?
These days, there’s an overwhelming amount of information, tutorials, and classes available online — and I’m constantly exploring them myself to keep learning and expanding my skills. But in my experience, the most meaningful learning has always come from working directly with other people. That’s where ideas are challenged, different perspectives come into play, and growth really happens. Now that I’m mentoring others, I’ve started to realize just how valuable that kind of interaction is — not just for the person being mentored, but for me as well. Guiding other artists has made me reflect more deeply on my own process and has helped me articulate ideas I used to just intuitively follow.
You often credit collaborators for music or sound design in your motion pieces. How does audio factor into your creative process? Do you design your visuals with a soundtrack in mind from the start, or add it afterward? And in general, how important is that interplay between sound and imagery for you?
I didn’t start experimenting with motion until well into my CGI career, but seeing my work come to life through movement was an incredible experience. That sense of excitement hasn’t faded — I still get amazed every time I receive the first draft of sound design for a piece. Sound design is incredibly powerful; it can enhance and emphasize the tone of a scene or even shift its entire mood. It adds a layer of emotion and personality that truly elevates motion work.
I’ve been fortunate to collaborate with Amedeo Inglese and his sound studio, Noi, for the past few years, and I couldn’t be happier with the results. He has an incredible talent for noticing details in a scene that I might have missed, adding that extra layer of personality and uniqueness. With commercial projects, there’s naturally more back and forth to align with the client’s vision, but our work on the Motion Playground is a true creative collaboration. I hand off the final motion, and he brings it to life with sound — with little to no interference from my side. While I often have sound concepts in mind, it’s always fascinating to see how he takes them in completely unexpected and compelling directions.
Looking ahead, are there any new tools, technologies, or creative challenges you’re excited to explore next? Where do you see your work evolving in the coming years, and are there any dream projects on the horizon that you’d love to pursue?
Houdini’s Copernicus network is the latest tool I’m excited to explore in my workflow. I rely heavily on Substance Designer and really enjoy using it, but I’ve always been disappointed by the lack of robust options for animating textures. While Copernicus is still in its early beta stage, I see a lot of potential in it and believe it could become a key part of my pipeline as it continues to develop.
Over the past few years, I’ve increasingly been working with my own team, taking on larger projects that often don’t allow for a solo approach due to bigger scopes and shorter timelines. While it’s still hard for me to stay hands-off — I love being directly involved in 3D and production = I’ve come to enjoy leading as a creative director and producer. Looking ahead, I hope to take on more team-based projects while still maintaining a healthy balance with solo work.
If you’ve been sitting on a big idea or, like Wes Cockx, are ready to take on larger projects — the Render Network Foundation invites you to submit a quick pitch for a grant to help bring your vision to life.
You can also enter Render Royale, our monthly contest where artists can win $5,250 in cash prizes, free Render credits, and the opportunity to showcase their work across Render Network’s platforms.
One winner will be selected from each render engine category: Blender Cycles, Redshift, and Octane Render.
June’s theme: Urban Utopias
Learn more about Render Royale at the link below.
