Etherion Designs
• Indie Games Partner
• Asset Publisher
.
© 2026 Etherion Designs Studio
• Indie Games Partner
• Asset Publisher
.
© 2026 Etherion Designs Studio
Featured in:
Featured in:
Patch note: everything looks better
Patch note: everything looks better
Patch note: everything looks better
Hi, I’m Justin, founder of Etherion Designs.
For 20 years, I’ve been pushing the boundaries of what’s possible at the intersection of art and technology. Now, I use that experience to help indie games reach their full potential.
I work alongside teams to refine their visuals, solve technical challenges, improve performance, and bring everything together into a more polished, cohesive experience for customers.
So if you’ve built something special and want to take it further, I’m your guy.
Hi, I’m Justin, founder of Etherion Designs.
For 20 years, I’ve been pushing the boundaries of what’s possible at the intersection of art and technology. Now, I use that experience to help indie games reach their full potential.
I work alongside teams to refine their visuals, solve technical challenges, improve performance, and bring everything together into a more polished, cohesive experience for customers.
So if you’ve built something special and want to take it further, I’m your guy.
Problems I've solved
Etherion Foliage Plugin
The Etherion Foliage Plugin is a self-funded plugin I took 2 years to develop alongside a team of programmers. It is a complete solution to foliage & blueprint interactivity for Unreal Engine, and has become the marketplace standard. I solved problems such as optimized tree-felling physics, destruction, procedural wind, harvesting, ambient particles & more.
Character Creation System
Over the past four years I have been iterating on a Character Creation kit for Unreal Engine. Earlier versions include the Goblin & Alien Character Creators. The current version in development provides a near-instantaneous way of turning morph targets from external programs into customizable widget sliders in-game.
Distant Shadows for Unity URP
Distant Shadows for URP is a Unity plugin I developed to bring realistic sun shadows to large open worlds. Unity's built-in shadows fade out after about 150 m, and pushing them further badly hurts quality and performance. My solution adds terrain, rock, building and tree shadows several kilometres into the distance, with a moving sun, at almost no performance cost. It is currently available for private purchase only.
Fish School System V2
I developed the fish school system with Unreal's Niagara & Blueprints as a way of providing schooling without costing as much as boids. It supports object avoidance, collision, custom fish animations, spline guidance, & fish attraction. With well over a thousand sales on the Fab marketplace, it has become the indie standard for Unreal Engine fish schooling.
LSD Simulator
I developed Spacedream early on the VR scene as the world's firs't VR Music Visualizer. After taking off at several music festivals, I explored the mashup between VR and Unreal Engine shaders with LSD Simulator. I still haven't found time to finish the game but it's a great example of the kinds of boundaries i can push with shader magic!
Problems I've solved
Etherion Foliage Plugin
The Etherion Foliage Plugin is a self-funded plugin I took 2 years to develop alongside a team of programmers. It is a complete solution to foliage & blueprint interactivity for Unreal Engine, and has become the marketplace standard. I solved problems such as optimized tree-felling physics, destruction, procedural wind, harvesting, ambient particles & more.
Character Creation System
Over the past four years I have been iterating on a Character Creation kit for Unreal Engine. Earlier versions include the Goblin & Alien Character Creators. The current version in development provides a near-instantaneous way of turning morph targets from external programs into customizable widget sliders in-game.
Distant Shadows for Unity URP
Distant Shadows for URP is a Unity plugin I developed to bring realistic sun shadows to large open worlds. Unity's built-in shadows fade out after about 150 m, and pushing them further badly hurts quality and performance. My solution adds terrain, rock, building and tree shadows several kilometres into the distance, with a moving sun, at almost no performance cost. It is currently available for private purchase only.
Fish School System V2
I developed the fish school system with Unreal's Niagara & Blueprints as a way of providing schooling without costing as much as boids. It supports object avoidance, collision, custom fish animations, spline guidance, & fish attraction. With well over a thousand sales on the Fab marketplace, it has become the indie standard for Unreal Engine fish schooling.
LSD Simulator
I developed Spacedream early on the VR scene as the world's firs't VR Music Visualizer. After taking off at several music festivals, I explored the mashup between VR and Unreal Engine shaders with LSD Simulator. I still haven't found time to finish the game but it's a great example of the kinds of boundaries i can push with shader magic!
A quick example of what i can do.
A quick example of what i can do.
Let's bring your game to 100%
Free Assessment
I play your game, dig into the build, and send you a rough outline of what needs the most work. You'll see where the biggest visual and performance wins are, and what they'll mean for your players.
The Plan
If you like what you see, I'll put together an in-depth plan: what we're fixing, how we'll fix it, who's working on it, and when it'll be done. You'll know exactly what you're getting before any work begins.
The Work
This is where your game levels up. I lead the art direction and personally handle the shaders, lighting and core polish, bringing in senior artists from my industry network where the scope calls for it.
Review & Release
We review everything together in-engine, refine until it's right, and ship it as an update your players will notice. Your game gets a second wave of attention.
Let's bring your game to 100%
Free Assessment
I play your game, dig into the build, and send you a rough outline of what needs the most work. You'll see where the biggest visual and performance wins are, and what they'll mean for your players.
The Plan
If you like what you see, I'll put together an in-depth plan: what we're fixing, how we'll fix it, who's working on it, and when it'll be done. You'll know exactly what you're getting before any work begins.
The Work
This is where your game levels up. I lead the art direction and personally handle the shaders, lighting and core polish, bringing in senior artists from my industry network where the scope calls for it.
Review & Release
We review everything together in-engine, refine until it's right, and ship it as an update your players will notice. Your game gets a second wave of attention.
Portfolio
Showreel
Showreel
Showreel
Take a quick look at some of the characters, environments, props, and worlds I’ve brought to life.
Take a quick look at some of the characters, environments, props, and worlds I’ve brought to life.
Take a quick look at some of the characters, environments, props, and worlds I’ve brought to life.
FAQ.
FAQ.
FAQ.
Got questions? We’ve got answers. Here’s everything you need to know about working with us.
Got questions? We’ve got answers. Here’s everything you need to know about working with us.
Got questions? We’ve got answers. Here’s everything you need to know about working with us.
With over 20 years spent at the intersection of technology and art, I bring proficiency across the full pipeline: concept and sculpting, hard-surface modelling, rigging and animation, texturing, materials and shaders, lighting, particle effects, Blueprint scripting, and performance profiling. Shaders and lighting remain my strongest focus and greatest passion, as they consistently have the most significant impact on how a game looks and feels.
Just before, or shortly after launch is when visual polish has the biggest impact on reviews, wishlists and sales. But I can join your team any time, so long as your game is still active or in production. If you’re unsure, reach out and I’ll see where I can help.
No. Your game’s identity is yours. My job is to find what’s already great about it and bring that out further, fixing what’s holding it back rather than replacing it with something else.
I do. I stay directly involved throughout the entire process, handling art direction, shaders, lighting, performance and implementation. When the scope calls for it, I bring in senior artists and connections I trust, so every creative and technical decision stays in experienced hands from start to finish.
Absolutely! I’m happy to let you inspect the work I do. Just reach out and I can send you some samples!
Unreal Engine is my specialty, with two decades of experience using it in production. I also have strong experience with Unity & have dabbled in Cry-engine. The underlying principles of real-time rendering are largely the same across all of them, which makes it straightforward for me to drop into your project.
Yes, in fact I prefer it. I enjoy working closely with a team to improve the overall visual quality of a game, whether that’s refining shaders and post-processing, fixing performance bottlenecks, or identifying the small changes that make the biggest visual impact. That kind of focus usually requires full-time attention until the job is done.
Yes.
With over 20 years spent at the intersection of technology and art, I bring proficiency across the full pipeline: concept and sculpting, hard-surface modelling, rigging and animation, texturing, materials and shaders, lighting, particle effects, Blueprint scripting, and performance profiling. Shaders and lighting remain my strongest focus and greatest passion, as they consistently have the most significant impact on how a game looks and feels.
Just before, or shortly after launch is when visual polish has the biggest impact on reviews, wishlists and sales. But I can join your team any time, so long as your game is still active or in production. If you’re unsure, reach out and I’ll see where I can help.
No. Your game’s identity is yours. My job is to find what’s already great about it and bring that out further, fixing what’s holding it back rather than replacing it with something else.
I do. I stay directly involved throughout the entire process, handling art direction, shaders, lighting, performance and implementation. When the scope calls for it, I bring in senior artists and connections I trust, so every creative and technical decision stays in experienced hands from start to finish.
Absolutely! I’m happy to let you inspect the work I do. Just reach out and I can send you some samples!
Unreal Engine is my specialty, with two decades of experience using it in production. I also have strong experience with Unity & have dabbled in Cry-engine. The underlying principles of real-time rendering are largely the same across all of them, which makes it straightforward for me to drop into your project.
Yes, in fact I prefer it. I enjoy working closely with a team to improve the overall visual quality of a game, whether that’s refining shaders and post-processing, fixing performance bottlenecks, or identifying the small changes that make the biggest visual impact. That kind of focus usually requires full-time attention until the job is done.
Yes.
With over 20 years spent at the intersection of technology and art, I bring proficiency across the full pipeline: concept and sculpting, hard-surface modelling, rigging and animation, texturing, materials and shaders, lighting, particle effects, Blueprint scripting, and performance profiling. Shaders and lighting remain my strongest focus and greatest passion, as they consistently have the most significant impact on how a game looks and feels.
Just before, or shortly after launch is when visual polish has the biggest impact on reviews, wishlists and sales. But I can join your team any time, so long as your game is still active or in production. If you’re unsure, reach out and I’ll see where I can help.
No. Your game’s identity is yours. My job is to find what’s already great about it and bring that out further, fixing what’s holding it back rather than replacing it with something else.
I do. I stay directly involved throughout the entire process, handling art direction, shaders, lighting, performance and implementation. When the scope calls for it, I bring in senior artists and connections I trust, so every creative and technical decision stays in experienced hands from start to finish.
Absolutely! I’m happy to let you inspect the work I do. Just reach out and I can send you some samples!
Unreal Engine is my specialty, with two decades of experience using it in production. I also have strong experience with Unity & have dabbled in Cry-engine. The underlying principles of real-time rendering are largely the same across all of them, which makes it straightforward for me to drop into your project.
Yes, in fact I prefer it. I enjoy working closely with a team to improve the overall visual quality of a game, whether that’s refining shaders and post-processing, fixing performance bottlenecks, or identifying the small changes that make the biggest visual impact. That kind of focus usually requires full-time attention until the job is done.
Yes.