Introduction
Andy Tran, known online as kirinkarwai, is an artist, engineer, and indie game director who blends diverse disciplines in his creative practice. He has directed the indie game Afterthought (2022), contributed freelance concept art, and earned the Nvidia Studio Standout title. His artistic focus spans Solarpunk, Dark Fantasy, Sci-Fi, and Classical Literature.
In his recent projects, he used Meshy to adapt scenes from Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov into visual art. He noticed that while the novels are widely admired, they lack strong visual representation.
"What surprised me was the lack of definitive illustrations or paintings of Dostoevsky's work. For being such a skilled writer, I am shocked by the relative lack of visual art."
kirinkarwai
Artist, Engineer, Indie Game Director
This absence, combined with personal challenges, shifted his focus from his usual utopian themes toward darker and more emotional subject matter.
"Also this year has been really rough to me. I usually make a lot of utopian art. I went to dark places this year. A lot of these feelings needed an outlet."
kirinkarwai
Artist, Engineer, Indie Game Director
Realizing these darker visions, however, was not without its difficulties.
Challenges in the Creative Process
Translating the emotional weight of The Brothers Karamazov into visual form required more than artistic vision—it also demanded reliable tools. Yet, before discovering Meshy, kirinkarwai often found his creative process slowed down by recurring technical and practical hurdles:
- Spending long hours searching for free 3D base meshes online.
- Difficulty customizing existing models to reflect his painterly style.
- The burden of creating assets from scratch, which limited his creative momentum.
These obstacles diverted time and energy away from storytelling and atmosphere, making it harder for him to fully express the darker and more complex themes that inspired his recent work.
Finding Meshy
Kirinkarwai first encountered Meshy through a trusted connection:
"My longtime friend and mentor Phil Amelung or darknomad on the internet has invited me to show me Meshy, which has since stuck with me. We have been talking about the capacity for AI since 2022. We even did some research together."
kirinkarwai
Artist, Engineer, Indie Game Director
What made him feel Meshy could be part of a more emotionally expressive workflow was its flexibility and speed.
"What convinced me of Meshy specifically was the amount of customizability. Being able to choose between options and retexture them to my liking saves me a lot of time."
kirinkarwai
Artist, Engineer, Indie Game Director
Workflow and the Value of 3D
Meshy became central to kirinkarwai's creative pipeline, serving as the bridge between his sketches and final painted compositions. It provided him with consistent 3D models that he could pose, overpaint, and refine into emotionally resonant works.
His workflow blends AI tools with traditional painting and 3D software:
Idea & Lora Training:
Each project begins with a clear mental image, supported by custom-trained Lora models that capture his style. A preview render often guides the initial composition.
ComfyUI Iterations:
He refines these previews by feeding them into ComfyUI as ControlNet references, generating improved variations that align with his visual direction.
Meshy Models:
After isolating characters and objects, Meshy AI is used for producing 3D models that form the foundation of his scene.
Blender Assembly:
These assets are assembled in Blender, where he constructs a structured render and prepares the environment for further refinement.
Photoshop Overpaint:
Once the base render is complete, he moves to Photoshop to adjust lighting, enhance mood, and apply painterly details.
This hybrid pipeline allows him to emphasize intricate details that would have been nearly impossible to achieve before.
For kirinkarwai, the 3D stage is not about producing a final render but about gaining control and flexibility as a concept artist. Even though his finished work is 2D, using 3D models provides him with precision over the scene's foundation:
- Lighting Control: He can test multiple lighting setups, adjust shadows, and establish the right mood before painting.
"It's much easier to test 10 different lighting scenarios in 3D than to repaint them by hand."
kirinkarwai
Artist, Engineer, Indie Game Director
- Composition Freedom: By moving the camera around the scene, he discovers angles and framings that might not have been obvious at first glance.
"Sometimes the perfect composition isn't obvious until you can orbit around the scene."
kirinkarwai
Artist, Engineer, Indie Game Director
- Character Posing: With rigged characters, he can refine gestures and body language until they feel natural and expressive.
In his view, the 3D stage takes care of the technical groundwork, giving him the freedom to concentrate on storytelling and atmosphere during the paint-over stage. This technical foundation set the stage for his later works, where the focus shifted from process to storytelling and interpretation.
Exploring the Artworks and the Inspirations Behind Them
Each of kirinkarwai's paintings based on The Brothers Karamazov reflects both the novel's intensity and his personal interpretation of its themes. Below are some of his works and the inspirations behind them.
“Stupid Lizaveta and Five or Six Guilty Men”
This painting explores opportunism and moral compromise, drawing a parallel to how some artists view AI.
"I would say the grimey looking men in this case are opportunistic people, looking at Lizaveta, what would be in this case taking the leverage of AI. Some people would describe this as an unforgivable sin."
kirinkarwai
Artist, Engineer, Indie Game Director
“Après moi, le déluge”
Inspired by Fyodor Karamazov's philosophy, the piece reflects the inevitability of change and the tension between traditional art and AI-assisted creation.
"This is the quote by which Fyodor Karamazov lives by… Once again I can definitely see a parallel here with traditional art versus AI-art. I know in some way me openly showing AI-work accelerates this process and conversation. Everybody behind me who is not adapting to this new environment gets left behind."
kirinkarwai
Artist, Engineer, Indie Game Director
“The Cruelty of Kids and a Bleeding Finger”
This work depicts the hostility Alyosha faces when trying to intervene in bullying, which the artist connects to broader cultural debates and online toxicity.
"In this scene Alyosha was trying to help a kid that was getting bullied, but instead he bit his finger to the bone. I know anyone that stands for anything and reaches a certain point of relevance will face opposition...It takes saint-like patience to engage with these comments and not get dragged down. I deeply value resilience in people."
kirinkarwai
Artist, Engineer, Indie Game Director
“The Devil's Embrace”
The complexity of this scene lies in Ivan's inner struggle with faith and doubt, rendered through a crowded composition.
"Trying to get the emotions right in such a complex scene was difficult. I, too, often struggle with keeping up the faith when I see progressively more unjust events. However once again I see resilience as being a strength. Keeping up faith in the face of impossible odds, is a character trait I deeply cherish."
kirinkarwai
Artist, Engineer, Indie Game Director
“Enter Smerdyakov”
This portrait captures the contradictions of Smerdyakov — weak yet intelligent, corrupted yet self-aware.
"I was immediately captured by this character the second he was first mentioned. He was always described as a weak-minded and cursed individual who never had a chance to begin with… I wanted to capture his twisted nature in a painting."
kirinkarwai
Artist, Engineer, Indie Game Director
Discussions around whether AI can create emotional art remain tense, but kirinkarwai feels that many of the arguments against it are outdated. As he explained, early criticisms from 2022 no longer hold true given how quickly the technology has advanced.
"My current observation looks like this: ((Quality of Input-Material) * (AI-Model * Computing Power)) / (Art Direction) = Quality of Output-Material...My intuition so far is, a good sense of taste, vision and overall direction will make or break the final piece. My gut tells me it will take a long time, until the last 10% of craft can be fully replaced. "
kirinkarwai
Artist, Engineer, Indie Game Director
For him, artistic direction and vision are still what define the final piece. He also points out that AI gives him a practical way to handle themes he normally avoids.
"As for themes, I actually produce optimistic and positive artworks. I get personally affected negatively by dark artworks. I definitely feel more comfortable telling an AI to do it, than to completely paint it myself and immerse myself into darker themes."
kirinkarwai
Artist, Engineer, Indie Game Director
Results and Impact
The most immediate improvement was speed, reducing his workflow from 16 hours to just 5 while still preserving his artistic style and quality.
By removing the burden of asset creation, Meshy gave him more bandwidth to refine details and storytelling.
"I have definitely noticed huge gains in terms of speed. These are immediately noticeable...Since my head is less occupied with all minutia and I simply have more time, I have more mental bandwidth to rework details that would otherwise be neglected by me."
kirinkarwai
Artist, Engineer, Indie Game Director
Feedback from his audience has been telling.
"I have never gotten this amount of views, with relative lack of engagement. I know a lot of professionals are clicking on my profile right now."
kirinkarwai
Artist, Engineer, Indie Game Director
His mentor, Phil Amelung, offered perhaps the most meaningful recognition:
"AI always looks like it does its own thing. With your recent pieces, it seems the AI has actually adopted YOUR style and developed it further."
kirinkarwai
Artist, Engineer, Indie Game Director
Looking Ahead
For kirinkarwai, Meshy is not only a time-saving tool but also the cornerstone of his future creative ambitions.
He envisions building what he calls a “scalable AI-Creative-Pipeline” that could help more artists realize their visions without compromise. His long-term goal is equally clear: to direct three games, each shaped by technological progress that reduces unnecessary compromises in production.
As he put it, “Deep down I love truly uncompromising art.”
He also shares advice for other creators navigating the intersection of tradition and innovation: stay authentic, resist fleeting trends, and protect the integrity of one's vision.
"Don't blindly follow every social media trend. Don't swear dogmatic loyalty to an idea unless you are absolutely willing to die for it. Let us make uncompromising art."
kirinkarwai
Artist, Engineer, Indie Game Director
Conclusion
Kirinkarwai's journey demonstrates how Meshy can bridge the gap between inspiration and execution, allowing artists to explore ambitious themes without being constrained by technical barriers.
As kirinkarwai's vision shows, the future belongs to those willing to combine their own direction and taste with powerful new tools, and Meshy is already helping make that future a reality.
If you're interested in collaborating on pipeline innovation, art direction, or AI research, you can explore his portfolio at ArtStation or connect with him on LinkedIn.
"I'm always open to projects and partnerships that push the boundaries of uncompromising art."
kirinkarwai
Artist, Engineer, Indie Game Director
Now it's your turn to explore how Meshy can accelerate your own creative journey!
