Dean Hensley
Creativity is at the heart of everything I do – implementing visual design, creating immersive and interactive digital media, generating AR reality elements and 3D modeled environments, and inspiring and managing the people involved in the collaborative act of creation.
What drives me is creating interactive experiences that everyone can enjoy, especially those with accessibility needs. Whether it’s a digital space, a physical exhibit, or a learning environment, I believe great design should make people feel included, connected, and inspired. I love making things that spark joy, inspire curiosity, and bring people together.
John Doe Skull Recreation for BCI Partnership
Digital Scans of Geological Samples
Pulse Point Logo
Featured Projects
Here is a curated showcase of a few of the projects where I have been able to make imagination, craft, and purpose intersect. These projects aren’t just technical achievements; they are stories of transforming ideas into experiences that educate, delight, and endure. Each piece represents a chapter of exploration: from breathing digital life into fossils and artifacts to building immersive 3D worlds for performance and learning.
Digital Recreations
3D Model Controls
- Left click to rotate, right click to move.
- Pinch and zoom (touchpad / mobile) or mousewheel to zoom.
I had the opportunity to help 3D scan and digitize real-world fossils, artifacts, and historical objects from the OSU Libraries and Orton Geological Museum. What excited me most was turning fragile, one-of-a-kind pieces into interactive digital models that anyone could explore and learn from—without ever risking the originals. I’ve always been passionate about finding creative ways to make learning more accessible, and helping transform these collections into open, educational tools felt like a perfect blend of technology, preservation, and storytelling.
To the right you will find two examples of some of the digitization work I helped facilitate and promoted to various academic organizations. The accessibility of geological samples from an antarctic expeditions (2d image below) provided by the Orton Geological museum was greatly enhanced and able to benefit many more researchers and students.
Digitized Geological Sample from Antarctica
Scan of Signed Globe from Antarctic Explorer Admiral Byrd
OSU Immersive Technology Group
I co-founded the Immersive Technology Group with two colleagues to bring together a growing community of technologists, artists, and educators exploring interactive and immersive media at the Ohio State University. We built a collaborative space for sharing ideas, showcasing projects, and developing new cross-disciplinary initiatives that used various virtual reality, interactive, and immersive technologies. We hosted monthly communication forums amongst partners, fostered partnerships that helped with engagement and uptake, and shared our experiences and experiments with emerging tools – pushing the boundaries of how immersive technology enhances education, research, and storytelling.
3D Environment Creation
At Starproject Studios, I had the incredible opportunity to create 3D environments for volumetric stage production. This was one of my early professional projects, and it was both exciting and rewarding to see my digital worlds come to life with big name actors performing in front of them.
I created the design, modeling, lighting, and optimization of the virtual sets and paid particular attention to the storytelling and visual depth of each scene. The project was put together over a limited timeframe and required me to collaborate closely with the production team and to bridge the creative vision and challenges of the technical execution.
Volumetric Crime Scene Alley Environment
Volumetric Cafe Environment
Emerging Technologies Work
Instructional Video Animation
During my time at The Ohio State University, I was brought on to help bridge the gap between in-person and online learners through the use of emerging technologies. My role centered on creating engaging, interactive experiences that ensured students could have equally meaningful learning opportunities, no matter their location. I collaborated with several colleges across the university—helping them establish their own emerging technology initiatives, develop interactive materials, and design content that increased student engagement.
BCI Collaboration
One of my proudest achievements was partnering with the Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) on the reconstruction of unidentified individuals. I created a 3D model of a clay bust and translated it into Unreal Engine, applying it to a MetaHuman framework. This breakthrough allowed the team to instantly adjust skin tone, eye color, and hair, offering a level of flexibility and realism that traditional clay reconstruction methods couldn’t provide.
3D Recreation of Skull
3D Recreation of John Doe
Other Projects
My degree in 3D Animation and design gives me a unique artistic skillset, but creativity has been a lifelong passion of mine throughout multiple backgrounds and something I bring to every role I undertake. I love seeing others experience and enjoy the act of creation and love leading and working with groups to develop teamwork, patience, and trust in a collaborative environment.
Before pursuing my creative career, I proudly served in the U.S. Army as a K9 Handler, where I learned the importance of teamwork, patience, and trust—values that continue to influence how I approach every project. My time working with dogs taught me the power of connection and communication, and that same passion drives me to create experiences that make people feel something real. Whether it’s through art, technology, or design, I strive to make things that bring joy, spark curiosity, and build meaningful connections.
Scifi Planet 3D Model
Terrapin Foundries came to me with a pitch to help create art for an interactive experience. They couldn’t find any available 3D models that fit their vision of a shattered planet. Starting with a creative commons model, I modified various meshes and shapes, then set it in a lightbox with other celestial bodies and took screenshots for their usage. We integrated it into a few websites with an eventual goal of adding interactive elements.
Shattered Kerne closeup
Shattered Kerne Orbit
100th Working Dog Detachment Stuttgart Kennels Promotional Materials
My time working with dogs in the army as part of the Stuttgart Kennels K9 search unit helped teacht me the power of connection, communication, and evoked the same passion that drives me to create experiences that make people feel something. For my detachment I helped create materials that fostered a sense of teamwork and connection amongst the handlers and support staff.
The Logo reads “in work and play” an important component of working with the K9 companions. The wooden sign is a hand carved and painted piece I created that still hangs in the Kennel Master’s office.
Woodburned Plaque
K9 Search Unit Logo
Physical Crafting and Sculpting
One way I love to share my creative passion (and general love for Star Wars) is to build and create physical cosplay materials. The Mandolorian armor I created for myself and a few friends is a composite of shaped foam, 3D printed accents, and leather and cloth elements. I love the act of building as much as sharing the end results. Working on a project like this shows the importance of focusing on the details that truly make the end result engaging. This passion for working in multiple mediums extends to other physical creations such as the Sabretooth sculpted model.
In Progress
Helmets and plates
Shaped Foam
Closeup
Full Worn
Detail
Helmets
IMG_1039
Rigged and Posed 3D Actors
When the technical lead for a department in the OSU College of Nursing came to me to help create an interactive game, we collaborated on multiple ways to achieve a visual style consistent with their other limited visual resources and create unique and engaging 3D actors to use as images in their narrative project. I utilized several different models and available 3D resources and posed them in multiple ways to provide them full control over the visual look of their project.
I utilized similar methods to create a rigged 3D model for a speculative project for a gaming blog – Gnome Stew – that was looking to get into more interactive creations. (Right)
Model 2
Model 4
Model 1 and 5 – Full Body
Model 3 – Narrative Pose
Video Projects
I love blending hands-on creativity with digital and physical tools to bring stories to life. A short claymation stop-motion animation I made was fun to create and showed me the work needed to bring a production of this sort to life.
Working with 3D scenes is easier and allows a broader exploration of movement, texture, and emotion. These works combine technical precision with a love of storytelling—using light, space, and time to turn imagination into something tangible and visually immersive.
3D Sub Model for Animation
Availability
Freelance Work
I am currently open for freelance work as my availability and current workload allows. Feel free to reach out to discuss your project or to connect and find out more about my experience and capabilities to help your organization.