By Jacob Peterson
Jeremy Kaetzel has been building things for as long as he can remember, starting with Legos and moving on to make art from a variety of materials.
“One of my main brags in high school was that I could build anything out of cardboard and duct tape,” Kaetzel says. “Whether it’s clay or fabric or 3D printing and 3D modeling, creativity and building has been something core to me my whole life.”
Kaetzel, now 31, describes himself as a 3D generalist. While his work is varied, a significant portion of it involves 3D modeling and printing.
Born and raised in Oakland, Kaetzel made his way to Los Angeles and Berkeley before landing in Sacramento in 2021 after his former landlord decided to sell the home he and his partner were renting. As a child, he had an encouraging environment when it came to his interest in art, especially from his mother.
“My mom is also a crafter, so me throwing a package of wire in her cart of fabric was a common occurrence and one that she didn’t turn down,” Kaetzel says. “I think that pretty early on my parents saw like, ‘Oh, he’s creative, give him something to do with his hands,’ so that was a very supportive environment growing up.”
Kaetzel had once planned on working in the Christian church, having done youth ministry for nearly a decade, but instead started working professionally as an artist after being invited to work as a 3D modeler on a video game being made by a friend.
“In 2016, a friend of mine invited me to start 3D modeling for a video game he was working on, which actually just came out,” Kaetzel says. “It’s a game called ‘Blue Prince.’”
An important turning point for Kaetzel came in 2021 when his partner got him his first 3D printer, seeing it as a natural progression of his work with 3D modeling.
“I started designing with 3D printing in mind and started an Etsy shop to kind of net zero the hobby, because 3D printing is just an expensive hobby to have,” Kaetzel says. “That kind of grew and over the last three years especially, and I’ve grown to understand myself more as a designer, and artist, and just as a 3D modeler and 3D generalist overall.”
While he had initially only started selling 3D printed models to pay for the hobby, he soon found himself working full time as an artist. In addition to the work he sells on Etsy, Kaetzel also takes commissions for specific requests.
“I love doing the custom work with people, especially when it’s a niche fandom thing where it’s like I don’t know anything about, but I’m excited to just dive in with you and figure out how to make this thing,” Kaetzel says.
Kaetzel hasn’t limited himself to just one medium though, with his work over the years encompassing graphic design, website design and costume and prop production. “It’s one of those things where I think of myself as a builder and a maker, whether that is digital creation, whether that’s physical creation, whether that’s even like conceptual or relational creation,” he says.
Ultimately, Kaetzel wants to continue to improve his craft and keep branching out into new subjects. He says he’s adopted the concept of a “master builder,” a term usually used to refer to professional Lego builders, creating a new personal meaning for it.
“I think it’s less of a goal post now and more of an acceptance of ‘This is what you’re doing. This is who you are,’” he says. “I think this idea of master builder for me does fall down to acceptance that you’re doing the artist thing, you’re doing the builder thing, no matter what that looks like.”