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The Lead Character Artist will oversee character asset production, collaborate on visual style, mentor team members, and ensure high-quality character models are created for games.
Summary
We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Lead Character Artist to join our dynamic team. As Lead Character Artist, you will be responsible for creating and overseeing the production of high-quality character assets. You will have a direct impact on the visual identity of our games, bringing characters to life with stunning detail and artistic excellence.
Core Responsibilities
- Lead the character art team in the creation of high-quality character models.
- Collaborate with the Art Director to define the visual style of characters.
- Sculpt, model, and texture characters to meet the artistic and technical requirements of the project.
- Contribute in planning, organization and prioritization of tasks with Production for internal, OS, and co dev partners.
- Create and maintain character pipeline documentation for training and onboarding
- Proactively identify risks in character art production timelines and effectively communicate risks to Production and Directors.
- Mentor and provide feedback to other character artists.
- Ensure character assets are optimized for performance and memory usage.
- Work closely with rigging, animation, and technical art teams to ensure characters are ready for implementation.
- Stay current with industry trends and techniques in character art.
Core Qualifications
- Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts, Game Art, or related field.
- 7+ years of experience in character art within the video game industry.
- Strong proficiency in Maya, ZBrush, and Substance Painter.
- Significant experience in Unreal Engine
- Excellent understanding of anatomy, form, and silhouette.
- Experience with PBR and hand-painted texturing workflows.
- Proven track record of creating high-quality character models for AAA titles.
- Ability to lead a team and work collaboratively across departments.
Plus if...
- Experience with character rigging and skinning.
- Knowledge of Marvelous Designer or similar tools for clothing simulation.
- Experience with rigid body dynamics and cloth simulation in Unreal Engine
- Previous work in a leadership role on a major game title.
Description
- Full-time job with benefits.
- Role is on-site in Santa Monica, CA.
- Office is located near downtown Santa Monica – near metro and freeway.
The base pay range for this position is $150,000 to $185,000 per year. Actual compensation is based on market location and may vary depending on job-related knowledge, skills, and experience. We also offer a competitive package of benefits including vacation time, sick time, company holidays, parental leave, medical/dental/vision insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, and 401(k) matching to regular full-time employees. Certain roles may also be eligible for bonus and equity.
Top Skills
Maya
Substance Painter
Unreal Engine
Zbrush
Absurd Ventures Santa Monica, California, USA Office
Santa Monica, California, United States
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