Character Artist

OVERALL OBJECTIVE AND PURPOSE: 

Under the guidance of the Art Director and Lead Character Artist, model characters with a special focus on anatomy, ensuring they and supporting characters meet the same standards in terms of quality and style.

WHY YOU SHOULD WORK WITH PGI

• Flexible Schedules & Remote Working Arrangements
• People-focused Events & Initiatives
• Competitive Compensation
• Meaningful, engaging projects
• Career growth opportunities
• Education & training grants

RESPONSIBLITIES: 

• Implement the overall artistic vision of characters based on designs, concepts and descriptions
• Work with the Art Director and Lead Character Artist to combine ideas and methodologies of character production to create an efficient, streamlined pipeline, understanding the technical limitations of the engine
• Design, model, and texture high quality 3D characters, paying close attention to anatomical proportions, scale, and skeletal templates
• Ensure that the character models can convey a sense of personality in the game (morphology, silhouette, facial expressions, etc.)
• Collaborate closely with concept artists, animators, game designers, and VFX artists to ensure the visual target is met or exceeded
• Assist with the integration of a character development process that works in congruence with the creative direction, meets the technical constraints of the game, as well as production deadlines
• Actively participate in technical and aesthetic problem-solving discussions with the team
• Display exceptional integrity and understanding of the work; constantly seeking ways to improve the efficiency of the workflow and provide documented feedback to improve in-house tools
• Stay up to date on best practices and industry trends, work to integrate them into the project and share knowledge with inter-project colleagues
• Mentor and train junior artists
• Other ad-hoc responsibilities as requested

REQUIREMENTS: 

• 4-7+ years’ experience working on AAA console and/or PC titles with at least 2 shipped games as a Character Artist
• Post-secondary education in Computer Graphics, Fine Arts, Game Art & Design or equivalent education, and/or experience
• Possess an exceptional understanding of human and animal anatomy with a keen eye towards form, structure, silhouette and organic movement
• Solid knowledge of character modeling, texturing, and lighting as related to game development
• Comprehensive knowledge of a major 3D package (3ds Max, Maya, etc.), Photoshop,  
• Z-brush, Substance Painter, Marmoset Toolbag, Marvelous Designer, etc.
• Demonstrated experience in the design and development of fantasy characters and creatures.
• A detail obsessed eye for creating and manipulating texture maps and excellent understanding of the value of UV space
• Be able to create characters with finished, rough, or no concept art that fits within the style
• Expertise in incorporating characters in Unreal Engine 5
• Expert experience using of advanced material shader systems for characters  
• Experience with groom(strands) and hair cards, to support in-game and cinematics characters
• Equally proficiency in clothing and hard surface modeling
• Knowledge of animation typology (rigging, skinning, etc.)

We are open to candidates at Intermediate to Senior levels depending on experience. Intermediate: 4+ years, Senior: 7+ years of experience. Compensation will be based on experience and skill level.