Studio: Elsewhere Entertainment
Job Opening: Character Artist
Location: Warsaw, Poland/Malmö, Sweden
Type: Full-Time
Responsibilities:
- Act as a key creative collaborator within the art, design, and development teams to align character design with gameplay and narrative objectives.
- Collaborate closely with animation and rigging teams to ensure character designs are planned and executed properly.
- Research to ensure accuracy in character design, contributing to the authenticity of in-game characters.
- Assess the scope of character team requests with your immediate supervisor to establish an achievable production schedule.
- Lead small teams of cross-disciplinary developers with a focus on facial animation to meet the needs of the project.
- Work with the Photogrammetry Team to ensure quality scanned data is being used as a starting point.
- Create high-quality models, textures, shading, and materials that elevate creature realism and aesthetics, paying meticulous attention to details.
- Utilize industry-standard software to author models and textures that emphasize detail, realism, and visual storytelling.
- Set the standard for visually captivating and memorable character/creature assets, ensuring they align with the game’s art style and narrative vision.
- Work closely with the engineering team to optimize character assets for optimal in-game performance while preserving visual fidelity.
- Assist in organizing and managing the character team material library and ensure efficient knowledge of pipeline and utilization by team members.
- Provide guidance and mentorship to junior artists, fostering their growth and development within the studio.
- Stay up-to-date with industry trends, tools, and emerging technologies, continually enhance your skills, and contribute innovation to the team’s creative process.
- Assist in leading efforts in testing and feedback processes to identify and address character-related issues, bugs, and improvements.
Qualifications & Skills:
- Outstanding portfolio showcasing your proficiency in creature art for video games, highlighting your ability to create diverse and compelling creatures.
- At least 8 years of experience in creating Character Art in AAA game development with at least one full development cycle completed and credited in your name.
- Experience working in Modern Game Engines with an awareness of game budgets, limits, and memory constraints.
- Excellent artistic and design skills, including a keen eye for composition, color theory, and visual storytelling with a focus on character portraits.
- Expertise with hair and fur development and workflows.
- Proficiency in industry-standard 3D modeling and texturing software (e.g., Maya, 3ds Max, Blender, ZBrush, Substance Painter/Designer).
- Solid understanding of PBR (Physically Based Rendering) principles, with In-depth knowledge of shader creation, material pipelines, and advanced texturing techniques.
- Basic grasp of character/creature rigging, animation integration, and best practices in character/creature design.
- Ability to consistently resolve issues from a visual, production, and technical perspective.
- Excellent communication skills and a proactive approach to problem-solving.
- Ability to adapt to evolving project needs and work under tight deadlines.
- Experience working with game engines like Unity or Unreal Engine, demonstrating an understanding of real-time rendering constraints and pipelines
- Experience in muscle/fat simulation workflows
- Experience with hair and cloth simulation
