Studio: Cryptic Studios
Job Opening: Lead Animator
Location: United States/Remote
Type: Full-Time
Responsibilities:
- Helping to articulate and collaborate on the animation vision with project leaders, other artists, and non-artists in a cross-discipline environment to ensure that animations meet all gameplay needs.
- Using Maya to create different kinds of character animations including ideations, rough blocking, polish, and supplemental secondary.
- Integrating animations to the game while ensuring technical and gameplay constraints are met.
- Using your expertise on Unreal’s animation system to help refine pipelines.
- Balancing your workload while still supporting the animation team and fulfilling other management duties.
- Working with the animation team to understand requirements, break down work, and analyze the animation workload.
- Estimating how long tasks will require to hit a specific quality bar, and helping to chart out long term scheduling of animation tasks.
- Researching new techniques or software to advance the animation department.
Qualifications & Skills:
- 5 years game industry experience working on projects in Unreal Engine 4 and/or Unreal Engine 5.
- The ability to quickly understand the animation requirements and workflow of a project, and the ability to help refine those requirements.
- The ability work independently while staying connected to a team in a remote-first working environment.
- Expert understanding of animation principles and anatomy: giving the character weight, personality, mood, and believability.
- Work of a consistently high quality, with a self-critical eye to reduce feedback rounds.
- Leadership qualities that help connect with and mentor other animators.
What Else like to See:
- 2 years of experience leading an animation team.
- At least two shipped projects.
- Ability to act as a key contributor to the asset production process.
- Experience with stylized motion in a cartoon art style, on both human and creature models.
- In-depth knowledge of contemporary games and their animation techniques.
