Studio: ICON Creative Studio
Job Opening: Senior/Lead Animator
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia
Type: Full-Time
Responsibilities:
Senior Animator:
- Senior Animators are the seasoned veterans on each line.
- They are expected to animate more complex or technically challenging shots to a high level of polish, all while consistently maintaining their quota.
- Seniors are expected to take greater care in the details of their performance and generate a minimum of notes.
- Senior Animators have the added responsibility of mentoring and guiding the Junior Animators on their line by teaching them efficient workflow and good habits.
- They should lead by example and assist their lead when asked upon.
Lead Animator:
- The leads’ primary focus is to make sure the Animation line runs smoothly and efficiently, firing on all cylinders,
- They are the primary problem solvers of the animation department.
- They must help manage their Team and keep them on track and motivated.
- They are proactive in identifying issues and will coordinate with all relevant departments to have those issues resolved quickly.
- Leads are tasked with disseminating important information within the department, including familiarizing new hires with their workflow and pipeline.
- They are skilled Animators and are expected to tackle the most challenging of shots with ease and can power through average difficulty sequences with speed.
- They must be able to demonstrate a broad range of character and acting skills. They must have a deep understanding of the principles of Animation and how to employ those principles to create a performance that supports the characters and story goals of the production.
- The Lead Animator is familiar enough with the show to assist the crew if the director is not available.
- They will actively participate in Leads’ meetings, show dailies, client calls, and staff reviews.
- Helps create a strong foundation for productions, in their infancy, by partnering with the Rigging department to push the consistency and quality of the character rigs provided, develop a show style based on the client’s requests and construct tools that will increase production and eliminate complications for animators.
- When necessary, supplying cycles, poses, and reuse animation for the library to support the Animation team.
- Works closely with the Animation Supervisor to problem solve any potential issues in upcoming episodes by finding creative, but more importantly, realistic solutions for the animation teams.
- Provides support to the animation teams, in the early stages of production, while they become acclimated to the new show.
- Manages the validity of requests to the Rigging department based on importance, while maintaining consistency and delivering an achievable result for our schedule and budget.
- Organizes and runs workshops to demonstrate clean workflows and also educates proper animation techniques to further advance the quality of animation produced by Icon.
Qualifications & Skills:
- College diploma or equivalent in 3D computer graphics/3D animation
- More than 5 years of work experience in 3D animation using MAYA in a film production
- A strong background as a Lead in feature CG character animation
- Have experience and an interest in a cartoony style
- Quadruped animation’s experience recommended
- Comfortable with filming reference footage and using the reference footage
- Ability to work within an established pipeline and learn to use custom tools
- Ability to understand and interpret effectively a storyboard and the Director’s feedback and be able to give direction to a team
- Have good teaching skills, be a mentor, and technically and artistically develop the team
- Ability to work well in a team and excellent communication skills
Apply for the Job Online: Fill up online job application form