Character Artist – Stylized Realism for AAA Games

Piranha Games Inc.; Canada; Remote; CAD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive compensation

People-focused events & initiatives

Job summary

Piranha Games Inc. is seeking a skilled Character Artist to join our team in Canada.

You will model, texture, and light high-quality 3D characters for AAA console/PC titles, collaborating with the Art Director and Lead Character Artist to achieve stylized realism and strong character personalities. You will work within a pipeline that respects engine constraints, contribute to asset creation, and mentor junior artists as needed.

Qualifications

• 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.
• Must be able to create stylized realism and to be displayed in your portfolio.
• 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
• 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.)

Responsibilities

• 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

Skills

Stylized realism

Anatomy knowledge

Character modeling

Texturing

Lighting

Education

Post-secondary education in Computer Graphics

Game Art & Design

Fine Arts

Tools

3ds Max

Maya

Photoshop

Unreal Engine 5

Hair grooming (groom cards)

Job description

Piranha Games Inc. is seeking a skilled Character Artist to join our team in Canada.

You will model, texture, and light high-quality 3D characters for AAA console/PC titles, collaborating with the Art Director and Lead Character Artist to achieve stylized realism and strong character personalities. You will work within a pipeline that respects engine constraints, contribute to asset creation, and mentor junior artists as needed.