Surfacing Artists - (Mid & Senior)

Stellar Creative Lab; Vancouver; On-site; CAD 70,000 - 85,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Flexible hybrid schedule

Extended health benefits

Professional development support

Job summary

Stellar Creative Lab in Vancouver is seeking Surfacing/Texture Artists at the Mid and Senior levels to contribute to a premium Marvel Animation series. You will craft textures for characters, environments, and props with a painterly aesthetic, requiring a refined eye for color and material properties.

Collaboration across departments and mentoring junior artists are valued, with deadlines in a fast-paced, long-format production. A hybrid schedule and strong benefits accompany the role.

Qualifications

• 3–5+ years of production experience in surfacing/texture.
• 2D/3D painting skills and strong color sense.
• Bachelor's Degree in 3D animation or equivalent experience.

Responsibilities

• Create high-quality textures for sets, props, and characters.
• Dial in shader networks and optimize rendering performance.
• Collaborate with Modelers, Lighting Artists and CG Supervisors to achieve final look.

Skills

Shader networks

Artistic eye

Color theory

Team mentoring

Education

Bachelor's Degree in 3D animation

Tools

Mari

Substance Painter

Photoshop

Maya

ZBrush

Job description

At Stellar, we aim to build a studio where people actually want to work.We face the inevitable ups and downs of production as a truly supportive and connected team, prioritizing open communication over anyone working in isolation. We value honesty, creativity, and looking out for one another.

The Opportunity:

We are expanding our team and looking for talented Surfacing/Texture Artists at the Mid, and Senior levels to join us on a premium streaming series for Marvel Animation.

In this role, you are the artist who gives our worlds their tactile reality. You will be responsible for creating the look, feel, and texture of characters, environments, and objects. This role requires an incredible eye for color design, a deep understanding of material properties, and exceptional painting skills to achieve a specific "painterly" aesthetic. If you love collaborating across departments to dial in the perfect look and want to raise the bar on a new series, we want you on our team.

In this role, success looks like:

Artistic Execution & Look Development:

• Create high-quality textures that strictly adhere to the show’s production design across sets, props, and characters.
• Utilize excellent brushwork to express a highly stylized, painterly aesthetic.
• Accurately read surface art references and intuitively determine their physical material components (both natural and synthetic surface characteristics).

Technical Pipeline & Optimization:

• Dial in and modify shader networks to achieve the specified look, always keeping a close eye on how your texturing setups impact overall rendering performance.
• Design and build basic, optimized materials that can be reused efficiently throughout the studio.
• Actively participate in the larger departmental effort to design and test new tools and workflows that benefit the entire surfacing team.

Collaboration & Accountability:

• Act as a self-starter who consistently meets deadlines within a fast-paced, long-format production schedule.
• Collaborate closely and communicate effectively with Modelers, Lighting Artists, Look Dev, and Leadership (VFX & CG Supervisors) to achieve the final in-film look. (Seniors will be expected to help mentor and guide Junior artists.)
• Take constructive guidance from the Director and Modeling & Surfacing Supervisor and other creative/technical supervisors.

The Requirements

Must-Haves:

• Experience (Choose your level):
  • Mid-Level: 3–5+ years of production experience. You can hit the ground running, dial in complex shader networks, and require minimal supervision.
  • Senior: 5+ years of production experience. You are an expert at surfacing the most complex hero assets, optimizing render performance, and are comfortable mentoring junior artists.
• Core Tools: Professional experience using 3D painting tools like Mari, Substance Painter, and Photoshop.
• Artistic Eye: Strong traditional painting skills with a deep understanding of color theory and design.
• Education: A Bachelor's Degree in 3D animation (or equivalent high-level industry experience/art school training).
• Eligibility: Legally eligible to work in British Columbia, Canada.

Nice-to-Haves:

• Previous Look Dev experience is a definite plus.
• The experience and technical ability to model using Maya or ZBrush.

Why Join Stellar?

• Flexible Environment: We offer a flexible hybrid schedule that will vary with project and team requirements.
• Comprehensive Benefits: Extended health benefits.
• Growth: Professional development support to help you stay ahead of tech and creative trends.
• Culture: A collaborative, ego-free environment where technical expertise fuels creative magic.

Competitive salary range: $70,000 - $85,000,based on your experience and skills.

At Stellar Creative Lab, we believe diversity and inclusion are key to creativity and collaboration. We’re committed to building a supportive, open, and diverse community where everyone can thrive. We're always looking for ways to improve accessibility, so feel free to share any feedback or suggestions with us.