UK Only | Lead 3D Lighting and Compositing Artist

Blue Zoo Production; Greater London; On-site; GBP 55,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid work options

Job summary

Blue Zoo Production seeks a Lead Lighting and Compositing Artist to steer a team shaping the mood of our episodes. You will craft lighting in Maya, then composite in Nuke, aligning with the director's vision and timelines.

The role requires mentoring, strong collaboration with supervisors, and a proactive approach to problem solving. Hybrid/remote working options are available in the UK.

Qualifications

• Must have strong leadership to mentor and motivate a team.
• Proficient in lighting concepts and delivering stylised animation lighting.
• Deep understanding of 3D rendering, ray tracing and GI in Maya.
• Skilled in using Nuke for compositing and colour correct across shots.
• Knowledge of shading and pipeline integration across departments.

Responsibilities

• Leading a team of lighting and compositing artists and allocating tasks.
• Create lighting scenes in Maya and composite in Nuke to final shots.
• Tune render rigs, templates and settings to hit look and deadlines.
• Monitor render times and ensure efficiency within budgets.
• Provide quality control and brief team on new episodes and notes.

Skills

Team leadership

Lighting principles

3D rendering

Maya proficiency

Nuke compositing

Color theory

Problem solving

Communication

Attention to detail

Independent work

Tools

Maya

Nuke

Redshift

After Effects

Python scripting

FTrack

Job description

Our Lead Lighting and Compositing Artists (“L&C”) are wonderful visual storytellers and excellent motivators. They lead their team in defining the mood and atmosphere of our narratives, and highlight the charming details of our characters, props and environments. They are the savants of light, colour and creative problem solving.

Your day-to-day will focus on creating the lighting of our episodes, finessing the colours in compositing, whilst always keeping the right balance between high quality and meeting deadlines. You will also be responsible for distributing work across your team members so that the workload is evenly balanced, and communicating with your supervisor and other departments to make sure the project is running smoothly.

This opportunity requires talent to bebased in the UK and will require the right to work in the UK.

We are very happy to discuss flexible, hybrid and remote working options for all our vacancies.

Please note that this vacancy can close early if we receive a high number of applications.

This role is due to start from Mid October 2026.

Day to Day:

• Leading a team of lighting and compositing artists
• Creating lighting scenes in Maya with assets from the animation and effects departments and then compositing these rendered shots in Nuke to create the final shot.
• Tweaking provided light rigs, render set-ups and compositing templates to achieve the required look shots.
• Tweaking render settings to optimise the efficiency of renders.
• Monitoring renders to ensure they are within a given render time budget.
• Arranging daily catch ups with your team to make sure they are on track and aware of their daily tasks.
• Working with the Supervisor to brief your team on new episodes.
• Managing your team efficiently to meet the deadlines of all assigned shots. Flagging to the Supervisor and Production in advance if there are any potential issues.
• Responsible for quality control across your team's episodes, and making sure the episodes are presented to the Director and Supervisor in a way that is clean and to the high standard of the production.
• Fixing errors and glitches through problem solving and addressing notes efficiently.
• Talking up and down the pipeline to other supervisors and leads, troubleshooting any issues, as well as keeping Production and Supervisor aware where appropriate.
• Supervising or working on R&D to make sure any necessary research is done before each episode starts.
• Producing templates for L&C with or without the support of team members, to maintain consistent quality across your team and support junior team members.
• Taking on the more challenging or technical shots in the episode.
• Mentoring the team and helping with their development, including participating in your team’s review sessions along with the Supervisor.
• Updating the Supervisor on the team’s progress, communicating any concerns regarding the teams’ performance and wellbeing

Must Have:Great communication and a motivational team leader, naturally sharing your knowledge and skills with other team membersKnowledge of lighting principles and how light is used to meet a creative brief, especially in stylised animationTechnical understanding of how lighting works in 3D rendering - different types of lights, render setups, physically based rendering, ray tracing and global illumination - using Maya and a render engine comparable to RedshiftTechnical understanding of biased rendering to optimise sampling, making your renders efficient and avoiding noise and artefactsAn understanding of colour theory, aesthetics and compositionTechnical understanding of utility passes (Z, Position and Normals) and how they are used in compositing using Nuke.Understanding of camera depth of fieldProblem solving skills to find the best approach to meeting the brief as well as troubleshooting issues and asking questions if unsure.An eye for detail for scrutinising final shots for any errors or inconsistenciesAbility to respond positively to feedback and develop from itConfidence in working independently. Being diligent, taking initiative and being reliableBeing organised and managing yours and your team's time efficientlyAbility to help and support your team, contributing to the development and growth of your team members e.g. setting defined goals and giving clear directionBonus Points:Previous experience as a Lead L&C Artist on an animation productionKnowledge of Python scriptingKnowledge of After EffectsExperience using FTrackKnowledge of shadingUnderstanding of a 3D production pipeline