Character Artist-Expression of Interest

Blind-Squirrel-Games; Auckland; On-site; NZD 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Onsite studio in Auckland

Job summary

Blind Squirrel Games seeks a dedicated Character Artist for Auckland, NZ, creating high-quality characters, creatures, and apparel for ports, co-development, or full game development. You will translate art direction into game-ready assets and collaborate across disciplines to meet project goals.

You will own asset pipelines, mentor newer artists, and contribute to workflow improvements while ensuring performance and quality. This is a fully onsite role in Auckland.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree in Art or related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• A portfolio demonstrating high-quality characters, creatures, and related assets, with the depth and complexity of work reflecting your experience.

Responsibilities

• Create high-quality character, creature, clothing, and related assets using industry-standard software and methods.
• Translate concept art and visual references into fully realized assets that align with the project’s art direction.
• Sculpt detailed forms and develop production-ready models with strong anatomy, proportion, and silhouette.
• Create clean, animation-ready topology that supports rigging, deformation, and platform performance requirements.
• Develop UV layouts, texture maps, and materials using physically based rendering (PBR) workflows.
• Create hair and fur using tools such as XGen or comparable workflows, preparing assets for appropriate in-engine rendering and simulation.
• Integrate character assets into the game engine and collaborate with technical artists, riggers, and animators to resolve visual and functional issues.
• Optimize assets through levels of detail (LODs), efficient materials, texture atlases, channel packing, and other appropriate techniques.
• Evaluate character appearance under gameplay and cinematic lighting conditions and collaborate on adjustments.
• Maintain visual quality and consistency across assigned assets.
• Collaborate with production to define tasks, establish realistic schedules, and deliver assets on time.
• Organize and maintain assets within established project directories and version control systems.
• Iterate on work based on feedback from art leadership and other development disciplines.
• Identify and help resolve issues affecting the character art pipeline.
• Create and maintain workflow documentation and contribute to process improvements.
• Share artistic knowledge, provide constructive feedback, and mentor colleagues as appropriate to your experience.
• Perform other relevant duties and responsibilities that support company, department, and project objectives.

Skills

Anatomy understanding

Topology

Texture creation

Unreal Engine

Maya

ZBrush

PBR workflows

Art direction

Collaboration

Mentoring

Education

Bachelor's degree in Art or related field

3+ years in character art

5+ years for senior roles

Tools

Maya

3ds Max

ZBrush

Substance Painter/Designer

Unreal Engine 4/5

Photoshop

Job description

At Blind Squirrel Games (BSG), creating exceptional games is just the start. As a proud, independent studio, we collaborate with developers and publishers who value innovation and excellence, serving as a trusted partner in bringing high-quality games to life. Our work spans ports, co-development, and full game development, each with its own creative and technical demands.

With studios in Irvine, California; Austin, Texas; Auckland, New Zealand; and Manizales, Colombia, we bring together global talent to build outstanding games. Guided by the Blind Squirrel Way, the standard for how we work, our teams operate with ownership, accountability, and collaboration.

People are central to our success. We prioritize an inquisitive, proactive, and collaborative environment where individuals can make meaningful contributions. We value skills and experience while recognizing that talent develops through hard work, resilience, and a commitment to growth. We welcome diverse perspectives and believe inclusion strengthens our teams, our ideas, and our work.

About the Opportunity

Character Artists play a vital role in creating memorable characters and creatures that bring ambitious games to life. Our work spans ports, co-development, and full game development, each with its own artistic and technical challenges. If your experience aligns with this work, we welcome your interest in potential upcoming opportunities.

Supported by the Art Director and Project Leads, you will create high-quality character models, textures, materials, and related assets that align with the project’s visual direction, gameplay requirements, and technical parameters. You will collaborate with artists, designers, animators, and engineers to deliver expressive, cohesive, and game-ready characters.

The scope of asset ownership, artistic decision-making, pipeline improvement, and team guidance will reflect your experience and demonstrated capabilities. These opportunities are for full-time positions based in Auckland, New Zealand, with a fully onsite requirement at our studio.

Character Artists at BSG…

You understand the character art pipeline and bring a strong artistic skillset developed through hands-on game development. You apply your knowledge of anatomy, proportion, silhouette, materials, and visual storytelling to create characters and creatures that support the project’s creative vision.

You translate concept art into polished, game-ready assets while balancing visual quality, deformation requirements, performance, and production timelines. You take ownership of your work, set high standards, and recognize when feedback or collaboration will improve the outcome.

Creating characters, creatures, clothing, and related assets remains your core focus. You work effectively both independently and within a team, communicate clearly, and welcome constructive feedback. As your experience allows, you also guide artistic decisions, strengthen workflows, and mentor other artists.

Responsibilities

• Create high-quality character, creature, clothing, accessory, and related organic or hard-surface assets using industry-standard software and methods.
• Translate concept art and visual references into fully realized assets that align with the project’s art direction.
• Sculpt detailed forms and develop production-ready models with strong anatomy, proportion, and silhouette.
• Create clean, animation-ready topology that supports rigging, deformation, and platform performance requirements.
• Develop UV layouts, texture maps, and materials using physically based rendering (PBR) workflows.
• Create hair and fur using tools such as XGen or comparable workflows, preparing assets for appropriate in-engine rendering and simulation.
• Integrate character assets into the game engine and collaborate with technical artists, riggers, and animators to resolve visual and functional issues.
• Optimize assets through levels of detail (LODs), efficient materials, texture atlases, channel packing, and other appropriate techniques.
• Evaluate character appearance under gameplay and cinematic lighting conditions and collaborate on adjustments.
• Maintain visual quality and consistency across assigned assets.
• Collaborate with production to define tasks, establish realistic schedules, and deliver assets on time.
• Organize and maintain assets within established project directories and version control systems.
• Iterate on work based on feedback from art leadership and other development disciplines.
• Identify and help resolve issues affecting the character art pipeline.
• Create and maintain workflow documentation and contribute to process improvements.
• Share artistic knowledge, provide constructive feedback, and mentor colleagues as appropriate to your experience.
• Perform other relevant duties and responsibilities that support company, department, and project objectives.

Qualifications and Education Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Art or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
• A minimum of three years of industry experience in game development specializing in character art; five or more years is expected for candidates considered for more senior-level responsibilities.
• Experience contributing to shipped games; candidates considered for more senior-level responsibilities are expected to have shipped at least two titles as a Character Artist or 3D Artist with substantial character art responsibilities.
• A portfolio demonstrating high-quality characters, creatures, and related assets, with the depth and complexity of work reflecting your experience.
• Strong understanding of anatomy, proportion, silhouette, topology, and character construction.
• Proficiency in modeling, sculpting, texturing, material creation, and preparing assets for game-engine integration.
• Understanding of PBR workflows and the technical requirements of real-time character assets.
• Ability to interpret art direction, receive feedback, and refine work to meet project expectations.
• Strong communication, problem-solving, organizational, and time-management skills.
• Greater ownership of complex character assets, independent artistic and technical judgment, and the ability to improve workflows and mentor other artists are expected for more senior-level responsibilities.

Preferred Skills

• Experience creating characters and supporting character systems for AAA first-person or third-person action games.
• Experience with ports, co-development, or full game development.
• Proficiency with Maya or 3ds Max, ZBrush, Substance Designer/Painter, Marvelous Designer, and Photoshop.
• Experience with Unreal Engine 4, Unreal Engine 5, or other contemporary game engines.
• Experience creating realistic, highly detailed characters and/or stylized, expressive characters.
• Knowledge of shader capabilities, rendering techniques, and material authoring for skin, hair, eyes, and clothing.
• Experience with hair grooming, cloth creation, and related simulation workflows.
• Understanding of rigging and animation requirements, including deformation-friendly topology.
• Strong foundational skills in composition, color, lighting, and visual storytelling.
• Experience evaluating and improving character presentation in gameplay and cinematics.
• Experience working with outsourcing pipelines and reviewing externally created assets.
• Proficiency with project management and task-tracking software such as Jira.
• Experience mentoring artists and supporting a collaborative, iterative team environment.

Blind Squirrel Entertainment, Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, creed, sex, gender (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, marital status, medical condition, genetic information, disability, military or veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by applicable federal, state, or local law.

Eligibility for benefits and perks may vary based on position, employment status, and location.