Senior Character Artist: AAA-Quality 3D Sculpt & Texture

Placements24; Queenstown; On-site; NZD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive salary

Benefits package

Professional development

Creative studio environment

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking a Senior Character Artist for our Queenstown studio to create AAA-quality characters. You will sculpt, model, texture, and optimize assets for real-time engines, collaborating with the art team to define style and benchmarks.

Ideal candidates bring 6+ years' experience, strong anatomy knowledge, and proficiency in ZBrush, Maya/Blender, and PBR workflows, with Unreal or Unity experience. Join a creative studio environment in New Zealand.

Qualifications

• 6+ years in character art for video games with a AAA portfolio.
• Expertise in ZBrush; proficient in Maya or Blender.
• Strong anatomy, form, and fabric knowledge; optimized for real-time rendering.
• Experience with game engines (Unreal or Unity) and PBR pipelines.

Responsibilities

• Sculpt, model, and texture high-fidelity 3D characters for video games, ensuring artistic quality and technical optimization.
• Collaborate with the Art Director and Lead Character Artist to define and maintain character art style and quality benchmarks.
• Create detailed anatomical forms, facial features, clothing, and accessories that adhere to concept art and project requirements.
• Optimize character models and textures for real-time rendering, managing polygon counts, UV layouts, and texture memory.
• Work with technical artists to implement characters into the game engine, troubleshoot skinning/rigging issues, and ensure proper material setup.
• Participate in character reviews, providing and receiving constructive feedback to enhance character quality.
• Research and gather photographic and real-world references to inform character designs and ensure authenticity.
• Mentor junior character artists and share knowledge of best practices in character art production.

Skills

ZBrush

Maya

Blender

Substance Painter

Photoshop

Quixel Suite

Anatomy knowledge

PBR workflows

Unreal Engine

Unity

Education

Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts or related field

Tools

Unreal Engine

Unity

Job description

Placements24 is seeking a Senior Character Artist for our Queenstown studio to create AAA-quality characters. You will sculpt, model, texture, and optimize assets for real-time engines, collaborating with the art team to define style and benchmarks.

Ideal candidates bring 6+ years' experience, strong anatomy knowledge, and proficiency in ZBrush, Maya/Blender, and PBR workflows, with Unreal or Unity experience. Join a creative studio environment in New Zealand.