3D Character Artist

Epoch Games International; Winston-Salem (NC); Remote; USD 10,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a dynamic volunteer-based team dedicated to developing an indie open-world RPG. As a 3D Character Artist, you will play a vital role in creating stunning character models, textures, and clothing that bring the fantasy world of 'The Lays of Althas: Sundered Order' to life. This position offers a unique opportunity to work with passionate individuals from around the globe, utilizing industry-standard tools like Unreal Engine 4 and various 3D modeling software. Your creativity and skills will directly impact the game's quality, making it an exciting chance to contribute to an ambitious project while collaborating with fellow artists in a fully online environment.

Qualifications

• Experience in creating realistic 3D character meshes and textures is crucial.
• Strong skills in team collaboration and effective communication are required.

Responsibilities

• Create realistic 3D character body, face, hair, and clothing/armor meshes.
• Communicate effectively with team members and assist junior artists.

Skills

3D Character Meshes

Texturing

Human Clothing/Armor Meshes

Hair Card and Alpha Planes

Physically-based Rendering (PBR)

Low-poly/Game-ready assets

Concept Art Interpretation

Team Collaboration

Communication Skills

Passion for Modeling

Tools

Reallusion Character Creator 3

Unreal Engine 4

3D Modeling Software (3DS Max, Maya, Blender)

Adobe Photoshop

GIMP

Substance Painter

Marmoset

3D Coat

Job description

Epoch Games is a volunteer-based, all-online, global game development team. We have no centrally-located headquarters and are unincorporated at this time. Most of the original founding members were modders developing the total conversion Middle Earth Roleplaying Project (MERP) mod for the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim:
http://www.moddb.com/mods/merp-middle-earth-roleplaying-project

Currently Epoch Games is developing The Lays of Althas: Sundered Order (LoA:SO). LoA:SO is an in-development indie open-world RPG set in an original fantasy world. The game is being developed using Epic Games' Unreal Engine 4 (UE4):
https://www.unrealengine.com/

For more information about the game, please check out our IndieDb page:
http://www.indiedb.com/games/the-lays-of-althas-sundered-order

NOTE: The address above is the address related to Epoch Games' Incorporation, but is not related to the place of work. We are a fully-online team with no central headquarters at this time. Communication is mostly done via Slack (an instant messaging application) and Trello (an online project collaboration tool).

Job Description

In this volunteer position, we are looking for someone who specializes in creating realistic 3D Character Body, Face, Hair and/or Clothing/Armor Meshes and Textures for our game The Lays of Althas: Sundered Order (LoA:SO). We are currently using Reallusion Character Creator 3 (https://www.reallusion.com/character-creator/) to create our Human Characters. It is used to Sculpt Characters. While CC3 offers some Hair and Clothing/Armor options, we especially need 3D Character Artists to create Hair, Clothing, and Armor that our Project needs that CC3 can't provide. While experience with CC3 is recommended, we aren't requiring it for new 3D Character Artists. If you don't own a copy of CC3, we can get you a copy of the software.

Communication is key to a smooth and efficient pipeline. You must be able to communicate clearly and effectively with other team members and not be afraid to ask should any problems arise. We are an English-speaking team, so English fluency is a must.

If you are comfortable with teaching, you may be called upon to aid the more junior members of the team in any relevant area. Other duties include following team policies (given through team orientation upon acceptance to the team) as well as attending meetings through Slack (our instant messaging program that we use to communicate).

Qualifications

• Creating realistic Human Character Meshes and Textures
• Creating realistic Human Clothing / Armor Meshes and Textures
• Creating Human Hair sculpts using Hair Card and Alpha Planes
• Physically-based Rendering (PBR) experience for game sculpting required
• Previous experience working with low-poly/game-ready assets required
• Full Texturing ability (Diffuse, Normal, Displacement etc.)
• Able to work effectively and accurately from pre-defined concept art and designs
• Able to work with and provide constructive criticism and feedback
• Communication and Team collaboration skills
• A passion for modeling and a dedication to creating AAA quality games

Additional Information

Required Software:

• Unreal Engine 4 (https://www.unrealengine.com/register)
• 3D Modeling Software, be it 3DS Max, Maya, Blender or similar. Must have a valid license for said software.
• Adobe Photoshop, GIMP, Substance Painter, Marmoset, 3D Coat, or similar for creating high-quality 2D Textures.