3D Character Artist (CONTRACT)

Carbonated Inc.; Los Angeles (CA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Carbonated Inc. is seeking a Character & Technical Artist to blend sculpting mastery with a technical mindset. You will create hero characters and build scalable pipelines for production at a studio driven by fearless curiosity.

You’ll sculpt high‑fidelity assets in ZBrush, bake to optimized geometry, and texture with Substance Painter. Proficiency in Maya or Blender and scripting in Python/C#/Lua are essential, with collaboration across Animators and Tech Artists to ensure clean topology for

Qualifications

• 3 years of character modeling experience with a portfolio showing high-fidelity assets for console/PC.
• Expert-level proficiency in Maya or Blender and deep sculpting in ZBrush.
• You understand how art works under the hood and are comfortable writing scripts to improve efficiency.
• Collaborative, able to work closely with Animators and Tech Artists for optimized topology for complex deformations.

Responsibilities

• Hero Asset Creation: Sculpt high-resolution, realistic characters and gear.
• The “Bake” Master: Execute high-to-low-poly pipelines preserving detail.
• PBR Texturing: Create photorealistic textures in Substance Painter with strong material knowledge.
• Procedural Workflows: Use Substance Designer, Houdini, or Blender Geometry Nodes to build non-destructive art systems.
• Pipeline Scripting: Use Python, C#, or Lua to automate tasks and bridge tools with the game engine.

Skills

Character modeling

Sculpting expertise

Scripting aptitude

Tools

ZBrush

Maya

Blender

Substance Painter

Substance Designer

Houdini

Blender Geometry Nodes

Job description

JOIN THE CARBONATED TEAM!

Carbonated is a studio built on the “Fearless Curiosity” of industry veterans. We are backed by top-tier partners and driven by a culture of constant experimentation. We are looking for individuals who share our key values: Talent , Attitude , and Fearless Curiosity .

THE ROLE: CHARACTER & TECHNICAL ARTIST

We are seeking a Character & Technical Artist who can blend the artistry of a master sculptor with the mindset of a technical architect. You will be responsible for creating high-fidelity, hero-tier character models and developing the procedural pipelines that allow us to scale our world.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

• Hero Asset Creation: Sculpt high-resolution, realistic characters and gear using ZBrush , focusing on anatomy, silhouette, and “readability” at high resolutions.
• The “Bake” Master: Execute a flawless high-to-low-poly pipeline, ensuring high-frequency detail is preserved across optimized geometry.
• PBR Texturing: Create high-quality, photorealistic textures in Substance Painter (or equivalent), with a deep understanding of PBR materials and shader logic.
• Procedural Workflows: Utilize graph-based editors like Substance Designer , Houdini , or Blender Geometry Nodes to create versatile, non-destructive art systems.
• Pipeline Scripting: Leverage Python , C# , or Lua to automate repetitive modeling tasks, optimize export workflows, and bridge the gap between DCC tools and our game engine.

WHO YOU ARE

• Experience: 3 years in character modeling with a portfolio demonstrating high-fidelity “Pro-level” console/PC assets, characters roughly 50-100k tris.
• DCC Mastery: Expert-level proficiency in Maya or Blender , and a deep understanding of digital sculpting in ZBrush .
• Technical Aptitude: You don’t just “make art”; you understand how it works under the hood. You are comfortable writing scripts to improve your own efficiency.
• Collaborative: Able to work closely with Animators and Tech Artists to ensure topology is perfectly optimized for complex “Gun Fu” deformations.

BONUS POINTS

• Systemic Thinker: You enjoy using node-based systems to solve complex visual problems, whether it’s through procedural modeling or custom shader graphs.
• You use the latest tools to speed up workflow and improve quality:
• Use Reallusion’s CC5 to create a base character that you can take artistic control over and bring into Maya/Zbrush and into our game engine.
• Use AI to speed up your artistic workflow, generate rough models that you can then sculpt, retopologize and texture with PBR textures.
• Procedural Modeling: Experience with Houdini or advanced Geometry Nodes for environment or character prop generation.
• Engine Logic: Familiarity with the technical constraints of modern game engines (O3DE, Unreal, or Unity).
• Rigging Knowledge: A basic understanding of character rigging to better inform your modeling topology.
• Culture: A passion for innovation and a great sense of humor (we still love those dad jokes!).