Associate Animator

Makeshift Software; Columbus (OH); Hybrid; USD 42,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

MOVE AI markerless mocap + Z CAM E2-M4

Faceware Mark IV mocap helmets

Industry-grade workstation

Remote for 3–6 months, then hybrid on‑

Job summary

Makeshift Software Inc. in Columbus, Ohio, is seeking an Associate Animator to support gameplay animation and prerendered cinematics for Hexborn. You will learn our pipeline, work with senior animators, and gradually own shots as you grow.

This hands-on role includes remote work for 3–6 months, then a transition to hybrid on-site. You will use Blender to animate, assist with mocap cleanup, and contribute to both bipeds and creature rigs while building a strong portfolio.

Qualifications

• Some professional or strong portfolio-level Blender animation experience.
• Familiarity with motion capture cleanup workflows (professional or coursework/personal project experience welcome)
• Basic experience animating on biped and/or creature rigs
• A strong demo reel or portfolio showing animation fundamentals — weight, timing, and readability
• Eagerness to learn from senior animators and grow within a structured production pipeline

Responsibilities

• Assist with gameplay moments and prerendered cutscenes in Blender under guidance of senior animators.
• Support motion capture cleanup workflows from raw capture to production-ready animation.
• Animate on both bipeds and creature rigs using the established rig library.
• Follow and help maintain our rigging and animation standards.
• Collaborate with senior animators to gain greater independence and shot ownership over time.
• Work within our animation tooling and production workflow.

Skills

Blender animation

Motion capture cleanup

Biped/creature rigs

Demo reel/showreel

Eagerness to learn

Tools

MOVE AI

Z CAM E2-M4

Faceware Mark IV

Job description

Makeshift Software Inc | Remote (3–6 months) - Hybrid On-Site Full-Time

About Hexborn

Hexborn is our upcoming dark fantasy action RPG — a brutal blend of hack-and-slash combat, deep dungeon crawling, guild progression, and player-driven rivalry set in a world consumed by an ever-expanding corruption known as the Graveglass Blight. Players rise from an unknown mage into the leader of a legendary guild, mastering arcane combat, recruiting allies, forging relics, and descending into cursed ruins and large-scale raids to uncover the truth behind their rare ability to fly.

The demo is live now on Steam.

We're building toward a cinematic bar that matches the quality references below — both in gameplay animation and in prerendered cutscenes — and we're looking for an animator early in their career who's ready to learn our pipeline and grow into a full production role on the team.

The Role

We're looking for an Associate Animator to support gameplay animation and prerendered cinematics for Hexborn, working closely with our senior animators to learn our pipeline and take on increasing ownership over time. You'll help clean up motion capture data, animate on established rigs, and build the foundational skills to eventually own shots independently.

This is a hands-on production role with real mentorship built in. You won't be expected to work in isolation — you'll pair closely with senior animators, get regular feedback, and grow into more autonomous work as you get comfortable with our tools and quality bar.

What You’ll Do

• Assist with animating gameplay moments and prerendered cutscenes/film sequences in Blender, under the guidance of senior animators
• Support motion capture cleanup, learning our process for taking raw capture through to production-ready animation
• Animate on both biped and creature rigs using our existing, established rig library
• Follow and help maintain our team's rigging and animation standards
• Collaborate closely with senior animators to build toward greater independence and shot ownership over time
• Work within our existing animation tooling: Animation Sets in use and our broader workflow tools

What You’ll Need

• Some professional or strong portfolio-level experience with Blender animation
• Familiarity with motion capture cleanup and workflows (professional or coursework/personal project experience welcome)
• Basic experience animating on biped and/or creature rigs
• A strong demo reel or portfolio showing animation fundamentals — weight, timing, and readability
• Eagerness to learn from senior animators and grow within a structured production pipeline

Quality Bar References

To give a sense of the cinematic and animation quality we're aiming for:

1. Reference 1
2. Reference 2

Perks & Tools

• MOVE AI markerless mocap + Z CAM E2-M4 camera capture system
• Faceware Mark IV mocap helmets for facial performance capture
• Industry-grade workstation, built to spec: see our standard build
• Remote for the first 3–6 months, transitioning to hybrid on-site thereafter

Work Arrangement

We'll start fully remote for a 3–6 month grace period while you ramp up and get embedded with the team, then transition to a hybrid on-site schedule.

Columbus is also a genuinely affordable place to build a life relative to the coastal cities most gamedev careers run through. Cost of living runs roughly 50% below Seattle and Santa Cruz — driven mostly by housing, where Columbus's median home price (around $263K) compares to $808K in Seattle and $1.24M in Santa Cruz — and it stays competitive even against Montreal, historically one of the more cost-conscious major gamedev hubs in North America.

Makeshift Software Inc is the developer and publisher of Hexborn.