Character Art Lead

absurdventures; Santa Monica (CA); On-site; USD 150,000 - 185,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Vacation time

Sick time

Company holidays

Parental leave

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Life insurance

401(k) matching

Job summary

absurdventures in Santa Monica, CA is seeking a seasoned Character Art Lead to guide the character art team and shape the visual quality of our characters. You will set artistic and technical standards, define pipelines, and work with Art Director, Production, Animation, and external partners to deliver outstanding assets.

You will mentor artists, establish workflows, and make strategic decisions to improve quality, efficiency, and scalability.

Qualifications

• 7+ years of character art in games and team leadership.
• Proven ability to set artistic direction and quality standards.
• Experience building a character art pipeline from scratch.
• Experience in pre-production and shipping AAA titles.
• Understanding of modern PBR workflows for characters.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and provide artistic direction to the character art team.
• Partner with the Art Director to establish visual language, quality bar, and standards for characters.
• Make strategic decisions around character art workflows, pipelines, tools, and processes.
• Establish priorities and allocate character art resources across internal teams, outsourcing, and co-development partners.
• Collaborate with Production and Directors to assess scope, priorities, risks, and tradeoffs.
• Evaluate character art at key development stages and ensure assets meet standards.
• Collaborate with Animation, Technical Art, and Engineering to define asset requirements and integration.
• Define and maintain character art documentation, workflows, and best practices.
• Identify opportunities to improve the character art pipeline and address production challenges.

Skills

Character art leadership

Character modeling

Sculpting

Texturing

PBR workflows

Maya

ZBrush

Substance Painter

Unreal Engine

Mentoring artists

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts, Game Art, or a related field

Tools

Maya

ZBrush

Substance Painter

Unreal Engine

Job description

Summary

We are seeking a highly skilled and experienced Character Art Lead to lead our character art team and help define the visual quality and direction of our characters. As Character Art Lead, you will be responsible for setting artistic and technical standards, making strategic decisions that shape the character art pipeline and production process, and ensuring the team consistently delivers high-quality work that supports the creative vision of the game. You will partner closely with the Art Director, Production, Technical Art, Animation, and external development partners to establish priorities, solve complex challenges, and guide the team toward delivering exceptional character assets.

Core Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and provide clear artistic direction and feedback to the character art team, fostering a high-performing and collaborative environment.
• Partner with the Art Director to establish and maintain the visual language, quality bar, and artistic standards for characters.
• Make strategic decisions around character art workflows, pipelines, tools, and processes to improve quality, efficiency, and scalability.
• Establish priorities and help determine the appropriate allocation of character art resources across internal teams, outsourcing, and co-development partners.
• Work closely with Production and Directors to assess scope, prioritize work, identify risks, and make informed tradeoffs to keep character art production on track.
• Evaluate character art at key stages of development and provide actionable feedback to ensure assets meet the project's artistic and technical standards.
• Collaborate with Animation, Technical Art, and Engineering to establish character asset requirements and ensure characters are successfully integrated into the game.
• Define and maintain character art documentation, workflows, and best practices to support consistency, onboarding, and team development.
• Identify opportunities to improve the character art pipeline and proactively address production challenges before they impact the project.
• Stay current with evolving character art techniques, technology, and industry practices, and assess their potential value to the project.

Core Qualifications

• 7+ years of professional character art experience in the video game industry, including experience guiding or leading other artists.
• Proven experience setting artistic direction, establishing quality standards, and making strategic decisions for a character art team.
• Experience creating character pipelines from the ground up.
• Proven experience in pre-production as well as shipping titles.
• Familiarity establishing artistic and technical workflows to tackle all the complexities of a AAA character art pipeline.
• Proven track record of delivering high-quality character assets for AAA game titles.
• Strong understanding of character modeling, sculpting, texturing, anatomy, form, proportion, and silhouette.
• Significant experience with Maya, ZBrush, Substance Painter, and Unreal Engine.
• Strong understanding of modern PBR character art workflows and the technical requirements of creating production-ready character assets.
• Demonstrated ability to evaluate complex artistic and technical challenges, determine priorities, and make effective decisions within the constraints of a large game production.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively across internal and external development teams.
• Experience mentoring artists and helping develop team capabilities, workflows, and standards.
• Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts, Game Art, or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.

Plus If...

• Previous experience as a Character Art Lead, Character Art Director, or similar senior leadership role on a major game title.
• Experience managing or directing external art vendors, outsourcing partners, or co-development teams.
• Experience establishing character art pipelines and workflows for a new project or studio.
• Experience with character rigging, skinning, or other downstream character production disciplines.
• Knowledge of Marvelous Designer or similar clothing and garment simulation tools.
• Experience with rigid body dynamics, cloth simulation, or other character-related simulation workflows in Unreal Engine.
• Experience hiring, developing, and building high-performing character art teams.

Description

• Full-time job with benefits.
• Role is on-site in Santa Monica, CA.
• Office is located near downtown Santa Monica - near metro and freeway.
• The base pay range for this position is $150,000 to $185,000 per year. Actual compensation is based on market location and may vary depending on job‑related knowledge, skills, and experience. We also offer a competitive package of benefits including vacation time, sick time, company holidays, parental leave, medical/dental/vision insurance, life insurance, disability insurance, and 401(k) matching to regular full‑time employees. Certain roles