Lead Character Artist

Placements24; LegKraal Gate; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,300,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

A competitive salary and comprehensive

Hybrid work model offering flexibility

Continuous learning and professional**

Job summary

Placements24 is seeking a Lead Character Artist to guide our character art team in Mahikeng. You will oversee high-fidelity 3D character models, textures, and potentially rigging, ensuring top artistic and technical standards across projects.

You will collaborate with art directors, game designers, and other leads to establish visual style, maintain consistency, and drive the pipeline from concept to delivery. This role combines creative leadership with hands-on artistry in a dynamic studio.

Qualifications

• 7+ years as a Character Artist in games, with lead or senior experience.
• Expert in ZBrush, Maya and Substance Painter/Designer.
• Strong understanding of human anatomy, form, and proportion.
• Experience with Unreal Engine or Unity and their rendering pipelines.
• Excellent communication and leadership skills.
• Portfolio demonstrating high-quality character art.

Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a team of character artists, providing artistic direction and technical feedback.
• Oversee the creation of high-quality 3D character models, textures, and related assets.
• Ensure character assets are optimized for performance across platforms.
• Collaborate with art directors to define and maintain visual style.
• Review character art assets, provide critique, and manage the pipeline.
• Stay current with industry trends and new technologies in character art.

Skills

Character art

Leadership

ZBrush

Maya

Substance Painter/Designer

Game engines

Anatomy

Tools

ZBrush

Maya

Substance Painter/Designer

Job description

About the Role

Our client is seeking a talented and visionary Lead Character Artist to guide their character art team in Mahikeng . This critical role involves overseeing the creation of high-fidelity character models, textures, and potentially rigging, ensuring they meet the highest artistic and technical standards. You will work closely with art directors, game designers, and other art leads to define the visual style and quality for characters across our projects. This is an exceptional opportunity to leave your mark on compelling characters within a dynamic and collaborative creative studio.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead and mentor a team of character artists , providing artistic direction and technical feedback.
• Oversee the creation of high-quality 3D character models, including sculpting, retopology, UV mapping, and texturing.
• Ensure character assets are optimized for performance across various platforms.
• Collaborate with art directors to establish and maintain character visual consistency and style.
• Review character art assets, provide constructive critique, and manage the character art pipeline.
• Stay current with industry trends and new technologies in character art creation.

Requirements

• 7+ years of experience as a Character Artist in the games industry, with significant experience in a lead or senior role.
• Expert proficiency in ZBrush, Maya, and Substance Painter/Designer.
• Strong understanding of human anatomy, form, and proportion.
• Experience with game engines (Unreal Engine, Unity) and their rendering pipelines.
• Excellent communication, leadership, and problem-solving skills.
• A portfolio showcasing exceptional character art quality and artistic versatility.

Benefits

• A competitive salary and comprehensive benefits package.
• Hybrid work model offering flexibility and work-life balance.
• Opportunity to work on exciting and visually diverse projects.
• A supportive and creative studio culture in Mahikeng .
• Continuous learning and professional development opportunities.