Senior Character Artist

Spark is looking for an experienced Character Artist to join us in making a breakout hit based on an established console franchise. This is an opportunity for you to have a hand in creating a bold new take on 3rd Person Action/Horror. The ideal candidate is an outstanding Character Artist with thorough knowledge of classical Modeling and texturing principles and pipelines, possessing strong leadership skills, production-sensibilities, and the talent to produce and implement the highest quality work.

Responsibilities

• Work closely with the Lead Character Artist and Art Director to develop character goals and assets that fulfill the requirements of the project’s game and visual design.
• Work with the Character Lead on the scheduling and integration of character assets. Integrate assets with designers, engineers and animators to create compelling in-game characters and props.
• Create high-quality characters at a quality bar suitable for next-generation console development.
• Support the development of run-time game character procedures & pipelines
• Consistently meet project deadlines in a timely manner without compromising artistic integrity.
• Create compelling and consistent models for all major characters.
• Work collaboratively with all levels of the development team, including active participation in Spark’s agile-development process. Cultivate a positive team dynamic, and exhibit a professional attitude by demonstrating a good balance between creativity and practical flexibility.

Requirements

• Demonstrated professional, exceptional visual and technical understanding in sculpting, 3D modeling & texturing (both high- & low-resolution characters).
• 4-5 years professional character modeling experience on multiple projects. Proven industry experience, including shipped game projects strongly preferred.
• Thorough understanding of Autodesk Maya, Mudbox or Zbrush.
• Experience and/or education in sculpting and drawing organic forms with an emphasis on human, biped and quadruped shapes.
• Experience sculpting facial blend shapes, facial animation and lip-synch.
• Experience with skeleton/rig creation.
• Excellent communication, time-management and organizational skills. A strong ability to work across multiple disciplines to gather feedback and address cross-functional issues. Penchant for practical innovation and the ability to bring new ideas to the table.
• Passionate player of games with an ability to analyze competitive products for their strengths and weaknesses.

Preferred Skills

• Art-related degree and/or comparable professional experience(B.A. or equivalent degree).
• Previous Character experience on multiple next generation console project.
• Third-person action genre experience.
• Unreal 3 Engine experience.
• Experience working in an Agile/Scrum development environment.

• Applicants must be able to work at our Sherman Oaks, California studios.
• Email only. No visits or phone calls, please.
• The Subject line of your email must reference the job title and your name, like this: Senior Character: Last name, First name
• Include your resume as an email attachment, preferably as a PDF or in Word 2003 or later format.
• Include links to online portfolio or send demo reel materials to Spark Unlimited, Attn: Character Dept, 15000 Ventura Boulevard, Suite 202, Sherman Oaks, CA 91403. No drop offs please.
• Make sure your resume also includes your name, address, phone, and email.
• Send email to: art-jobC0460@sparkunlimited.com

 

Download Spark Non-Disclosure Agreement