Location: Remote
We are seeking a Senior 3D Character Artist to help define, build, and elevate the visual quality of our characters. This role is responsible for creating high-quality character assets while also owning major character-related features, contributing to visual direction, and mentoring other artists. The Senior Character Artist operates with a high degree of autonomy and collaborates closely with Animation, Rigging, Tech Art, and Design.
The ideal candidate demonstrates exceptional artistic fundamentals, strong technical execution, and a clear understanding of character production pipelines for real-time applications.
Responsibilities
Character Creation & Ownership
- Create high-quality real-time characters from concept through final in-engine implementation
- Own full character assets or character sets, including modeling, sculpting, texturing, and final presentation
- Ensure characters meet artistic, technical, and performance requirements
- Maintain consistency in character style, scale, and quality across the project
Anatomy, Form & Visual Quality
- Demonstrate strong understanding of human and/or creature anatomy, proportion, and form
- Create clean, production-ready topology suitable for deformation and animation
- Maintain high visual fidelity while balancing performance constraints
Materials, Textures & Surface Detail
- Create high-quality PBR textures and materials, including skin, cloth, hard surface, and organic materials
- Apply material layering and texture blending techniques where appropriate (e.g., masks, layered shaders)
- Ensure materials support lighting and rendering goals across a range of environments
Technical & Pipeline Awareness
- Collaborate closely with Rigging, Animation, and Technical Art to ensure assets deform and perform correctly
- Create assets that meet polycount, texture, and memory budgets
- Work effectively within established character pipelines, tools, and naming conventions
- Identify and help resolve pipeline inefficiencies
Collaboration & Leadership
- Collaborate cross-functionally with Concept Art, Animation, Rigging, Technical Art, and Design
- Provide clear, constructive feedback during character art reviews
- Mentor mid-level and junior character artists through example and guidance
Required Qualifications
Artistic & Technical Skills
- Strong portfolio demonstrating high-quality real-time character art
- Expert-level proficiency in industry-standard tools (e.g., Maya/Blender, ZBrush, Substance Painter)
- Strong understanding of:
- Anatomy, proportion, and silhouette
- Clean topology and deformation-friendly edge flow
- PBR material creation and surface definition
- Proven experience implementing characters in a real-time engine (e.g., Unreal Engine, Unity)
Experience
- 5+ years of professional experience in character art for games or real-time content
- Shipped at least one title or equivalent large-scale project
- Demonstrated experience owning full character assets or major character features with minimal oversight
Soft Skills
- Ability to plan and execute complex character work independently
- Strong communication skills and the ability to articulate artistic and technical decisions
- Receptive to feedback and capable of providing thoughtful critique
- Comfortable mentoring and supporting less-experienced artists
Preferred / Nice-to-Have Qualifications
- Experience with facial systems, blendshapes, or facial rigging pipelines
- Experience creating characters for cinematic or narrative-driven content
- Familiarity with hair creation workflows (e.g., cards, groom systems)
- Knowledge of performance optimization for characters (LODs, texture budgets)
- Experience contributing to or helping define character art style guides
What Success Looks Like in This Role
- Delivers characters that consistently meet or exceed the project’s visual bar
- Successfully owns and delivers full character assets from start to finish
- Proactively identifies and resolves artistic or technical challenges
- Raises the overall quality and effectiveness of the character art team