Character Artist

About Piranha Games

Founded in 2000, Piranha Games is an action gaming studio with unparalleled experience developing licensed products for big-name franchises, including AAA licensed titles such as; Need for Speed: Undercover and Duke Nukem Forever. Best known for the Free-to-Play game title MechWarrior Online, PGI is as committed as ever to creating world-class action-based games, having most recently released MechWarrior 5: Clans. Piranha Games is part of the Enad Global 7 group. For more information, please visit www.piranhagames.com

Piranha Games is proud to be an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to fostering an inclusive environment for all employees. Formal education is not always required. All team members are hand-picked because they are skilled in their individual fields, immensely creative and hard workers. We hire avid gamers and mold them to the standards we believe make amazing products.

Should you need assistance or an accommodation due to a disability, you may contact us at recruiting@piranhagames.com

We thank you for your interest in this position. Due to the number of applications, only those selected for an interview will be contacted.

OVERALL OBJECTIVE AND PURPOSE: 

Under the guidance of the Art Director and Lead Character Artist, model characters with a special focus on anatomy, ensuring they and supporting characters meet the same standards in terms of quality and style.

WHY YOU SHOULD WORK WITH PGI

• Flexible Schedules & Remote Working Arrangements
• People-focused Events & Initiatives
• Competitive Compensation
• Meaningful, engaging projects
• Career growth opportunities
• Education & training grants

RESPONSIBLITIES: 

• Implement the overall artistic vision of characters based on designs, concepts and descriptions
• Work with the Art Director and Lead Character Artist to combine ideas and methodologies of character production to create an efficient, streamlined pipeline, understanding the technical limitations of the engine
• Design, model, and texture high quality 3D characters, paying close attention to anatomical proportions, scale, and skeletal templates
• Ensure that the character models can convey a sense of personality in the game (morphology, silhouette, facial expressions, etc.)
• Collaborate closely with concept artists, animators, game designers, and VFX artists to ensure the visual target is met or exceeded
• Assist with the integration of a character development process that works in congruence with the creative direction, meets the technical constraints of the game, as well as production deadlines
• Actively participate in technical and aesthetic problem-solving discussions with the team
• Display exceptional integrity and understanding of the work; constantly seeking ways to improve the efficiency of the workflow and provide documented feedback to improve in-house tools
• Stay up to date on best practices and industry trends, work to integrate them into the project and share knowledge with inter-project colleagues
• Mentor and train junior artists
• Other ad-hoc responsibilities as requested

REQUIREMENTS: 

• 4-7+ years’ experience working on AAA console and/or PC titles with at least 2 shipped games as a Character Artist
• Post-secondary education in Computer Graphics, Fine Arts, Game Art & Design or equivalent education, and/or experience
• Possess an exceptional understanding of human and animal anatomy with a keen eye towards form, structure, silhouette and organic movement
• Solid knowledge of character modeling, texturing, and lighting as related to game development
• Comprehensive knowledge of a major 3D package (3ds Max, Maya, etc.), Photoshop,  
• Z-brush, Substance Painter, Marmoset Toolbag, Marvelous Designer, etc.
• Demonstrated experience in the design and development of fantasy characters and creatures.
• A detail obsessed eye for creating and manipulating texture maps and excellent understanding of the value of UV space
• Be able to create characters with finished, rough, or no concept art that fits within the style
• Expertise in incorporating characters in Unreal Engine 5
• Expert experience using of advanced material shader systems for characters  
• Experience with groom(strands) and hair cards, to support in-game and cinematics characters
• Equally proficiency in clothing and hard surface modeling
• Knowledge of animation typology (rigging, skinning, etc.)

We are open to candidates at Intermediate to Senior levels depending on experience. Intermediate: 4+ years, Senior: 7+ years of experience. Compensation will be based on experience and skill level.