Lead Character Artist - Studio nDreams (Hybrid)
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We are nDreams, one of the world’s leading developers and publishers focused on VR games.
Combining innovation with excellence, we are the team behind award-winning games Phantom: Covert Ops and Fracked. Our AAA experience and sensibilities, alongside bespoke VR technologies, give us the skillset, processes and creativity to deliver innovative, high-production games for all VR platforms. We’ve got several exciting projects planned for the year and beyond - we can’t wait to show you more…
Our projects continue to push forward the boundaries of VR and we’re looking for talented people to help us turn them into a reality. Our talented studio now has over 100 people and has been assembled by world-leading game developers and publishers.
The Role
We have an amazing opportunity for an experienced Character Artist to join us here at nDreams, where you will deliver high-quality work for our upcoming VR game titles.
As a Lead Character Artist, you will work alongside the Art Director and will be responsible for guiding the character team to create fully realized, beautifully crafted characters.
Help to build an excellent creative environment that fosters self-improvement and ownership, whilst establishing pipelines and processes that empower discovery whilst refining intuitive games.
Key Responsibilities:
- Guide the Character Team to create visually stunning characters that capture the “look” and artistic style of the project, and satisfy all technical engine and design requirements.
- Inspire and motivate the team, providing mentorship and feedback to maintain high-quality art with best practices and workflows.
- Contribute and collaborate with other Leads and Directors to create memorable characters that drive visual quality.
- Support production with milestone sprint planning and realistic scoping to deliver character art assets on budget and in a timely manner.
- Interpret game design, concept art and reference boards, and communicate the vision clearly to the Character Team.
- Coordinate with Design, Engineering, Animation and Technical Art to define efficient Character pipelines and problem-solve technical, performance and memory requirements for various VR platforms.
- Identify and communicate risks and weaknesses whilst proactively seeking areas for improvement in the Character Art development pipeline.
Requirements
Who are we looking for?
- 6+ years’ in AAA Character Art game development, with 2 shipped titles within the Console, PC, VR or Mobile space
- 1 years’ experience managing a Character Art Team
- Excellent knowledge of real time engines (Unreal experience preferred)
- Strong in High and Low poly modelling skills and texture/material/shader creation within a PBR pipeline
- High proficiency of content creation software (Maya, ZBrush, Substance Painter/Designer, Marvellous Designer)
- Strong knowledge of anatomy, human and animal, proportions, and characterization
- Excellent hand-key animation skills, a working knowledge of Motion Capture pipelines and a practical understanding of animation principles
- A strong portfolio of Characters in a variety of styles; Realistic and Stylized.
- Able to run regular reviews with constructive feedback.
- Seeks and suggests ways to improve processes, documentation and workflows and helps the team adapt to change.
- Ability to set growth goals for yourself and your team.
Benefits
Why nDreams?
Our growing studio shares a passion for innovation, collaboration and defining the future of VR. We encourage an open, creative and diverse culture and empower people to explore their ideas and put their own stamp on projects. With humble beginnings of our own, we combine big projects and opportunities with a personal, caring touch. We’re proud of our culture – come and see why!
We offer some great perks, including flexible core hours, share options, 20 days holiday (increasing yearly to a maximum of 25 days), two duvet days, a day off to celebrate your birthday and various monthly socials (including Breakfast Bap Days and Free Drink Friday)! Our newly refurbished open-plan office has some great facilities with a cycle station, showers and more all on-site.