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Environment Artist

Would you like to work on some of the greatest franchises in gaming history? Certain Affinity brings an exceptionally talented group together to form the largest independent developer in Austin, Texas and opened a second studio in Toronto, Canada last year. Our company culture reflects the vibrant nature of the cities we call home. This includes a commitment to our evolution, excellence, and work-life balance. Our Toronto studio will collaborate with our Austin location, and together we’ll be co-developing AAA FPS games and creating our own compelling new IP.

As an Environment Artist at Certain Affinity, you’ll have the opportunity to work with our internal team by creating and fine-tuning all elements, including skybox, set dressing, materials, composition, and lighting. Above all else, our environment artists are the artistic advocates for the level and understand all the steps required to bring a world to completion.

Responsibilities

• Work with the Project Art Director and concept team to define the map vision
• Collaborate daily with Design to ensure that Art reinforces gameplay
• Work closely with production to define deliverables and communicate expectations to the team
• Clarify goals and facilitate decision making
• Author and direct the creation of “gold standard” environment assets including materials, props, architecture, flora, terrain, and light schemes
• Work on discrete play-spaces from inception to implementation to final performance optimizations

Requirements

• Strong foundation knowledge in traditional arts, including but not limited to figure drawing and environmental and/or architectural illustration
• Solid understanding of the aesthetics of the environment, function vs. form relationships, as well as what makes a game level fun and intriguing
• Expert at improvising visual direction when lacking a specific concept or design
• Solid understanding of color theory and the ability to create balanced and appealing scenes
• Able to create current-gen materials and textures.
• Proficient knowledge of Photoshop, Z-Brush, Maya, and/or other 3D software packages
• An aptitude and desire to identify and solve technical issues related to workflow, rendering, and performance
• Excellent understanding of art pipelines and workflows
• Can effectively collaborate with game designers and programmers.
• Appreciation of how the design and composition of an environment affects gameplay
• 2+ years' experience in the game industry, specifically modeling, texturing, and lighting environments
• Experience using proprietary editors, software, and tools

Extra Credit

• Shipped 1+ AAA title in the last 3 years

Certain Affinity or its partners or affiliates run background checks on candidates or employees with the written authorization from the candidates or employees. These may be done for the purposes of offering employment or determining eligibility to work on a specific project. Multiple searches may be required.

Certain Affinity does not accept unsolicited referrals or resumes from any source other than directly from candidates.