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Lead Character Artist

ABOUT SPLASH DAMAGE

We believe that games play better with friends. For more than 20 years, we’ve been creating team-based multiplayer experiences that have entertained tens of millions of players all over the world and forged countless new friendships along the way.

Our studio culture is rooted in our open, friendly, and collaborative environment. Our games are made by people from all over the world, from our entry-level Fresh Talent hires to industry veterans, and we believe that fostering that diverse culture is the best way to build both our games and our studio. We have won numerous awards, including a ‘World-Class’ accreditation by Best Companies and being named one of the UK’s 100 Best Large Companies to work for.

While our offices are based in Bromley, UK, our people have access to progressive working patterns that give them the flexibility to decide how to do their best work.

Benefits:

We offer a comprehensive benefits package for you and your family, including:

• Work your way with access to progressive working patterns including hybrid and fully remote
• Substantial performance-related pay system on top of your basic compensation, along with enhanced pension contributions and our life assurance scheme
• Bespoke VISA and relocation packages for you and your family, with support from our team throughout the whole process
• 25 days of holiday and 8 Bank Holidays a year, plus our annual studio closure between Christmas and New Year’s
• Private Medical and Dental Cover for you and your family, along with a 24/7 digital GP service
• Extensive Mental Health support, with Line Manager Mental Health training, a group of Mental Health First-Aiders, and on-site or remote counselling
• Our bespoke Learning and Development course framework to help you grow as an employee, manager, and leader
• Industry-leading fully paid 30 weeks maternity leave & 10 weeks paternity leave

THE ROLE

We’re kicking off an exciting new project here at Splash Damage and so we’re looking for a Lead Character Artist to join the leadership team to define the look and feel of our heroes and villains.

As Lead Character Artist, you will work closely with the Art Director and Creative Director and be responsible for creating, establishing and maintaining high-quality characters for our project.

Our ideal candidate should exhibit strong mentoring capabilities and lead by example: displaying a mastery of Anatomy, Sculpting and Texturing with strong overall artistic abilities.

Responsibilities

• Lead, motivate and inspire a team of creative artists to help them to maintain quality, efficiency and consistency through feedback and mentoring.
• Drive the visual quality in conjunction with other Lead Artists
• Collaborate with Art and Design Directors to create technically sound, engaging and memorable characters

Essential Skills and Experience

• Management of an experienced Character Art Team: including holding regular 121s, setting objectives, looking after the team’s welfare and providing mentoring
• Highly experienced and proficient with 3D Studio MAX or Maya, Zbrush and Photoshop
• Superb 3D modelling and texturing skills with both organics & hard-surface
• Strong knowledge and understanding of human anatomy, proportions, mechanics, characterisation & archetypes
• Strong knowledge of mechanical construction and functionality (gear, weapons & robotics)
• Experience of character pipelines and efficient memory management of UVs, textures and vertices
• Highly experienced working with multiple texturing workflows for current (PBR) and previous generations, capable of creating well defined and readable realistic materials.
• Substantial examples of current and past work demonstrating a strong understanding of form, silhouette, shape, texture, colour and lighting
• Understanding of character modelling, rigging and skinning in preparation for animation
• A proactive drive for efficiency in work methods & the maintenance of high standards
• A great team player, able to communicate, learn from and to teach
• Excellent communication and collaborative problem-solving skills

Desirable Skills and Experience

• Extensive experience in developing character models and textures in a variety of styles
• Minimum 3 shipped titles where credited as a character artist
• Knowledge of real-time shaders
• Strong traditional art foundations including but not limited to sculpture, conceptual design and illustration including lighting or colour keys
• Keen interest in games and game design beyond art
• Experience working within Unreal Engine 4
• Knowledge of Substance Painter and Marvelous Designer a plus

Splash Damage is an equal opportunity employer. We believe our teams create better work when they have a range of perspectives to draw from, and we are committed to creating an inclusive working environment that celebrates diversity.