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Lead Outsource Artist

The ideal candidate would be a hardworking artist who is able to connect with the internal team and outsource partners, including detailing existing pipelines, collecting or crafting quality bar and technical example assets, collecting photo reference, crafting asset block outs, creating simple paint overs, packaging all files to send off to the external artists, reviewing external artist deliveries, integration of assets into the game engine and final polishing of assets.

Responsibilities:

• Manage and direct a team of internal artists to complete tasks with a high degree of efficiency.
• Work with the Art Director and Art Leads to establish visual direction and quality bar for our external partners
• Work directly with Outsourcing studio contacts to provide timely feedback and course correction to achieve the team’s goals for content delivery.
• Actively collaborate with the Art Director, Art Leads, and Designers to solve creative problems with both artistic insight and pragmatism. Ensure that briefs and objectives are clear and consistent
• Works closely with the Tools and Tech art team to develop new or improve upon old technologies to improve quality or efficiency
• Clarify art direction by creating paint overs that help convey the artistic and stylistic goals
• Writes and oversees the writing of detailed documentation, video reference, and examples of art asset production, procedures, and engine requirements to support the external partners
• Participates in project planning
• Other responsibilities include interviewing, hiring, and training employees; planning, assigning, and directing work.
• Clearly presenting feedback to the external partner, and ensuring those creative notes and goals are met
• Partner with the Production team to ensure schedules and plans meet project and business needs. Assist in the development of long-range planning by providing estimates and updates.
• Advising leadership of asset production progress and calling out any production, quality, or scheduling issues
• Provide prototype meshes with accurate scale and pivot placement, with understanding of the technical constraints, including vert count management, material setup, and PBR texture creation
• Evaluate effort estimations to ensure workdays are in-line with current project schedules
• Test levels in-game and assess both aesthetics and performance in Unreal

Requirements & Skills:

• Completed work on several published AAA game titles preferred
• Experienced shipping production assets for games as a lead using Unreal.
• Professional understanding of tool suites such as: Photoshop, Substance Designer/Painter, Zbrush, Maya, Perforce and Unreal
• Experience building relationships with internal and external outsourcing stakeholders while successfully delivering content within budget and time constraints.
• Understanding in-game art creation pipelines including hard surface props, soft rigid assets such as clothing items, vehicles, weapons, characters, etc.

Qualities:

• Excellent foundations skills, including composition, design, and color theory
• Ability to offer creative solutions for technically challenging tasks
• Able to critique, mentor, and improve art via written and verbal feedback
• Engages in creative discussions to find the best possible solution
• Experienced working within a team in a fast-paced production environment