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Principal Character Artist

Join Romero Games as we develop John Romero’s next First Person Shooter in partnership with a major publisher! This is an unprecedented opportunity to join a thriving independent development studio and work on a high-profile title that will be played by millions of gamers worldwide.

We are looking for a Principal Character Artist to join our growing team on a full-time basis. The Principal Artist position requires a good understanding of current AAA-quality art, consistent character design, art pipelines, and current game console criteria and their limitations on memory and performance. Understanding current character art technologies, tools pipelines and interdepartmental dependencies. You will strive for the highest quality result, in an efficient and timely manner.

This position is open to remote work for the right candidate, and relocation to our office in Galway, Ireland is also possible.

Responsibilities

• Create (Sculpt, Model, UV, texture and create materials) AAA quality characters and creatures and some weapons.
• Provide strong leadership and thoughtful direction
• Help set the tone for character creation using advanced techniques and the latest tools
• Work closely with Creative Director, Art Director to ensure the visual target is always exceeded and stylistically consistent
• Actively participate in technical and aesthetic problem-solving discussions for the entire project
• Coordinate with tools and technology teams to help develop necessary solutions for creating the best characters possible
• Create assets that satisfy their intended design and are ready for rigging and animation, provide feedbacks to more junior staff so they do to
• Create your character following the production schedule that is well coordinated with production
• Mentor less experienced artists by providing creative and technical advice, guidance, and feedback

Skills

• High proficiency with the leading tools used for character creation - 3DS Max, Maya, Z-Brush, Substance, Marvelous Designer, etc.
• Excellent High and Low poly modelling skills, as well as demonstrable skill with texture and shader creation within a PBR pipeline
• Solid grasp of color theory and lighting techniques for quality presentation and the best player experience
• Strong knowledge of human and animal anatomy, materials and garb
• Ability to rapidly master proprietary tools and development pipelines
• 6+ years in the game industry with 2 shipped titles
• Ability to be resourceful and come up with creative solutions
• Ability to be receptive to art direction and critiques from project leads
• Excellent communication skills with the ability to effectively coordinate with producers, programmers, designers, as well as artists
• Strong organizational, supervisory and mentoring skills
• Passion for gaming

Preferences

• Strong foundation in traditional art
• Experience with Unreal Engine
• A portfolio that demonstrates a range of high-quality 3D art, with examples of modelled, textured and lit characters, and a range of hard surface and organic model
• Character and prop concepting skills
• Samples from previous industry work