Senior Character Animator

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Job Description:

At Blizzard, we craft genre-defining games and legendary worlds for all to share. Through unparalleled creativity and storytelling, we create immersive universes and iconic characters that are beloved across platforms, borders, backgrounds, and generations – only made possible by building a work environment that nurtures the artistry of game development and unleashes the aspirations of our people.

As a Senior Character Animator you will be responsible for the creation of 3D animations, helping us craft a new, unannounced game for Blizzard. You will be a part of an exciting art team, bringing to life many characters in both core gameplay and full performance animations.

You will partner with experienced character artists, technical animators, and gameplay designers to create outstanding gameplay moments that will be experienced by players around the world. The role will be complex, creative, and fun with loads of opportunities to hone your skills and try new things.

We’re an inclusive team that welcomes new members with open arms. We care about each other, the games we build, and how we create them. We can't wait to meet you!

Responsibilities

• Work closely with the art director, lead animator, and animation team to deliver high-quality game animations in the required style for our game.
• Support animation production planning, ensuring content is delivered according to the needs of the game.
• Partner with character artists, technical animators, gameplay designers, and animation programmers to ensure characters and their animations are delivered to a specification that offers outstanding character performance within the required technical budgets.
• Ensure your animations are designed and delivered into the game in a way that is tidy, optimized, and scalable for the game to become a long-standing, scalable live service.
• Support the mentoring and development of more junior animators as required.

• Support any outsourced animation efforts as required.

Minimum Requirements :

• Experience in creating and implementing high-quality gameplay and performance animations in a wide range of styles.
• Experience in and understanding of how animation fits into the production of game development in collaboration with other crafts and fields, especially 3D modeling, rigging, and gameplay design.

• Experience in framing performance with cameras, timing, and composition.

Knowledge & Skills

• Strong understanding of all principles of animation.
• Skilled in getting the best movement from a 3D model, working with modeling and tech animation to achieve high standards of articulation and deformation.
• An understanding of technical animation, rigging, 3D modeling, and topology and the process of implementing animation into a game in a tidy, structured, and optimized way.

• In-depth knowledge of industry-standard software for the creation of 3D animation and any industry-relevant game engine where animation can be implemented into game.

Key Attributes

• A passion for making high-quality games in a cross-discipline, collaborative team.
• A natural problem solver, keen to do what’s right for the animation and the game as a whole.
• A proactive contributor, keen to learn and develop your skills and to share your knowledge with the team.

• Excellent skills in communication and organization.

Nice to have

• Experience in working with outsourcing for animation.
• Abilities in 2D animation and/or motion design.