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Sr. Character Artist - Blendshapes

Insomniac Games is looking for a Sr. Character Artist focused on blendshapes. They're responsible for modeling character art assets and creating blendshapes at the highest quality level. Mentors, tutors, and provides assistance to other artists to improve workflow and content pipeline.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following:

• Responsible for processing and polishing scanned data for both in-game and cinematics.
• Precisely wrap existing topology onto source model for best animation results.
• Sculpt a range of natural looking FACs and corrective blendshapes for expressive human faces.
• Enhance scanned models with high resolution details.
• Sculpt, polish and clean up high-resolution wrinkle details to enhance facial expressions.
• Deliver a set of final highly-polished assets including high-resolution models and textures.
• Create and optimize models, textures and materials for photo-realistic characters, with emphasis on facial and expression modeling.
• Uses advanced knowledge of human anatomy to ensure that models achieve a high level of functionality and design aesthetics.
• Checks character assets in context in the game to identify scale and design issues.
• Actively participates in technical and artistic problem solving.
• Works closely with animators and riggers to ensure models deform correctly and are functional.
• Assists providing feedback to internal and external teams, meets with other character artists to discuss style and technique to maintain quality and visual consistency across all characters.
• Document process and communicate requirements.
• Constantly and proactively seek to improve the production processes, tools and pipelines for character creation, rigging, animation and rendering.
• Creates low poly and high poly models using 3D application(s)
• Creates UV mapping for game resolution assets.
• Creates texture/shader (color, normal, specular, ambient occlusion, height, cavity, and curvature maps using 2D/3D application(s)
• Works with proprietary in-house art tools to provide content to game engine.
• Works with Art Director/ Lead Artist/Concept Artist to maintain art direction for the game
• Works with Character Art Team to maintain art direction for the game, providing and/or receiving constructive feedback when necessary
• Collaborates with other departments (Animation, design, tools, programming) to ensure art is implemented appropriately in the game engine
• Mentors, tutors, and provides assistance to other artists
• Experiments with and/or evaluates techniques and/or art programs to improve efficiency, workflow, or pipeline contribution to game art/engine
• Other duties may be assigned

Education and/or Experience:

• Fifth year college or university program certificate; or five to seven years related experience and/or training in video games or film; or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Advanced understanding of Maya (or Max), Substance Painter, Zbrush, Marvelous Designer, or equivalent, and Photoshop.
• Advanced understanding of generating normal maps from high poly models.
• Advanced understanding of PBR shader.
• Advanced understanding of complex node-based shader networks such as those used in Unreal Engine, Substance Designer, etc.
• Understanding of source control via Perforce or equivalent.
• Knowledge of WrapX and Reality Capture is a plus.
• Knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite.

Other Skills: Strong foundation skills with the ability to work with detailed or loose concept art, or reference art/ materials. Expert knowledge of human and animal anatomy. Advanced understanding of hair creation process. Advance knowledge in organic and hard surface modelling. Advanced traditional painting skills, and Ability to create models and shaders for a range of art directions, from photorealistic to stylized. Ability to meet deadlines under tight schedules. Willingness to receive direction from lead artist and peers and work closely with a team.

If this is the role you have been looking for- we look forward to hearing from you. Please submit your application below and be sure to include a link to your portfolio.

Thanks!