Character Artist

Job Description

Character Artist (Contract) - Maxis

Duration: 12+months

Location: Remote North America - open to most North America locations

Welcome to Maxis, home to tinkerers, craftspeople, & storytellers. Our drive is to inspire everyone to make a better world through creative play. As the developer of the Sims, we create games and experiences for millions of people around the world and are always looking for new ways to inspire our players. Maxis is a place where you can do what you love and help others grow while doing it; a place where your unique voice can be heard and seen. We put creativity and inclusivity at the core of our work and don't settle for seeing the world only as it is, but strive to build a world as it could be. Read on to see how you can join our team and dream big.

You will be reporting to the Development Director.

Job Summary

As a Character Artist with Maxis, you will be working closely with the Art Director and Technical Leads to define visual standards and technical specifications of characters for the project. In addition to creating high quality character models and materials, the Character Artist assists peers and external partners to deliver work that meets the project standards. The ideal candidate proactively seeks opportunities to elevate the game, embraces constructive feedback, and thrives in a highly collaborative environment.

Responsibilities:
• You will work with the Art Director and technical partners to define and refine the look and feel of characters for the project.
• You will work with Technical Art, Engineering and other artists to develop the character creation and integration pipeline.
• You will create high quality character models and materials/shaders including in-game and high-resolution assets.
• You will update style and technical documents for the character art team.
• You will collaborate with Technical Artists to create and improve tools and workflows.
• You will actively participate in milestone planning and reviews.

Qualifications:
• Minimum of 2 years of production experience as a character artist.
• Strongly proficient in industry standard software like Maya, ZBrush, Substance Painter/Designer and Photoshop.
• Strong understanding of scale, proportion, surface properties, and human anatomy.
• Demonstrated ability in character stylization
• Knowledge of character setup and rigging.
• Ability to create shaders/materials using painting and node-based techniques (e.g. Substance Painter and Designer)
• Knowledge of high-poly to low-poly surface baking
• Passion for making and playing games

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-gp0v74-18-221-174-248-42 in your application.