Senior Blendshape Artist

Job Description

Why PlayStation?

PlayStation isn't just the best place to play… it's also the best place to work.  With the launch of the original PlayStation in 1994, we set out to thrill gamers with amazing experiences.  Our never-ending pursuit to push gaming to new heights is the reason we are recognized as a global leader in interactive and digital entertainment.  Under Sony Interactive Entertainment, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sony Corporation, the PlayStation brand and experience exists because of the passionate dedication of our team who work hard for everyone to play.

The Visual Arts Group and PlayStation Malaysia are passionate teams within the PlayStation family, provides world-class content, development, and services to PlayStation's studios all over the world. Always at the cutting edge of technology, Visual Arts works with studios like Naughty Dog, Insomniac, Santa Monica Studios, Guerrilla Games, Bend Studios, SuckerPunch, San Diego Studio, Japan Studios, and more first-party teams.  Our team is made up of game and film industry professionals from all over the world, working with some of the best minds and companies around.

If you are talented and proactive, and have initiative, we want to hear from you. Please apply!

Why work when you can play? This is life at PlayStation.

Responsibilities:
• The Blendshape Artist will be responsible for bringing highly-realistic faces to life for both cinematic and in-game sequences
• This person will make the final tweaks to the topology edge-flow and determine the final positioning and refinement to key assets such as eyes, teeth, tongue and eyelashes
• When the model face is finalized the artist will sculpt a full array of naturalistic FACs and corrective blendshapes for expressive photorealistic humans
• Sculpting a series of high-resolution wrinkle maps to add a final level of polish and nuance to the expressions
• Work closely with the external clients, internal artists and outsourcing partners to keep quality and style consistent across all characters
• Create and lead others in the creation of photo-realistic humans, with particular attention to advanced facial modeling and expression modeling
• Lead and mentor both internal character teams and outsourcing partners to reach aesthetic and technical goals
• Create documentation, communicate requirements, and provide feedback to internal artists and outsourcing partners
• Constantly and proactively seek to improve the production processes, tools and pipelines for character creation, rigging and animation and rendering

Qualifications:
• At least 5 years of professional character art experience in high-end 3D games and/or films with at least 1 published title or movie
• Bachelor's Degree or equivalent
• Solid grasp of realistic human anatomy with special emphasis on the head/face
• Strong understanding of Maya and basic understanding/use of blend shapes
• Experience with facial rigging of any kind as well as sculpting in Zbrush, Mudbox, etc.
• Comfortable making facial expressions in the mirror and ideally capable of isolating difference expressions/actions in the face
• Must have extreme attention to detail and an eye for minute differences/movements in the face
• The ability to grasp technical concepts at least from a broad perspective and follow technical workflows while pushing artistic limit
• Self-manage and keep track of progress and troubleshoot technical issues with Maya
• Brainstorm ideas that keep in mind the overall goals of the project

Desired qualifications:
• Experience with facial blend shape workflows on realistic humans
• Expert understanding of human anatomy
• Versed in Facial Action Coding System
• Experience with Blendshape Combination System plug-in
• Experience with Perforce

We sincerely appreciate the time and effort you spent in contacting us and we thank you for your interest in PlayStation.



Equal Opportunity Statement:

Sony is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All persons will receive consideration for employment without regard to gender (including gender identity, gender expression and gender reassignment), race (including colour, nationality, ethnic or national origin), religion or belief, marital or civil partnership status, disability, age, sexual orientation, pregnancy or maternity, trade union membership or membership in any other legally protected category.

We strive to create an inclusive environment, empower employees and embrace diversity. We encourage everyone to respond.

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-gmeqbx-3-138-114-94-42 in your application.