Character Effects Artist

Job Description

Walt Disney Animation Studios has an exciting opportunity for experienced Character FX Technical Directors / Technical Animators to join the team at our Vancouver, BC studio. The Character FX TD has strong artistic skills built on top of a solid technical foundation. The Character FX TD is responsible for character effects for shot production. You will work closely with the industry's top talent in fields to create the most appealing character simulation performances and bring our characters to life. This is a regular, full-time, staff position.

Hybrid and Remote opportunities for our Vancouver Studio are specific to remote work within the province of British Columbia.

Responsibilities:
• Character effects for shot production, including cloth and hair simulation, and final character polishing
• Actively engage in and potentially be cast to other tasks that the department supports (Simulation setup, and CFX/technical animation)

Requirements:
• Experience in hair and/or cloth simulation
• Solid understanding of the principles of animation
• Extensive knowledge of anatomy, kinematics, and physical behaviors
• Experience with creating appealing performances through simulation
• 3+ years of professional experience in cloth and hair simulation, with emphasis on CG features
• Experience working in collaborative environments and taking direction
• Strong problem-solving ability
• Comfort with Linux environments
• Bachelor's degree in Art, Illustration, Computer Graphics, Engineering, related field or equivalent experience

An applicant will benefit from having:
• Previous leadership/mentoring experience
• Solid understanding of Python scripting
• Experience in modeling, grooming, rigging, and/or character fx
• Prior experience using Houdini

A Note About Software:
Our department currently uses Autodesk Maya as our primary platform with proprietary solvers, hair instancing tools, and other authoring plugins. Applicants should be adept in Maya or an equivalent CG application or demonstrate an aptitude for learning software quickly. A strong skill set in packages like Marvelous Designer, XGen, and Houdini is an added plus.

Disney Animation continues to build on its rich legacy of innovation and creativity, from the first fully-animated feature film, 1937's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, to our 62nd animated feature, Wish, releasing November 2023. Among the studio's timeless creations are Pinocchio, Sleeping Beauty, The Jungle Book, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Frozen, Big Hero 6, Zootopia, and Encanto.

This position is with Walt Disney Animation Studios Vancouver Inc., which is part of a business we call Walt Disney Animation Studios.

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-d8mb0q-18-191-240-243-42 in your application.