Lead Artist, Characters

Job Description

For the past 20 years Monolith Productions has been obsessed with delivering a unique gaming experience for our fans. Starting with Blood, our very first title – all the way to our most recent offering, Middle-Earth: Shadow of Mordor, we are constantly pushing the envelope to combine innovative gameplay, inventive narratives, cutting edge tech & AI, and stunning visuals. We are challenging ourselves even further to ensure that our next project is going to be our best yet. That's where you come in – for us to achieve that, we need the best and brightest talent the industry has to offer. Help us create our next AAA title.

The Lead Artist, Character is responsible for leading a team of character artists in the creation and implementation of the highest quality characters and creatures within a AAA project infrastructure. This person will work directly with the Director of Art, Director of Technical Art, Design Leadership, and relevant Art Leadership to help create and define the character style, define best practices, and maintain the highest artistic standards and proper technical requirements for AAA industry leading products. The Lead Artist, Character is responsible for providing clear direction to the character art team on development best practices towards increased efficiency and quality. The Lead Artist, Character will regularly mentor team members and provide career development opportunities and guidance towards the growth of the character team. The Lead Artist, Characters is not an individual contributor focused role. This position is a leadership, management, and quality control role that will see opportunities to create content to set the quality bar or help define best practices but, creating original content is not the focus.

JOB QUALIFICATION STANDARDS:

Work Experience
• 8+ years of progressively complex related experience in the games industry
• Minimum of 3 published AAA games
• Minimum of 1 published AAA game as a Lead or equivalent

Education, Professional Training, Technical Training or Certification
• BA in art or related field or equivalent experience

Knowledge/Skills
• At least 7+ years of Zbrush and/or other sculpting digital tools
• At least 8+ years experience with Photoshop and/or Painter.
• At least 8+ years experience with industry standard 3-D package (3D Studio Max and Maya)
• Industry leading character and creature sculpting skills with an ability to create highly realistic AAA quality content
• Industry leading understanding of human and animal anatomy.
• Strong understanding of the history of costume design with an ability to execute a variety of designs from varied time periods
• Strong understanding of facial anatomy and its application to high fidelity
• Strong understanding of color theory with an ability to balance content within a range of lighting scenarios
• Strong understanding of internal and external silhouette and its impact on perception of content
• Strong understanding of current gen shader technology with an ability to create a wide range of highly realistic materials
• Solid experience and understanding of AAA current generation development, and an interest in finding ways to evolve and improve the character art creation pipeline.
• Ability to adapt rapidly to new or changing technology
• Solid organization skills with adherence to file structures, naming conventions and other established protocols
• Diligence with individual and team tasks, schedule and adherence to budget limitations.
• Effective management and motivation of team members
• Must be able to work well within a team. Willingness to provide and accept direction, and the ability to embrace change. Ability to collaborate productively with others
• Must be able to buy into the established art vision of the game and ensure it is delivered in its entirety at the end of the project
• Passion for making and playing great games, with an awareness of current titles and industry trends
Other Requirements
• Portfolio/website demonstrating your art skills, design sensibilities, and attention to detail.

Jobcode: Reference SBJ-rznkzn-3-146-105-194-42 in your application.