Senior Staff Character Technical Artist

Description

Sony Bend Studio, the creator of Days Gone, Syphon Filter and Uncharted: Golden Abyss, is looking for top talent to join our in passionate team in creating a new AAA PlayStation 4 exclusive.

The Senior Character Technical Artist will be responsible for creating tools and processes that assist in all areas of character animation production to achieve the highest artistic quality in the least amount of time, keeping hardware limitations and performance in mind.  

Responsibilities include: defining technical quality standards, overseeing the development of art pipelines, and setting technical production goals.  Must possess the ability to collaborate at a high level with a wide-range of development team members outside of direct discipline, such as Directors, Programmers, Character Artists, Animators, and Designers to achieve the highest artistic goals as they relate to the game design and within technological considerations.

Responsibilities:

• Develop character rigs and skeletons that meet the technical limitations of game engines while insuring the characters movements look as realistic as possible
• Develop and implement skinning methods to achieve realistic deformation for faces, bodies, and clothes, including the creation of tools and scripts to assist in completing these tasks quickly and efficiently during production
• Develop animation tools to assist in the creation of character animation and motion capture clean up, using layers, blends, FK and IK setups, etc.
• Develop tools and methods for synchronizing character animations with object animations in game
• Develop methods for animating character attachments like props, cloth, and hair procedurally and through baking out animations from character rigs
• Work directly with animation programmers to implement all in-game animations defined by the game design and within technical limitations
• Take on a leadership role within the art team.  This entails: contributing to schedule management needs, providing guidance to support the diplomatic resolution of complex problems, providing input on team performance reviews, facilitating career coaching, and training and mentoring other technical artists in developing advanced technical skills and artistic abilities
• Keep aware of industry trends and technical techniques, evaluate competitive products, and determine areas we can improve or innovate. Communicate innovations in a convincing way and collaborate with the leadership team to develop plans for implementation
• Provide input on the technical methods used to achieve the artistic goals and vision through all phases of the game development cycle from pre-production through final product release.  This entails ensuring all animated events are of the highest technical quality and uphold the integrity of the games design and artistic vision as a whole
• Serve as a technical resource for all phases of production and other studio art and technical needs.  This includes, but is not limited to: conducting general research, developing cutting-edge tools and techniques, and testing new systems or tools.  Provide training, transmit industry related information, and convey concerns in a constructive way by providing solutions to those concerns
• Independently undertake research and information gathering prior to the commencement of a new task to ensure game design needs, reference materials, artistic direction, and technological considerations are all effectively managed to meet the defined goals

• Highly proficient in Mel scripting, object rigging, and skinning both mechanical and organic assets.  Some knowledge of Python, Java, C++, and max scripting is a plus.
• Highly proficient in the use of 3D animation software to create animation rigs, skin characters, and do animation testing.  This requires mastery of 3D software and the ability to analyze photos, videos, and concept art reference to help achieve the desired quality of character animation and deformation
• Knowledge of Havok for rag doll, cloth, and hair setup is a plus
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal
• Strong time management and project management skills
• Strong data management skills,  with the ability to manage and track large amounts of data as they go through the art pipeline with attention to naming conventions, directory structures, and other processes
• Extensive portfolio with examples of current, hands-on work, including: object animation (both mechanical and organic), use of Havok and other physics-based tools, and tools and scripts used to assist in the creation of object animation, rigging, and setup
• Some previous or next-gen video game platform experience is desirable (PS3, PS4, Xbox 360)
• Minimum 5 years’ game art production or film-related experience required; 8-10 years’ preferred
• Minimum 2 years’ post-high school education or training required; Master’s degree and/or professional certification preferred