We are looking for an experienced and talented Senior Character Artist to join the development effort on our exciting new game “Project D.”

The project is a third person horror game with experimental narrative, a return to the genre that Sam previously explored with Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. Candidates with experience of shipping a third person Unreal title on console are preferred. We're combining AAA experience with indie agility to deliver a big, ambitious game and are assembling a small team to make it happen. You will be joining the project during early development and setting the tone to establish the game's look.

This is a full-time position on a remote team. Our studio is based in Brooklyn, NY and occasional travel to New York City may be required. Currently, we cannot offer visa sponsorships to non-US citizens, but all are encouraged to apply.

Applicants from traditionally marginalized identities within the game industry are highly encouraged to apply. Half Mermaid Productions does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, gender expression, age, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status.

If you have any questions or encounter any issues using our job application form, please email jobs@halfmermaid.co.

Responsibilities:

• Work closely with the Lead Artist, Creative Director, and Narrative Designer to design and create a cast of interesting and nuanced 3D characters.
• Work from concept art and/or scanned 3D actor meshes to create high-quality game-ready assets.
• Help drive and improve the character creation workflow, including path-finding efficient ways to meet the game design requirements.
• Ensure that all character assets are game-ready for the rigging and skinning, and work with the animation team to troubleshoot any issues.
• Work with external partners as well as our internal team to help ensure that a consistent style and quality is maintained.

Required Skills:

• A love of narrative-based games and a passion for story-telling!
• Remote work requires a proactive attitude, a high level of self-motivation, great communication skills and the ability to self-organize
• Previous experience in a professional game development environment, with at least one shipped Unreal product
• Experience creating game-ready characters from scanned 3D meshes as well as traditional character pipelines
• Good technical understanding of current UE5 character and animation tools and workflows, including MetaHuman
• A high level of written and spoken English.
• Portfolio demonstrating strong examples of:
  • 3D modeling and texturing of realistic human characters
  • A good understanding of human anatomy
  • An eye for realistic detail and nuance
  • Examples of realistic skin and cloth material creation
  • Examples of your workflow stages from start to finish
• Expert proficiency in:
  • Maya
  • Zbrush
  • Substance Painter
  • Photoshop
  • Unreal Engine
  • Marvelous Designer or equivalent package
  • XGen/Groom or equivalent hair creation process

Nice-to-Have Skills:

• Experience using Metapipe or similar MetaHuman workflow
• Understanding of morph target generation for facial animation
• Experience of Unreal cloth simulation
• Strong understanding of current production processes
• Experience working with external partners

Additional Details:

• Studio: Brooklyn, NY
• Category: Art
• Type: Full-time
• Min. Experience: Senior Level
• Salary: $80,000 - $110,000