Character Artist

Job Description

We’re looking for a creature-oriented Character Artist to bring Kyoryu’s re-engineered dinosaurs to life. Translate our concept arts to a 3D model for the game. As a key hire in our game team, you’ll help define the look and feel of our debut title.

Requirements

• Advanced Sculpting & Anatomy: Mastery of digital sculpting (ZBrush or Mudbox) with a profound understanding of animal, reptilian, and avian anatomy, muscle distribution, and weight distribution.
• Texturing & Material Creation: Exceptional skill in creating high-resolution, realistic textures (Substance Painter/Designer) with a focus on complex organic surfaces like scales, osteoderms, leathery skin, and feathers.
• Unreal Engine Pipeline Integration: Proven experience importing, setting up, and optimizing character assets within Unreal Engine (UE5 preferred), including configuring materials, master materials, and utilizing Virtual Textures.
• Creature Specialization: A strong portfolio demonstrating a proven track record of creating high-quality, believable dinosaurs, for modern game engines.
• Optimization & Topology: Expertise in retopology and creating clean, production-ready low-poly meshes with efficient UV layout optimization, ensuring assets meet strict performance and budget guidelines without sacrificing visual quality.

Responsibilities

• Deformation & Rigging Awareness: Deep understanding of how organic topology deforms during animation, collaborating closely with riggers and animators to ensure clean articulation in joints, jaws, and extreme poses.
• Reference Interpretation: Ability to translate concept art, scientific skeletal reconstructions, and real-world paleontological references into 3D assets.
• Style Adaptability: Ability to match and maintain a specific artistic direction, whether it is realism or stylized/hand-painted aesthetics.
• Cross-Discipline Communication: Ability to collaborate closely with Designers and Tech Artists to ensure gameplay functionality and optimal performance.
• Feedback Integration: Openness to receive constructive feedback from Art Directors and Leads, with the agility to iterate quickly.
• Organization: Clean file management, naming conventions, and adherence to established studio pipelines and documentation
• Autonomy and project understanding: Willingness to work autonomously, propose ideas and proactively engage with the game, its requirements and the briefs.

Nice to have

• Creature FX experience (feathers, fur, etc.)
• Interest in Dinosaurs and Japanese culture
• Passion for storytelling and cinematography

Floating Rock’s offering

• The chance to shape the future of Kyoryu from day 1
• Work among professionals who push for excellence every day but also have a lot of fun while doing so.
• Relocation and Visa support to live in beautiful New Zealand
• Competitive salary for NZ market
• Hybrid work (At least 60% in Wellington office)

How to apply 

Send us a portfolio and a short note about what draws you to this kind of project.

Apply through the form on our careers page.