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Senior / Lead Character Artist

County Dublin, Ireland (On-site)

Senior / Lead Character Artist

2 Months ago • 5-6 Years • Concept Art

About the job

14 skills required for this role

Add these skills to join the top 1% applicants for this job

maya

blender

trello

jira

basecamp

zbrush

level-design

hansoft

substance-painter

photoshop

unreal

excel

rigging

anatomy

Job Description

Virtuos is looking for a talented Lead Character Artist to join their creative team and work on ambitious PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and PC AAA games in UE5. The ideal candidate will have a great aesthetic eye, strong technical understanding of character creation, proven leadership and mentoring abilities, be a great communicator, and be able to take creative direction from the Art Director and Creative Director. Responsibilities include overseeing the creation of gorgeous 3D characters for AAA projects, ensuring all characters are optimized and built in accordance with technical limitations, developing knowledge and expertise within their team, providing mentorship, feedback, and training to others on the team, and helping set up character art best practices and streamline production processes.

Must have:

Over 5 years of games industry experience as a character artist
At least 1 year in an art leadership role
Shipped at least 1 AAA console title
Understanding of Modular Pipelines for clothing and gear
Technical knowledge to work with TA to develop customizable characters
Proven leadership, team, and people management skills
Thorough understanding of the game creation process
Ability to quickly adapt to different project dependent pipelines
In-depth understanding of effective character creation workflows and pipelines
Expert knowledge in 3D modelling software such as Maya, 3DSMax or Blender
Expert knowledge in material and texture creation
Expert knowledge of Zbrush
Strong knowledge and understanding of anatomy
Demonstrated Unreal Engine experience, UE5 preferably
Proactive and self-motivated, ability to work without direct supervision
Strong interpersonal and communication skills

Perks:

Being part of one of the largest and fastest-growing game development studios in Ireland
Dynamic career paths contributing to some of the world’s biggest AAA titles in gaming
Opportunities to grow in a tight-knit community with a people-oriented culture
Healthy work-life balance and flexible work arrangements
Comprehensive company healthcare plan
Occupational Pension Scheme (including employer contribution)
Global training and development plans - study support, formal education, international experience, career planning and progression opportunities
Bank for paid sick leave and wellness leave
Subsidised leave
Relocation support
Taxsaver plans
Career and international mobility opportunities with Virtuos Internal Mobility Program

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PLAY, GROW and WIN

To be a part of Virtuos means to be a creator. 

At Virtuos, we harness the latest technologies to make games better and more immersive than ever before. That is why we pride ourselves in constantly pushing the boundaries of possibility since our founding in 2004. 

Virtuosi is a team of experts – people who have come together to share their mutual passion for making and playing games. People with the same enthusiasm for exploring new ideas and the constant drive to excel in their field. People who believe in earning success through dedication.

At Virtuos, we are at the forefront of gaming, creating exciting new experiences daily. Join us to Play, Grow and Win – together.

ABOUT THE POSITION

Black Shamrock is looking for a talented Lead Character Artist to be part of our creative team and work on ambitious PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and PC AAA games in UE5. This is a full-time position based in our Dublin office which involves working in an international environment. Remote candidates will also be considered. The ideal candidate will have a great aesthetic eye, have strong technical understanding of character creation, have proven leadership and mentoring abilities, be a great communicator and be able to take creative direction from the Art Director and Creative Director.

Responsibilities

Oversee the creation of gorgeous 3D characters for AAA projects, mostly hyper-realistic but possibly stylized at times.

Following the project's artistic direction, and ensure unified look and consistent quality

Ensuring all characters are optimized, built in accordance with technical limitations and completed on schedule

Develop knowledge and expertise within their team while furthering their own performance and skill base

Provide mentorship, feedback, and training to others on the team

Help set up character art best practices and streamline production processes

Identify project risks and problems and suggest relevant solutions

Prioritize, plan, and organize tasks for themselves and their team in conjunction with the Producer

Delegate and assign work to team members and outsource partners using tracking tools such as Jira, Hansoft, Trello and Basecamp

Assist with interviews and performance reviews

Qualifications

Over 5 years of games industry experience as a character artist with at least 1 year in an art leadership role (shipped at least 1 AAA console title)

An outstanding portfolio demonstrating your character work and a good eye for detail

Understanding of Modular Pipelines for clothing and gear

Technical knowledge to work with TA to develop customizable characters

Proven leadership, team, and people management skills

Thorough understanding of the game creation process, from concept to launch.

Ability to quickly adapt to different project dependent pipelines

An in-depth understanding of effective character creation workflows and pipelines

Expert knowledge in 3D modelling software such as Maya, 3DSMax or Blender as well as Marvelous designer

Excellent knowledge in material and texture creation such as Substance Painter and Photoshop and a comprehensive understanding of PBR pipelines

Expert knowledge of Zbrush

Strong knowledge and understanding of anatomy

Demonstrated Unreal Engine experience, UE5 preferably.

Passion for pushing the state of the art in asset fidelity and production techniques

Be proactive and self-motivated, ability to work without direct supervision

Strong interpersonal and communication skills

International travel may be required as part of the role

WHAT WE OFFER

• Being part of one of the largest and fastest-growing game development studios in Ireland

• Dynamic career paths contributing to some of the world’s biggest AAA titles in gaming

• Opportunities to grow in a tight-knit community with a people-oriented culture

• Healthy work-life balance and flexible work arrangements

• Comprehensive company healthcare plan

• Occupational Pension Scheme (including employer contribution)

• Global training and development plans - study support, formal education, international experience, career planning and progression opportunities

• Bank for paid sick leave and wellness leave

• Subsidised leave

• Relocation support

• Taxsaver plans

• Career and international mobility opportunities with Virtuos Internal Mobility Program

People matter. Diverse opinions and experiences matter. At Virtuos, our talented teams are the cornerstone of our success, and we recognize that fostering and advocating for inclusivity is at the center of what we do best - we make games better, together. Virtuos is proud to be an equal opportunity employer that embraces diversity of thought, expression, culture, and backgrounds.

About Us

Founded in 2004, Virtuos is one of the largest independent video game development companies. We are headquartered in Singapore with over 3,500 employees across 22 offices in Asia, Europe, and North America. Specializing in full-cycle game development and art production, we have delivered high-quality content for more than 1,500 console, PC, and mobile games. Our clients include 23 of the top 25 gaming companies worldwide. Visit to find out how we can make games better, together.

About Our Team

Black Shamrock was founded in 2016 and acquired by the Virtuos Group in 2017. The studio is Ireland’s largest PC and console game development studio and provides unique opportunities to work on multiple AAA titles. Our people are as diverse, exciting, creative, and dynamic as the projects that we work on. Black Shamrock is a place for talent to flourish and lifelong industry connections to begin.

Our in-house and full-service capabilities include narrative, game, sound and level design, animation, art, rigging, engineering, and graphics, to name a few areas our skilled team members work on. At Black Shamrock, we take pride in helping put Dublin on the world map as the birthplace of award-winning AAA games.