Senior Character Artist

Posted 2 Days Ago
Be an Early Applicant
Burnaby, BC, CAN
Hybrid
78K-116K Annually
Senior level
Gaming • Information Technology • Mobile • Software • Esports
2K develops and publishes interactive entertainment for video game consoles, personal computers, and mobile devices.
The Role
Lead creation of high-quality, believable character assets: sculpting, texturing, and hair grooming. Work in Unreal Engine 5, assemble optimized assets, collaborate with animators and technical artists, and use industry tools (XGen, Ornatrix, Maya, ZBrush, Substance) while balancing visual quality and performance.
Summary Generated by Built In

Who We Are

Founded in 2023, 2K Sports Lab is the newest stand alone studio at 2K looking to push game development boundaries to bring 2K's next groundbreaking sports franchise to life. We're building a world-class team at our new Vancouver, BC location where our goal is to deliver an exceptional experience through bold ideas, technical excellence, and creative collaboration. We're seeking passionate and driven professionals across all areas of game development to help shape this ambitious vision. If you’re interested in tackling unique challenges and think you have what it takes to level up our team, we encourage you to apply!

What We Need

As a Senior Professional Character Artist at 2K Sports Lab, you will have a key role collaborating closely with our Art Director and Lead Character Artist to help bring our visions to life and forge authentic and believable characters that the players can enjoy for many years to come. You enjoy being responsible for crafting the highest quality, industry leading, characters that will make an everlasting impact for the game.

What You’ll Do

  • Collaborate with leadership to establish visual targets and push boundaries on quality of character assets.
  • Work closely with other departments (animators, artists, and technical artists) to ensure art assets are working well and build an excellent player experience.
  • Build high quality digital sculpts, textures and groom hair.
  • Work in Unreal Engine 5, while actively following development of character creation and pipelines in the industry while balancing performance.
  • Assemble character assets to be used in the game engine.
  • Create Industry-Leading Grooms: Procedurally groom realistic hair using industry-standard tools (XGen, Ornatrix), as well as author highly optimized hair cards for real-time rendering.

What Will Make You a Great Fit

  • 5+ years of experience in the games, film, or animation industry.
  • Previous experience shipping at least 1 AAA title.
  • Ability to build believable groom hair using dedicated tools (XGen, Ornatrix).
  • Knowledge of Maya, Unreal Engine, Substance Painter/Designer, PBR Workflow, zBrush, Marvelous Designer and Photoshop.
  • Experience working with 3d scanned assets.
  • Aesthetic ability to improve details with minimal concept and art direction.
  • Have a proven understanding of human anatomy and clothing construction.
  • Have a good understanding working with blendshapes and facial animation.
  • Self-starter and independent, able to take feedback and run with it.
  • Follow and collaborate with concept artists.
  • Strong communication skills.

As an equal opportunity employer, we are committed to ensuring that qualified individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform their essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. Please contact us if you need reasonable accommodation.

The pay range for this position in British Columbia at the start of employment is expected to be between $78,400 and $116,020 per Year. However, base pay offered is based on market location, and may vary further depending on individualized factors for job candidates, such as job-related knowledge, skills, experience, and other objective business considerations. Subject to those same considerations, the total compensation package for employees in regular roles may also include other elements, including a bonus and/or equity awards, in addition to a full range of medical, financial, and/or other benefits, provided that temporary or intern roles will not be eligible for many of these payments or benefits. Details of participation in compensation and benefit plans (if applicable) will be provided if an employee receives an offer of employment.

Please note that 2K Games and its studios never uses instant messaging apps or personal email accounts to contact prospective employees or conduct interviews and when emailing, only use 2K.com accounts.

Skills Required

  • 5+ years of experience in the games, film, or animation industry.
  • Previous experience shipping at least 1 AAA title.
  • Ability to build believable groom hair using dedicated tools (XGen, Ornatrix).
  • Knowledge of Maya, Unreal Engine, Substance Painter/Designer, PBR Workflow, ZBrush, Marvelous Designer and Photoshop.
  • Experience working with 3d scanned assets.
  • Aesthetic ability to improve details with minimal concept and art direction.
  • Proven understanding of human anatomy and clothing construction.
  • Good understanding working with blendshapes and facial animation.
  • Self-starter and independent, able to take feedback and run with it.
  • Follow and collaborate with concept artists.
  • Strong communication skills.

What the Team is Saying

2K Compensation & Benefits Highlights

  • Leave & Time Off Breadth U.S. role descriptions outline 14 paid holidays, substantial vacation or discretionary time off, up to 10 paid sick days, and paid parental and compassionate leave. These specifics are spelled out in job postings, with details varying by team and location.
  • Healthcare Strength Core coverage includes medical, dental, vision, basic life insurance, and telemedicine, alongside mental-health and wellbeing programs; some locations list carriers such as Cigna and Kaiser. Coverage is commonly characterized as solid even if not top-tier, with options differing by region.
  • Retirement Support A 401(k) plan is employer-verified and is frequently noted as including company matching. This sits within a broader savings framework supported by the parent company.

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The Company
HQ: Novato, CA
4,200 Employees
Year Founded: 2005

What We Do

2K is headquartered in Novato, California and is a wholly owned label of Take-Two Interactive Software, Inc. (NASDAQ: TTWO). Founded in 2005, 2K Games is a global video game company, publishing titles developed by some of the most influential game development studios in the world. Our studios responsible for developing 2K’s portfolio of world-class games across multiple platforms, include Visual Concepts, Firaxis, Hangar 13, CatDaddy, Cloud Chamber, 31st Union, and HB Studios. Our portfolio of titles is expanding due to our global strategic plan, building and acquiring exciting studios whose content continues to inspire all of us! 2K publishes titles in today’s most popular gaming genres, including sports, shooters, action, role-playing, strategy, casual, and family entertainment. Our team of engineers, marketers, artists, writers, data scientists, producers, thinkers and doers, are the professional publishing stewards of our growing library of critically-acclaimed franchises such as NBA 2K, 2K PGA, Battleborn, BioShock, Borderlands, The Quarry, The Darkness, Mafia, Sid Meier’s Civilization, Marvel’s Midnight Suns, WWE 2K, and XCOM. At 2K, we pride ourselves on creating an inclusive work environment, which means encouraging our teams to Come as You Are and do your best work! We encourage ALL applicants to explore our global positions, even if they don’t meet every requirement for the role. If you're interested in the job and think you have what it takes to work at 2K, we encourage you to apply!

Why Work With Us

We pride ourselves on creating an inclusive work environment, which means encouraging our teams to Come as You Are and do your best work! We push ourselves creatively to do the best work of our careers. We’re direct, open, and you’ll probably meet some new best friends – along with their dogs – sitting nearby. In short, it’s kinda awesome.

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Hybrid Workspace

Employees engage in a combination of remote and on-site work.

We are a blend of onsite, hybrid, and remote roles. Please refer to individual job descriptions for more details on location.

Typical time on-site: Flexible
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