Technical Animator

Technical Animator - Seedworld

We are in search of a skilled Technical Animator for a significant project, Seedworld, on Unreal 5.3+. As a Technical Animator, your role will involve creating, maintaining, and optimizing character, prop, and vehicle animations and rigs to ensure seamless functionality in Unreal Engine 5.3 and Autodesk Maya.

Collaborating closely with game designers, you will craft animations and rigs for characters, vehicles, and pets within Seedworld, while also troubleshooting animations to meet Unreal Blueprint requirements.

Key Responsibilities:

• Collaborate with the Game Designer and Art Director to develop locomotion animations and animations for vehicles and props in Seedworld.
• Enhance existing rigs for upcoming character assets.
• Design custom rigs for new asset categories based on the vision of the Art Director and Game Designers.
• Work alongside Art Directors, Technical Artists, and Developers to understand technical needs and optimize the pipeline efficiency.
• Generate innovative ideas to enhance the versatility of assets over the project’s duration.
• Actively engage in technical and artistic discussions and contribute to creative problem-solving.
• Summarize work and document to streamline internal and external communication.
• Address character animation-related issues and participate in regular animation technical reviews.

Required Qualifications:

• Over three years of animation experience in the gaming industry, with at least one AAA game release for PC or console in the past five years.
• Five or more years of experience using Maya, Photoshop, ZBrush, Mudbox, or equivalent software.
• Extensive experience in character, prop, and vehicle animation tasks.

Desired Qualifications:

• Proficiency in creating a range of customized rigs for characters, props, and vehicles in Maya.
• Strong understanding of anatomical considerations for skinning.
• Skilled in various animation types such as character, vehicle, and props.
• Knowledge of biped/quadruped locomotion, including IK and FK features.
• Extensive expertise in facial rigging joint systems.
• Good comprehension of tools, software, and game engines prevalent in current-gen development.
• Ability to adapt to feedback and changing requirements from Game designers and Art Directors with a focus on meeting deadlines.
• Appreciation for the technical aspects and constraints of real-time game development.
• Professional experience spanning three to five years, with participation in two AA to AAA+ game releases.
• Reliable, dedicated, and motivated to learn and enhance animation skills.
• Meticulous attention to detail, particularly in character deformations.
• Experience with Unreal Engine 5, including familiarity with blueprint implementation.
• Demonstrated ability to create custom rigs and perform skinning in Maya.
• Skill in transferring animation files/mocap between different skeletons using HumanIK in Maya or similar methods.

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