Character Artist
Summary
Character Artist at Naughty Dog (on-site, Santa Monica) sculpts and models realistic outfits, people, and animals for AAA titles like Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, textures clothing and skin, does retopology/UVs, and creates hair/fur with shaders. Core tools: ZBrush, Autodesk Maya, Substance Painter, Photoshop.
This is an on-site position in Santa Monica, California.
For nearly 40 years, Naughty Dog has been crafting best-selling, critically acclaimed games that constantly push the boundaries of narrative, gameplay, and technology. Naughty Dog recently released The Last of Us Part II Remastered as well as a current generation remake of The Last of Us Part I for the PS5. Currently, we’re busy at the kennel working on Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, and we'd love to find talented individuals to join us!
Naughty Dog games have long been lauded for their evocative, character-driven stories and attention to detail. We are committed to innovation within our games and as such have curated some of the top creative and technically innovative minds in the industry. We welcome diverse candidates and believe that a broad range of cultural and life experiences contribute to the overall well-being and success of the studio and the titles we craft together.
What you will do:
- Perform sculpting/modeling different outfits, people and animals as needed for a realistic world setting
- Texture for clothing with an emphasis on wear including grime, giving each asset a backstory through damage and dirt
- Texture for skin including sub surface scattering, discoloration, imperfections, etc
- Conduct Retopology and efficient UV layout
- Create hair cards/fur and setting up shaders
- Work with other departments such as Concept art, shading, and rigging to develop a high-quality production pipeline
What skills you will use:
- Bachelor’s degree in any field, or foreign equivalent degree
- Two (2) years of experience as a character artist, or in a related occupation
- Experience/knowledge/ability must include the following:
- Experience working on AAA titles as a character artist
- Knowledge of clothing folds, and human anatomy
- Understanding of game production pipeline
- Ability to create clothing assets which feel "lived in" through texturing (demonstrating Color fades, tears, grime, etc.)
- Ability to make skin feel natural by applying color variations that show veins, discoloration, imperfections, etc.
- Relevant software proficiencies: Zbrush, Autodesk Maya, Substance Painter, Photoshop
Please note, Sony Interactive Entertainment conducts background checks at the offer stage for all new employees (which may include criminal background checks for some roles) and will need to process personal information to support these checks.
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Skills
As published by greenhouse · 24 questions · 1 written answer
Basics
First Name, Last Name, Email, Phone, Resume/CV, Cover Letter, Location
Short answers (8)
- Preferred First Name optional
- Current Company
- Current Title
- LinkedIn Profile URL optional
- Portfolio Website
- Do you have at least two years of experience as a character artist or in a related occupation?
- Which game titles?
- Please rate your proficiency in each of the following tools on a scale of 1 to 5, where 1 = beginner and 5 = expert. Please provide a rating for each tool: ZBrush, Maya, Substance Painter, and Photoshop.
Pick from a list (15)
- Are you authorized to work in the United States?
- Will you now or in the future require employer sponsorship to work in the United States?
- Have you earned a bachelor’s degree in any field, or a foreign equivalent degree?
- Have you worked as a character artist on AAA game titles?
- Do you understand the game production pipeline for character art?
- Do you have experience creating character art that demonstrates knowledge of human anatomy and clothing folds?
- Can you create clothing assets with lived-in textures, including details such as color fading, tears, and grime?
- Can you create natural-looking skin textures using color variation and details such as veins, discoloration, and imperfections?
- Are you proficient in Photoshop?
- Are you proficient in ZBrush?
- Are you proficient in Maya?
- Are you proficient in Substance Painter?
- At the time of applying, are you 18 years of age or older?
- Have you ever worked for a Sony company previously?
- How did you hear about this job?
Written answers (1)
- Current Location
