career

Character Animator & Rigger

Posted on / 03.24.22

Visionary Realms is looking for a passionate and experienced Character Animator for ourupcoming fantasy MMORPG Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen. This is a fully remote, full-time contract position.

At Visionary Realms, you will have an opportunity to join an ambitious team united by our love for the MMORPG genre and a desire to highlight and elevate the social features and player interdependencies that our genre is uniquely poised to provide. We are seeking talented and enthusiastic individuals to join our team, broaden the diversity of our ideas, and unleash their creativity in building an expansive and captivating fantasy world.

The Character Animator and Rigger will work closely with the Design team to create high-quality animations for Human, Humanoid and bi-pedal character models ranging from social emotes to locomotion, spellcasting, and weapon and unarmed-based attacks using the Unity engine. In addition, the ideal candidate will have expertise in character rigging and will be capable of rigging models for face and body animations as well as armor-fitting when necessary. Candidates should have a strong understanding of the principles of animation, anatomy, and silhouette, as well as experience translating concepted animation keyframes into impactful animations.

Responsibilities:

  • Deliver content on schedule that meets technical and Unity specific requirements.
  • Quickly learn and operate productively within our animation production pipeline.
  • Build and maintain animation control rigs for player and NPC models.
  • Supervise integration of animation assets into the Unity game engine.
  • Assist in the design, integration and confirmation of animation assets.
  • Collaborate with Lead Programmer, Senior Designer, and Creative Director to ensure animations meet technical and game play requirements, and provide creative feedback to iterate and improve.
  • Know the game intimately by actively play-testing and viewing how the animation relates within the context of the game world and its activities.
  • Maintain a duty of care ethic to ensure work consistently meets established requirements, expectations, and deadlines.
  • Maintain supporting documentation as needed.

Qualifications:

  • 2+ years of professional character animation experience for Video Games using Maya, Max, or equivalent experience.
  • A portfolio exhibiting strong traditional animation principles (timing, spacing, squash and stretch, etc.).
  • Strong knowledge of Unity’s animation pipeline including mecanim and humanoid rigs, retargeting, and animation state machines.
  • Animation experience with FK and IK skeletal systems.
  • Able to attend required meetings and maintain a schedule of asset delivery.
  • Excellent communication skills, a self-driven mindset and the ability to work independently as well as part of a team.
  • Willingness and ability to self-critique, and receive and adopt constructive criticism to make artistic adjustments.
  • A strong work ethic and self-motivation towards creative problem-solving.
  • A passion for the MMORPG genre.

Preferred Candidates Will Be:

  • Experienced in animating quadruped animals/creatures and unorthodox body types
  • Able to create animation concepts and storyboards
  • Located within 4 hours of a continental United States time zone.

Please send your resume to jobs@visionaryrealms.com with the subject line: Character Animator & Rigger Application. Applications without an included portfolio will not be considered.