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Lead Character Artist At Absurd Ventures

Company: Absurd Ventures

Location: Santa Monica, California, USA

Job Type: Full-Time

Salary: $170,000 – $200,000 / Year

About the Role

Absurd Ventures is seeking a talented Lead Character Artist to lead the creation of high-quality character assets for an exciting new game project. This position combines artistic leadership with hands-on production, ensuring characters achieve exceptional visual quality while meeting technical requirements for AAA game development.

Job Overview

Working closely with the Art Director and multidisciplinary teams, you will guide the character art pipeline, mentor artists, and oversee the development of detailed, performance-optimized characters. You will also collaborate with production, animation, rigging, and technical art teams to deliver industry-leading character experiences.

Key Responsibilities

  • Team Leadership: Lead and mentor the character art team while maintaining high artistic and technical standards.
  • Character Creation: Sculpt, model, texture, and refine high-quality character assets for AAA game production.
  • Art Direction: Partner with the Art Director to establish and maintain the visual style of characters.
  • Production Planning: Coordinate priorities with production teams, outsourcing partners, and co-development studios.
  • Pipeline Management: Create documentation, improve workflows, and support onboarding for character production.
  • Optimization: Ensure character assets are optimized for memory usage, performance, and Unreal Engine implementation.
  • Cross-Functional Collaboration: Work closely with rigging, animation, and technical art teams to prepare production-ready assets.

Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts, Game Art, or a related discipline.
  • 7+ years of professional experience in character art for the video game industry.
  • Strong expertise in Maya, ZBrush, Substance Painter, and Unreal Engine.
  • Excellent understanding of anatomy, form, silhouette, and character design principles.
  • Experience with physically based rendering (PBR) and hand-painted texturing workflows.
  • Proven experience creating high-quality character assets for AAA titles.
  • Leadership experience with strong communication, mentoring, and collaboration skills.

Education

  • Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts, Game Art, Computer Graphics, or a related field.
  • Equivalent professional experience in AAA game development may also be considered.
  • Additional training in character art, Unreal Engine, or digital sculpting is advantageous.

Benefits

  • Competitive salary of $170,000–$200,000 per year.
  • Medical, dental, vision, life, and disability insurance.
  • Paid vacation, sick leave, company holidays, and parental leave.
  • 401(k) retirement plan with company matching.
  • Potential bonus opportunities and equity awards.

Join Absurd Ventures and help shape the visual identity of an ambitious new AAA game. If you’re passionate about character creation, artistic leadership, and building unforgettable worlds, this is an exceptional opportunity to work with a talented team on cutting-edge interactive entertainment.

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