Hinterland | Character Artist (3D)

At Hinterland, we strive to create lasting, meaningful experiences. For our new original IP, code-named “Bat Falcon”, we will be creating a diverse and unique cast of visually stunning, world-class characters. To that end, we’re looking for a talented

Character Artist (3D)

, with a strong interest in stylisation, to join our growing team.

In this role, you will collaborate directly with the Art Director and Lead Character Artist to create game-ready characters, as well as helping to bridge the gap between the visual direction and the necessary technical requirements. Your work will have a lasting impact on the player’s experience of the game, and will help support their meaningful connection to the world we are trying to build.

Specific responsibilities include:

• Collaborate closely with the Art Director and Lead Character Artist to develop and solidify the art style across a range of characters
• Interpet 2D concept art into high-quality and game-ready 3D assets
• Collaborate with the wider art team to help problem solve and push quality throughout the game world
• Work with the Technical Art team to define and manage character art processes, tools and pipelines
• Review your work in the game, and playtest the game so that you understand the intended player experience
• Be a strong advocate for diversity in cast and character type, and be willing to innovate to avoid creating overly conventional characters

The ideal candidate will be extremely passionate and motivated to create truly beautiful characters that push the boundaries of excellence. Beyond this, specific skills and experience we’re seeking for this role include:

• Expert-level capabilities in the use of Maya or Blender, Photoshop, and Substance Painter/Designer
• Unreal 4 or 5 knowledge, ideally in a production environment
• Excellent polygonal modelling skills, with a focus on clean and efficient models
• Experience with defining technical requirements for character assets from authoring art to implementation in engine
• Experience with player character customization systems
• A strong art background, with a foundation in traditional art skills – we’d love to see artists who excel at painterly, illustrative aesthetics
• An excellent understanding of video game processes and performance budget constraints
• Ability to communicate ideas quickly, effectively, and work collaboratively within a team
• A keen interest in character design, anatomy, and fashion
• Experience of rigging and animation dependencies
• Ability to work briefs and deadlines, adapting their approach to the task in hand
• Ability to take and share feedback. Making games is a team effort at Hinterland, so everyone’s opinion counts!

We are striving to create a truly diverse cast of characters in this project, and so we highly encourage character artists with diverse backgrounds to apply.

Please ensure you include any relevant portfolio materials with your application. No AI-generated assets please!

ABOUT HINTERLAND

In an industry not known for taking care of its people, Hinterland strives to be different. We believe that the diversity, points of view, experience, and individual backgrounds of our team members contribute to a rich mosaic that helps us create better experiences, and helps those experiences reach a wider audience.

Hinterland is an equal-opportunity employer. We encourage applicants from all backgrounds to apply for our positions, regardless of ethnicity, social class, sexual orientation or identity, or religious affiliation. We value seniority and experience for our senior and leadership roles, but are always looking for ways to bring diverse viewpoints and experiences from across the spectrum of entertainment and technology.

We embrace a flexible working environment that focuses on high-autonomy balanced against high personal accountability. All our positions are remote-first, focused on finding the best fit for culture and talent. This remote-first flexibility is balanced with a physical studio in Vancouver, which is optionally available (COVID-permitting) to anyone on the team who wants to use it. We strengthen our team bond through offsite retreats, where we focus on creating memories together. We feel this balance of remote and in-person opportunities creates the strongest alloy for our culture.

We encourage everyone on the team to find balance between work and life, and never ask anyone to compromise one for the other. We are a No Crunch studio. We have high expectations of the level of commitment and the quality of the work done by our team, and trust everyone to manage their own schedule and workload. We offer a generous bundle of benefits and vacation time, and strongly encourage our team members to enjoy the 5+ weeks of paid time off we offer annually. We are a family-first studio and offer a range of tools to support our team and their growing families.