Lead VFX Artist

Thought Pennies Entertainment is a Role-Playing Game studio creating games focused on social storytelling. We celebrate diversity and a people-first approach to game development. We are fully remote.

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The Lead VFX Artist has a key role in crafting the design, execution, and implementation of effects for an epic-fantasy world. This artist skillfully produces impactful and emotional visual effects and will build and lead a team of VFX artists in AA+ game development. As a partner to the Art Director, they champion the art vision and thread the needle between artistic aims and practical considerations.

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This role requires a solid understanding of AA and AAA quality art bars, 3D VFX creation techniques, and a sense for timing, impact, storytelling, and drama. This is a hands-on position, by which the Lead VFX Artist sets an example through the creation of exceptionally impactful and believable combat and environmental effects, bolstered by an understanding of current game technologies, that ignites the artists they lead to craft equally exceptional art. This lead not only creates assets and oversees the art of others, but shepherds them through production to ensure their in-game appearances are on-style and performant.

What you do

• Work closely with the Art Director to execute the vision of the project.
• Pioneer the development of the game’s visual effects style, pipelines, and workflows.
• Set the tone for VFX quality by creating high-quality, memorable, and impactful visual effects.
• Establish effects creation guidelines and processes, plus review and implementation criteria.
• Work closely with the core team and external partners to ensure visual effects carry a cohesive look and are on-style, at-quality, and on-brand.
• Collaborate with technical artists to define, create, and support a smooth workflow for effects creation and validate techniques for crafting the best effects possible.
• Build and lead a VFX team in the development of AA+ effects, complex FX shaders, and motion graphics.
• Mentor artists with creative training, guidance, and feedback.
• Procure, review, and interview art candidates, then train artists into established processes.
• Take part in broader art development (visual targets, key art, marketing) and art direction.
• Value schedule and logistics, partnering with production to fit aesthetic goals within them.
• Contribute to a studio culture committed to craft, collaboration, and empowerment.

What you bring

• 5+ years game development experience with a strong focus on combat and environmental VFX.
• Proven organizational, supervisory, and mentoring skills.
• A passion for crafting believable, epic, and arresting visual effects.
• Deep expertise with industry-standard techniques and tools such as Houdini, Blender, After Effects, &c.
• A solid understanding of Unreal 5 pipelines as pertains to authoring, implementation, in-game dynamics, and technical performance.
• Strong foundational skills, including color theory, timing/ motion, form language, composition, &c.
• You enjoy collaboration, leading with empathy, and the giving and taking of feedback.

Plus if you have it

• Prior experience developing 3rd person action games, especially in Unreal 4 or 5.
• Prior experience with procedural authoring techniques.
• Good experiences collaborating with external artists and outsourcing.
• A flair for emotional atmosphere and lighting, with a masterful grasp of environmental storytelling.
• Wide artistic culture chops - fine arts, theater, film, fashion, comics, games, &c.

Application Materials

• Portfolio demonstrating personal or professional work in visual effects, lighting, and motion graphics.