Remote Europe / North America
Location : Europe / North America
Employment Type : 2 months Contract, possiblity of extension (Hybrid, Remote or In-house)
Experience Level : Senior
Onyx Studio is a top-tier co-development house known for cultivating deep, collaborative partnerships with our clients, along with an unwavering focus on best-in-class creative collaboration and execution. We are exploring and interested in connecting with potential candidates or individuals who share a passion for exceptional VFX work and could contribute to the success of our ongoing and future projects.
As the Senior VFX Artist, you will be responsible for creating beautiful and satisfying visual effects for stylised and immersive 3D game environments. By combining creativity and technical competence, you will collaborate closely with other disciplines to deliver visual effects which help enhance visual direction, articulate gameplay and enhance the overall player experience.
At Onyx Studio, our focus is on creating a collaborative and supportive atmosphere where teams’ contributions are valued and respected. We proactively prioritise our talent by continuously refining the way that we work, ensuring open and clear communication, and promoting opportunities for growth within our teams, while choosing to work with clients that share similar value systems and creative goals. In turn, we pride ourselves on exceptional service and delivery that has allowed us to establish long term relationships with some of the industry’s best creators.
If your qualifications and values align with this position and you are enthusiastic about contributing to our ever-evolving team, we invite you to apply. Please send your resume, cover letter and portfolio reference that indicates your interest and suitability for the role, and we will be in touch should there be a potential fit for our current needs.
Key Responsibilities:
- Design and implement real-time stylised VFX in Unreal Engine 5.
- Onboard and become adept at the client’s preferred game engine, project-specific pipelines, workflows and tools.
- Create visually appealing and immersive VFX that enhance gameplay and storytelling appropriately.
- Collaborate with technical artists to author custom shaders and materials compatible within the game engine.
- Ensure all VFX are optimised for performance requirements without compromising visual quality.
- Document techniques and best practices to ensure alignment with the overall artistic vision for all stakeholders.
- Look for opportunities to improve the overall visual look, within the constraints of art direction.
- Collaborate with level artists, level designers and engineers to propose, implement and optimise VFX.
- Participate in feedback reviews, collaborate with peers and stakeholders and be willing to make required amendments.
- Work closely with Producers to estimate tasks, and coordinate on deadlines and deliverables.
- Keep up to date with the latest art, design and cultural trends, along with advancements in technology and the games industry.
Qualifications:
- College Diploma/Degree in computer animation, visual effects, graphic design, 3D art, game development or equivalent training.
- 2-3 years experience as a VFX artist on a real-time project, with 3-5 years experience in video game production.
- Expert knowledge of Unreal Engine and/or Unity 3D, including their particle systems and shader languages.
- Expert knowledge of industry-standard VFX software such as Adobe After Effects, Autodesk Maya, Houdini, or similar.
- Strong understanding of animation principles, timing, and motion dynamics.
- Ability to create both 2D and 3D VFX assets, textures, and materials.
- Expert knowledge of the technical constraints relating to real-time rendering, using 3D engines, and level editors.
- Strong portfolio or showreel containing examples of real-time VFX and demonstrating a keen eye for composition, colour theory, and visual storytelling.
- Experience creating VFX within immersive and detailed 3D worlds, relevant to AAA game production and development cycles.
- Excellent communication skills and the ability to interpret direction.
- Highly organised, proactive and autonomous in handling tasks and meeting deadlines.
- Ability to collaborate and work as part of a cross-disciplinary team.
- Willingness to learn new software programs and tools, as needed by the client or project engagement.
Nice to have: - Knowledge of procedural content generation techniques and tools, such as Substance Designer.
- Experience with scripting or programming languages such as Python, C#, or C++.
