Senior Animator – Star Wars
Art & Animation (Brighton-UK, London-UK)
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At NaturalMotion, we make games that wow people. We innovate to create experiences that previously were impossible and that would not exist without us. We take pride in making titles that reach a large audience and in creating communities that last. For the past six years, NaturalMotion Studios has been named one of the Best Places to Work in the UK games industry by gamesindustry.biz.
We embrace a hybrid work environment. Within this role, you would work 2 days per week (Tuesday and Wednesday) in our London or Brighton office and the remaining days at home.
Job Purpose
We are looking for a Senior Animator to join us in creating Star Wars™: Hunters, a competitive arena combat game for the Nintendo Switch system and mobile devices. Star Wars: Hunterswill bring players together to engage in thrilling, team-based, multiplayer battles featuring a diverse array of distinctive new Star Wars characters.
You will be working as part of a dedicated in-house team responsible for building amazing animations that wow our players and partners. Working in a highly motivated team, you will have an opportunity to develop and share your skills. You will be learning from experienced peers, collaborating with multiple disciplines to craft amazing characters.
Key Roles & Responsibilities
As a Senior Animator you will be working closely with the rest of the team to create high-quality character animations. You will be responsible for creating consistent levels of quality work and ensuring that each animation has the right energy and personality, as intended by the project vision.
1. Animation Core Principles – Identifies and applies Animation Principles consistently such as “timing” and “weight”. Good understanding of human and animal body mechanics and anatomy. Good knowledge in hand keyed and motion captured animation.
2. Animation Functionality - Create quality animations that integrate well with the rest of the content and ultimately works within defined gameplay requirements.
3. Knowledge of game engine implementation.
4. An excellent portfolio which demonstrates your ability to create strong game animations in a variety of styles.
5. Passion and a good knowledge of animation, art, and games.
6. Cross Discipline Communication and Collaboration – Partners with other disciplines to build consensus and direction around a common goal.
7. An understanding and working knowledge of the following: art pipelines, game engines, how their work fits with other game disciplines. The ability to identify production and pipeline issues and communicate them appropriately.
8. Giving and receiving feedback – Regularly contributes and engages others with constructive and specific feedback based on a growth mindset. Participate in reviews; responds to critical feedback in a professional manner.
9. Technical Organization – Practice good notation, naming conventions, and archiving practices to ensure work materials are easy to locate and understandable by others.
10. Prioritization, Efficiency, Time Management – Able to communicate with Leads and Production to align on big picture goals, prioritise time-sensitive or high-risk deliverables and consistently deliver to an agreed schedule.
Required Skills & Experience
11. Extensive experience working as a Senior 3D Animator in game development
12. Strong proficiency with Maya
13. Well-versed in cleaning up and working with motion capture data
14. Experience in animation game implementation
15. Self-organised and participate in team meetings
Desirable Skills & Experience
16. Knowledge of Unreal and the Unreal Blueprint system
17. Working with external teams
18. A Passion for Games
What we offer you:
19. Competitive salary and discretionary annual bonus scheme
20. Create next-gen games that will be played and loved by millions of players around the world
21. Work in a family-oriented, collaborative team that invests in your development and growth on-the-job
22. A diverse team of friendly, fun and supportive co-workers
23. Flexible working hours & crunch-free working culture
24. Summer/Winter parties and weekly Happy Hour in the studio
25. 26 days holiday + bank holidays, 2 paid personal days
26. 6 months of fully paid maternity/adoption leave or 16 weeks of fully paid paternity leave (eligibility criteria apply)
27. Pension plan with a double matching employer contribution (capped at 8%)
28. Private medical insurance, dental insurance and healthcare cash plan
29. Life insurance, accident insurance and long-term disability insurance
30. Company Employee Stock Purchase Plan (ESPP) (eligibility criteria apply)
31. Fitness Reimbursement plan worth £600 per annum
32. Charitable Giving Platform to which the Company contributes a 2:1
33. Annual season ticket advance and cycle to work scheme