Lead Character Artist
Virtuos · Ireland ·
- Work mode
- Hybrid
- Seniority
- Lead
- Category
- Creative
PLAY, GROW and WIN
To be a part of Virtuos means to be a creator.
At Virtuos, we harness the latest technologies to make games better and more immersive than ever before. That is why we pride ourselves in constantly pushing the boundaries of possibility since our founding in 2004.
Virtuosi is a team of experts – people who have come together to share their mutual passion for making and playing games. People with the same enthusiasm for exploring new ideas and the constant drive to excel in their field. People who believe in earning success through dedication.
At Virtuos, we are at the forefront of gaming, creating exciting new experiences daily. Join us to Play, Grow and Win – together.
ABOUT THE POSITION
Black Shamrock is looking for an experienced Lead Character Artist to lead a team delivering high-quality, production-ready characters for AAA game development.
The ideal candidate combines strong artistic fundamentals and hands-on expertise in modern real-time character production, including Unreal Engine 5, MetaHuman, scanning and photogrammetry, with proven team leadership. You will guide character production from initial concept or scan through final in-engine delivery, supporting your artists and building effective partnerships with sister studios and clients.
Lead, manage, and mentor character artists through regular feedback, one-to-ones, and development planning, fostering accountability and a collaborative team culture.
Plan and delegate work with Production, balancing team capacity, priorities, dependencies, and delivery schedules, and escalating risks early.
Set and maintain character quality standards with Art Direction, lead art reviews, and provide clear, actionable feedback.
Remain hands-on in creating high-quality real-time characters, including heads, bodies, clothing, armor, accessories, hair, and related assets.
Oversee character delivery from concept, reference, or scan through sculpting, modeling, texturing, grooming, optimization, and final in-engine implementation.
Create production-ready topology, UVs, PBR textures and materials, with strong attention to anatomy, likeness, clothing, surface detail, and deformation requirements.
Create clothing using Marvelous Designer and process scan and photogrammetry data for production.
Implement and polish characters in Unreal Engine 5, working with materials, skeletal meshes, LODs, Groom, physics, and related character systems.
Ensure assets meet established artistic, technical, memory, and performance requirements.
Collaborate closely with Art Direction, Concept Art, Technical Art, Rigging, Animation, VFX, Lighting, and Engineering.
Create and maintain production documentation, including character workflows, technical specifications, quality benchmarks, onboarding guides, and handover requirements.
Partner with sister studios to align workflows and quality expectations, coordinate asset ownership and handovers, and share knowledge across teams.
Serve as a key character-art contact for clients, presenting work, clarifying briefs and feedback, communicating progress and risks, and agreeing actions with Art Direction and Production.
Strong professional experience as a Character Artist in game development, with shipped PC and/or console titles and proven experience leading character-art teams.
Strong portfolio demonstrating high-quality real-time characters and current AAA production standards.
Excellent understanding of human and facial anatomy, proportion, likeness, clothing, materials, and hard-surface character elements.
Advanced proficiency with ZBrush, Marvelous Designer, Substance 3D Painter, and a major 3D package such as Maya, Blender, or 3ds Max.
Strong production experience with Unreal Engine 5, including character materials, skeletal meshes, LODs, Groom, optimization, and performance considerations.
Strong practical experience with MetaHuman Creator and the MetaHuman framework, including customization and integration of custom heads, bodies, textures, clothing, and hair.
Experience with 3D and facial scanning, photogrammetry, and scan-data processing.
Strong understanding of character rigging, skinning, deformation, facial topology, FACS, blend shapes, facial animation, and performance-capture requirements.
Understanding of MetaHuman-specific facial and DNA-based systems, and their integration with Animation and Technical Art pipelines.
Ability to work independently from concepts, scans, photography, and reference while responding effectively to Art Direction.
Demonstrated ability to manage and develop artists, delegate effectively, and balance hands-on work with team leadership.
Experience producing clear production documentation and coordinating character-art delivery with clients and distributed studio teams.
Strong presentation, communication, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to translate feedback into actionable direction and resolve competing priorities.
Desirable Skills:
Interest & knowledge of latest industry trends, tools and technologies.
Experience with Houdini, particularly procedural workflows applicable to character production.
Experience developing characters in other commercial or proprietary game engines and adapting character pipelines across different engines or platforms.