Senior/Lead Character Artist

hybrid
10324 Whyte Avenue Northwest 401, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, T6E 1Z8
full-time . December 5, 2025

Description

ARCANAUT STUDIOS

FULL-TIME | BC OR ALBERTA

(REMOTE FRIENDLY)

OUR ARC

Arcanaut Studios is a team of seasoned developers founded on the axiom that creative freedom and independence lead to better, more innovative games. We believe in the power of small, agile teams. We are decision makers with consistent collaboration across disciplines that drive the project vision and create a seamless player experience.

Arcanaut Studios is a Canadian company with offices in Edmonton, AB and Kelowna, BC. We offer a flexible work environment combining from-home, in-office, and remote work as well as competitive industry compensation and benefits.  By joining us, you will be welcomed into a diverse team of talented developers creating an immersive universe of story, character, and discovery.      

YOUR ARC

As a Senior or Lead Character Artist, you will bring some of the very first characters in our new Sci-Fi game to life. Working alongside multiple disciplines, you will explore and define the aesthetic and set a gold standard for quality of character art. Your work will span prototyping, look development and creating humans and creatures for the game at final quality.

Responsibilities

Work with the Creative, Art, and Narrative directors to ideate and adapt aesthetic, gameplay, and narrative concepts into real 3D game characters 
Create all aspects of high-quality characters for Unreal Engine including sculpting and texturing human and alien forms, faces, and hair, as well as both soft and hard surface clothing 
Assist with defining and achieving the final render quality through a keen eye for color theory, articulation, surface response, shape language, and silhouette 
Create, document, and share asset creation best practices 
Actively mentor creative and technical abilities of team members 
Define standards for character art and support the integration and feedback of external assets 
Stay up to date with new and innovative technologies, proactively incorporating and improving pipelines and processes  
Build believable, expressive, visually stunning characters that validate and further drive gameplay and narrative ambitions 
Collaborate with other team members to ensure art is integrated seamlessly with other facets of the game 
Listen to feedback from stakeholders and translate it into actionable plans when appropriate.

Qualifications and Experience

10+ years’ experience or, at least three shipped titles as a Character Artist - at least one as a Senior Character Artist 
A strong portfolio, demonstrating your masterful ability to create high-quality, realistic, and emotive characters and creatures 
Broad 3D game-art skills including experience with Unreal Engine 4 or higher, photogrammetry, shader editors, cloth simulation, rigging, and animation  
A discerning eye for detail and anatomy 
The ability to optimize the overall render quality of a character to a high standard while supporting clean topology necessary for articulation and deformation 
Self-motivated, with proactive communication skills and the ability to collaborate well with team members of all development disciplines 
A passion for utilizing art as a storytelling medium to build compelling worlds 
Prior experience with customizable and modular character systems, MetaHuman, and/or high-tech industrial and product design is a bonus

BENEFITS

We offer a rewards package to help you live your best life while doing your best work, including medical and dental coverage, retirement savings contributions and a Flex Benefit program that has a wide array of coverage to best fit your personal situation.
We offer 3 weeks of vacation per year in addition to summer and winter studio breaks that are each two weeks long.
The hiring range for this position is $100,300 – $188,496 in addition to a bi-yearly performance-based bonus. The base pay may vary depending on the candidate’s region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience.

To apply, please include your CV with a link to your demo reel if applicable.

Compensation

$100,300.00 - $188,496.00 per year

Know someone who would be a perfect fit? Let them know!