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Supervisor, Character and Props Art

Sony Bend Studio, renowned creator of Days Gone , Uncharted: Golden Abyss , and Syphon Filter , is seeking outstanding talent to join our passionate and creative family in crafting our next high-profile AAA title.

We are seeking a Character and Props Art Supervisor who will contribute to the artistic vision and development of a AAA product, using a combination of traditional fine art and technical art skills. This is a leadership role, focused on team cohesion and career development of character and prop artists, as well as identifying areas of improvement and serving as a liaison to other cross-disciplinary teams. Must have the ability to collaborate at a high level with a wide range of development team members outside of direct discipline such as Directors, Designers, Technical Artists, and Programmers to achieve the highest artistic quality as they relate to the game design and within technological considerations.

Responsibilities and Functions:

Manage and lead the Character and Prop art teams.
Work with the production leads and directors to develop and support the character and prop art team schedules throughout the course of production.
Guide and mentor the character and prop artists to create best practices for artistic quality, production efficiency, and asset optimization into their workflows.
Work closely with the art director and team leads to deliver feedback and maintain the established art style, design requirements, and technical specifications.
Troubleshoot and supply solutions to issues related to art asset creation, performance, and technical requirements.
Independently undertake research and information gathering to ensure game design needs and artistic direction are met.
Proactively stay up on new software, processes, and industry trends and share that knowledge with the team.
Work closely with Tech artist and Engineers to create efficient pipelines and workflows to boost the Character and Props team’s productivity and efficiency.
Manage the hiring process of new character and prop artists to build out the team.

Requirements & Skills:

A strong portfolio illustrating ability as a Supervising Artist.
Experience with real-time 3D packages such as Unreal, Unity, or Crytek and/or proprietary AAA engines.
Experience with the development of proprietary engines, tools, and workflows is a plus.
Expert understanding of 3D packages - Maya, 3DMax, and Z-Brush
Proficient understanding of texture and material creation - Photoshop and Substance Painter/Designer
Solid understanding of PBR materials and shaders.
Experience with Houdini and other procedural asset creation tools is a plus.
Experience with photogrammetry and asset scanning workflows is a plus.
Professional experience working on current or recent AAA games.
Initiative-taking and consistent team productivity with minimal added supervision.
Ability to collaborate and contribute effectively in a cross-disciplinary team environment.
10+ years of experience in game and film production environments.

Qualities:

Ability to lead, mentor, and teach other artists.
Effective communication, listening, interpersonal, and organizational skills.
A desire to innovate and to go above and beyond in pursuit of excellence.
Keeps aware of industry trends and techniques, evaluates competitive products, and figures out areas we can improve or innovate to best the competition, communicates innovations in a convincing way and collaborates with the leadership team to develop plans for implementation.

Sony is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All persons will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, pregnancy, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, legally protected physical or mental disability, covered veteran status, status in the U.S. uniformed services, sexual orientation, marital status, genetic information or membership in any other legally protected category.

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We strive to create an inclusive environment, empower employees and embrace diversity. We encourage everyone to respond.

We sincerely appreciate the time and effort you spent in contacting us and we thank you for your interest in PlayStation.

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