CFX Lead

YOUR ROLE

CreatureFX lead is senior level CFX artist who works closely with the CreatureFX supervisor and production team on a project to help ensure that CFX and/or Tech Anim teams are working well and meeting deadlines. The person is assigned assets to develop and shots to complete and are also given responsibility for supporting their CFX team in meeting show deliveries under the oversight of the CFX supervisor. He(She) participates in rounds and other planning meetings as requested by the CFX supervisor. With the CFX supervisor, he(she) is the primary liaison between the production team and the artists for communicating current project and task updates related to show deliveries and other needs for his(her) team members. The lead is a primary resource for artists to turn to for help and insights into finishing their work. In collaboration with the CFX supervisor and HOD, the lead contributes to show and department documentation and as opportunity arises he(she) may also participate in developing tools for internal department use.

YOUR MAIN RESPONSIBILITIES

• Under direction of the CFX supervisor, support a team of CFX and/or Tech Anim artists on a single project to meet show deliveries;
• Build CFX assets for shot production including simulation setups for cloth, hair, fat, muscles, skin, etc;
• Deliver artistically beautiful simulations for shots;
• Do shot finalling as necessary to improve the artistic beauty of shot work before passing it to downstream departments;
• Under direction of the CFX supervisor establish team workflows, identify show needs, and design solutions to potential challenges on the project;
• As requested by the CFX supervisor, participate in production meetings and otherwise communicate with production teams to give updates on show progress and deliveries on the project;
• Be a filter for determining what submissions should go into dailies;
• Work with other departments to find effective and efficient solutions to project needs;
• As needed and in conjunction with the CFX supervisor and HOD, work with the pipeline team to implement and update aspects of the CFX and Tech Anim portions of the pipeline;
• As necessary and in conjunction with the HOD and CFX supervisor, develop tools to aid in project completion;
• Participate in developing and maintaining department and show documentation for CFX and Tech Anim artists;
• As requested by the HOD and CFX supervisor, participate in developing and maintaining department training materials for CFX and Tech Anim artists.

YOU ARE

• Respectful of people and procedures;
• Good at communicating in calm and respectful ways;
• Team focused;
• Able to be patient with others who need your help;
• Able to deliver artistically beautiful simulations and finalling work;
• Able to solve difficult technical problems;
• A leader;
• Creative;
• Open to receive feedback;
• Organized;
• Autonomous;
• Attentive to details.

YOU HAVE

• DEC/AEC or university degree related to the position (3D animation, multimedia, etc.);
• Minimum 3 years of experience as a senior CreatureFX artist in the animated film or VFX industries;
• Mastery of CreatureFX simulation concepts and workflows;
• Mastery of clean up tools, concepts, and workflows;
• Strong working competency in Maya and/or Houdini;
• Strong working competency in using Maya’s Nucleus system or Houdini’s Vellum solver;
• Optional Python programming experience.