Job description
NovaMotion Studios is seeking a seasoned Senior 3D Animator to join our creative team in Los Angeles. You will craft compelling character performances, drive animation pipelines, and elevate our projects from concept to screen.
As a key player on the production team, you will collaborate with directors, modelers, riggers, and lighting artists to deliver high quality animations for feature films, episodic series, and immersive experiences.
Responsibility
- Develop and polish high quality 3D character animations for film, TV, and interactive media.
- Collaborate with directors and storyboard artists to translate narrative into character performance.
- Rig, skin, and refine characters to achieve expressive, believable motion.
- Optimize animations for real-time engines and playback performance.
- Mentor junior animators and contribute to the animation pipeline and best practices.
- Iterate based on feedback from directors, producers, and lighting/compositing teams.
- Contribute to asset pipelines, asset reuse, and animation tooling improvements.
Qualification
- Bachelor's degree in Animation or a related field, or equivalent professional experience.
- 5+ years of professional 3D animation experience, with a strong reel showcasing character performance.
- Proficiency in Maya and industry-standard tools; experience with Blender or Houdini is a plus.
- Solid understanding of anatomy, timing, weight, and acting in animation; ability to convey emotion through posture and motion.
- Experience with rigging, skinning, and creating clean deformation setups.
- Ability to work with real-time engines (Unreal or Unity) and render pipelines.
- Strong communication, collaboration, and time management skills; ability to meet production deadlines.
- Portfolio demonstrating range of character animation across styles and genres.