Job description
Join Nebula Animation Studio, a premium boutique studio located in the heart of Los Angeles, where we blend cinematic storytelling with industry-leading animation quality. We are seeking a Senior 3D Character Animator who can bring memorable characters to life with expressive performance, technical precision, and collaborative leadership. Our studio values craft, creative risk-taking, and a supportive environment that helps artists grow.
As a core member of our animation team, you will collaborate with directors, riggers, lighting artists, and storyboard artists to deliver high-quality shots on schedule. This role offers a hybrid schedule, competitive compensation, comprehensive benefits, and opportunities to work on feature-quality projects with potential for growth into leadership roles.
What you bring is a strong eye for character acting, a robust reel showcasing a range of performances, and the discipline to maintain character integrity across pipeline constraints. If you are passionate about storytelling through motion and want to contribute to world-class animation, we want to meet you.
Responsibility
- Create expressive, high-quality 3D character performances that align with character design and storytelling goals.
- Develop and maintain robust character rigs and animation pipelines, ensuring compatibility with Maya workflows and studio tools.
- Collaborate with directors, previs, layout, and lighting teams to plan sequences and deliver on shot lists.
- Iterate animations based on director feedback while maintaining production efficiency and timing accuracy.
- Optimize performances for different outputs, including cinematic sequences, games, and virtual production cues.
- Mentor and provide guidance to junior animators; participate in reviews and asset hygiene checks.
- Contribute to shot planning, scheduling, and problem-solving to meet project milestones.
Qualification
- 5+ years of professional experience in 3D character animation for film, television, or games.
- Proficiency with Maya; strong understanding of anatomy, timing, weight, and acting beats.
- Experience with rigging and collaboration with rigging teams; familiarity with ZBrush, Blender, or equivalent is a plus.
- Strong portfolio/reel demonstrating range of character performances and acting versatility.
- Ability to interpret storyboards and reference material; excellent timing and posing skills.
- Knowledge of lighting, shading, and rendering principles to ensure expressive readability of shots.
- Experience with motion capture cleanup and clean integration into animated scenes.
- Excellent communication, collaboration, and time-management skills; proactive problem-solver with a positive attitude.