As a CFX Artist you will be responsible for developing groom and simulation setups for photo-realistic creatures; including clothing, fur, hair, feathers, muscle and skin. In this position, you will work closely with CG Supervisors, VFX Supervisors, and the Creature Supervisor to determine the best creative approaches and techniques for your task. Each key responsibility will rely upon successful collaboration with your Department Manager, Lead, and cross departmental communication. Additionally, you will work closely with Creature Artists, Rigging Artists, and Lookdev Artists to efficiently handoff assets through the pipeline and maintain the highest creative quality possible. As a CFX artist, you will participate in developing tools and efficiencies for cloth simulation, muscle systems via Houdini, hair grooms in houdini, and hair simulation. While being a member of the CFX Team, you will be expected to deliver work within established project targets at the quality standards of Spin VFX, offer honest and responsible ETA’s, and maintain a collaborative attitude.

Your standard tasks will include:

• Grooming hair, fur, feathers, and organic elements using Houdini.
• Painting maps, modeling hair curves, modifying shaders, and optimizing grooms to improve render efficiency.
• Running fur simulations in Houdini.
• Setting up and running cloth simulations in Houdini.
• Setting up and running muscle and skin simulations in Houdini.
• Attending daily progress reviews to obtain feedback from supervisors.
• Delivering work on time, according to agreed schedules and specifications.
• Defining, documenting, and communicating best practices and techniques for fur/hair/cloth/muscle development.
• Participate in the department morale and culture.
• Offer and participate in department initiatives with creative supervisors, and the pipeline team to ensure initiatives are met.
• Experience using Hairgen and Vellum in Houdini.
• Communicating strongly and clearly enabling you to liaise between team members and other departments.
• Operate using KatanaMari, Renderman, and/or Arnold (experience is a benefit but not a requirement).
• Operate using Houdini muscles or other muscle systems (experience is a benefit but not a requirement).
• Ability to troubleshoot and solve problems independently.
• Having a traditional arts background with emphasis on photo-realistic character work is a benefit.

Must have:

• Minimum of 3 years of experience
• Excellent knowledge of Houdini
• Solid understanding of Production pipelines
• Ability to troubleshoot and solve problems independently
• Good communication skills to be able to liaise between team members and other departments
• Previous experience on CG characters/creature projects
• Experience in the following dynamic simulation: cloth, hair/fur, feathers, skin and muscle

If this sounds like you, please submit your cover letter, resume and demo reel. Be sure to include “CFX” in the subject line.