Gameplay Animator, 3D

We're looking for a Gameplay Animator to breathe life into a new, stylized world at Snowman. You'll work closely with the art and design teams, creating animations that make the game look and feel great to play. This is a contract position based in our downtown Toronto studio, with the option to work remotely 2 days per week.

Responsibilities

• Foundational knowledge of core animation principles.
• Intuitive understanding of game feel.
• Ability to animate a wide range of characters and personalities.
• Understanding of additive procedural animations in Unity.
• Experience with retargeting animations across multiple character rigs to maintain consistency and efficiency.
• Familiarity with animation blending and layering techniques in Unity.
• Strong communication skills and ability to collaborate effectively across disciplines.

Skills

• Animate characters, animals and select inanimate objects.
• Create dynamic gameplay animations and big, expressive character moments.
• Animate facial expressions using facial rigs and sprite swapping.
• Collaborate closely with the Art Director to realize the project's artistic vision.
• Collaborate with tech and design teams to ensure animations align within technical constraints while maintaining quality.
• Import, integrate and implement animations in Unity.

Requirements

• At least 1 commercially shipped game as a 3D Character animator.
• Proficiency in Autodesk Maya.
• Portfolio or demo reel showcasing 3D character animations demonstrating a range of actions, poses, facial animations and expressive character moments.
• Based in the Greater Toronto Area or willing to relocate.
• Able to work on-site at our studio 3 days a week.
• Legally authorized to work in Canada.

Nice to Haves

• Knowledge of 3D character rigging and skinning pipelines.
• Traditional animation skills.
• A personal connection to action or board sports.