Character Artist

Overview

We are looking for a Character Artist to join our team in Birmingham, AL on a contract basis.

As a Character Artist at IronSpark, you will play a key role in crafting expressive, high-impact 3D characters, creatures, weapons, and props for our story-driven projects. You will collaborate closely with cross-disciplinary teams, using high-end modeling, sculpting, and texturing workflows to bring concepts to life in real-time. From early blockouts through final engine integration, your expertise will help ensure our visual storytelling and asset fidelity meet the highest creative standards.

This is an in-person contract role operating out of our Birmingham studio with a flexible work environment.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to the creation of high-quality, detailed 3D models ranging from stylized humans and creatures to vehicles, weapons, and props.
• Collaborate daily with the art director, lead artists, and design teams to ensure artistic consistency and align assets with project narrative goals.
• Work closely with animation and technical teams to optimize character models, UVs, and topologies for performance in-engine.
• Proactively research tools and refine techniques within modern character pipelines to enhance studio workflows and push visual quality.
• Self-manage asset pipelines, accurately estimate task timelines, and consistently hit production milestones.
• Actively participate in creative reviews, integrating feedback and refining assets to match project direction.
• Share technical and artistic knowledge to support team members and help foster regional talent.

Position Details

• Type: Contract (3-month, 6-month, or 12-month options available)
• Schedule: Up to 40 hours per week
• Working Model: In-Person at our Birmingham, AL studio with a flexible daily work environment.
• Compensation: Hourly rate proportionate to individual experience.

Requirements

• 3–5 years of professional game development or animation experience specializing in character modeling and asset creation.
• Deep proficiency in Maya, Unreal Engine, ZBrush, Photoshop, and Substance Painter.
• Strong understanding of asset creation pipelines, real-time optimization, and real-time engine integration.
• Mastery of human and creature anatomy, form, silhouette, structure, dynamic posing, and hard-surface modeling techniques.
• Great eye for lighting, color, surface detail, and PBR texturing to create compelling shaders and maps.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently, manage project priorities, and solve technical/artistic pipeline challenges.
• Excellent communication skills, a team-first attitude, and ease with taking creative direction and critique.
• High standards of professionalism, discretion, and strict confidentiality regarding unreleased client and internal projects.

Benefits

Impact and ownership

• Build from the ground floor: you'll shape processes, tools, and culture from day one
• Direct access to the founders and other Subject Matter Experts
• Your input shapes the product, the process, and company decisions

Growth & Culture

• Wide exposure: you'll work across functions, not in a silo
• You'll learn fast by solving new problems without a playbook
• Low bureaucracy: decisions happen in days, not quarters
• Room to experiment, with a "try it, learn, adjust" mindset

Flexibility

• Flexible hours or schedule
• Remote or hybrid options