Do you see surfaces not just as textures, but as the soul of an asset?
We’re looking for a Lookdev TD who can bring characters, creatures, and environments to life through sophisticated materials, shaders, and textures that hold up under any lighting condition.
This short-term contract role can be worked remotely or from our Tokyo studio. You’ll collaborate closely with modelling, lighting, and rendering teams to deliver assets that balance realism, efficiency, and creative impact.
Key Responsibilities
- Asset Look Development: Build and refine shaders and textures for hero characters, creatures, and environments, ensuring visual consistency and creative intent.
- Shader Creation and Optimisation: Develop layered, procedural, and physically accurate shaders. Debug render artifacts and optimise performance without compromising quality.
- Lighting Response: Test assets across different lighting setups and HDRIs to ensure materials behave predictably in production.
- Cross-Department Collaboration: Work with modelling, lighting, and FX teams to ensure assets integrate smoothly into the pipeline. Provide guidance on mesh preparation and UV layouts.
- Creative Problem-Solving: Troubleshoot shading issues, render crashes, and pipeline publishing errors to keep production moving smoothly.
- Knowledge Sharing: Provide feedback to junior artists during dailies, and contribute shaders, templates, and documentation that raise the overall quality bar.
- Pipeline Workflow: Publish lookdev assets through the studio pipeline with accurate versioning, metadata, and render stability.
What You’ll Bring
- Experience: 3–6 years of lookdev experience in VFX or animation production.
- Software Proficiency: Maya, Houdini, Substance, Mari, and modern renderers (Arnold, RenderMan, V-Ray, Solaris/Karma).
- Technical Knowledge: Strong understanding of physically based rendering, shader networks, UV workflows, and render optimisation.
- Artistic Eye: Ability to balance photorealism and stylisation as required by the project. Strong sense of detail, material accuracy, and lighting response.
- Collaboration: Excellent communication skills and the ability to work across departments.
- Languages: Proficiency in English is required; Japanese is an advantage.
If you’re ready to help shape the visual identity of world-class assets, we’d love to hear from you.
