About Us
Nerd Corps Entertainment, established in 2002, is a DHX Media company, boasting a diverse portfolio of award-winning original properties such as Slugterra, League of Super Evil, Storm Hawks and Rated A for Awesome. With six shows in production, there is always a genre or character to keep you interested and challenged. But we’re more than just an animation studio. Our 400 creatives build stories, worlds, and experiences for kids that cut across platforms from television to online, games, toys, mobile—wherever kids are spending time. We handle all stages of our process in-house, from the IP creation and development to post-production, finance, sales and distribution, licensing and consumer products, and interactive development, making us a rarity in the industry. Our studio near Vancouver’s trendy Commercial Drive is a vibrant mixture of rookies and veterans, where those fresh out of college can continue learning from mid-career and senior artists, and where every level of experience can make the most of their talent on some of the best kids shows and games in the world.
Leo, Gemini, Emmy…been there, won that.
Come work for an award-winning studio and make cartoons, not war.
Department: Design
Location: Vancouver
About the Position
We are looking for a lead character designer who will be an essential creative member of the design team. This is a fun and creative opportunity to bring a wide range of characters to life in many different universes. Working under the supervision of the art director, you will strive to maintain the show style with your designs and keep them working within the story specifications. You will train, mentor and motivate new designers on the crew and communicate effective and production-friendly solutions when requested.
Responsibilities
Create original, appealing, production-oriented character designs through a procedurally iterative process (including facial expressions, turnarounds, and design details)
Meet with the design supervisor and supervising director to discuss asset requirements
Work in line, greyscale, and colour
Complete work assigned within the scheduled timeframe
Keep designs manageable and in line with the modelling days allotted for each asset
Work directly with modelling to build characters, sets, and props, offering advice and design support throughout the process
Accept feedback on designs and execute on changes quickly
Participate in production-related meetings by offering thoughts and ideas
Stay up to date with shows by reading scripts and watching animatics
Maintain the production’s show style and optimize designs for storytelling needs
Communicate effective and production-friendly solutions when production requests are not possible within production timelines
Assist with paint-overs and provide feedback to design and modelling teams
Keep your work orders current and accurate in the design approval system
Keep design coordinator in the loop on all activities and any issues that may arise
Keep files efficiently organized
Identify gaps that may exist on assigned episodes and implement solutions to rectify them
Identify potential risks or issues and work on a mitigation strategy
Anticipate, communicate, and troubleshoot any creative or technical issues with assistance from key stakeholders
Work collaboratively as part of the senior production team
Be a positive and creative force on the team
HR/Recruiting
Be part of the recruiting process by assisting the HR department with the development of job descriptions, sourcing of candidates as well as the candidate selection process
Crew Management
Train design team on an ongoing basis both technically and creatively
Communicate expectations to design team while balancing creative desires with the requirements of production
Oversee the daily activities of the design team
Partner with management to guide artists’ overall professional development by providing performance feedback, mentoring, assisting with resolving performance issues, and maintaining positive morale among the team
Foster and enable communication and collaboration across departments
Set goals for others that can be achieved using available resources and use previous measurable performance to establish goals within projected timeframe
Determine and understand the needs, interests, strengths and weaknesses of the design team and use this information to contribute to the growth and development of the design team
Provide constructive criticism, wisdom, guidance, and feedback that will help others further their career development
Qualifications
5+ years in CG animation design
Must have strong design experience for 3D animation and be able to design a wide variety of characters, facial expressions, creatures, machinery, vehicles, and props
Experience interfacing with other designers, modellers, animators and directors
Strong leadership, management, and organizational skills
Excellent team player with strong interpersonal skills
Able to effectively give direction and communicate storytelling
Able to identify strengths and weakness of design team
Able to remain flexible and adaptable to meet the changing needs of production
Able to set priorities for yourself and others, as well as manage the progress of work
Proactive work ethic, capable problem solver with the ability to implement solutions
Able to multitask, prioritize and manage time efficiently
Able to think creatively to resolve technical challenges
Able to communicate in a professional and positive manner
Able to adapt to multiple show styles
Must be open to direction and able to embrace change
Design education is an asset, but not required
Please APPLY at: https://hire.jobvite.com/j?aj=oKCr0fwx&s=AreaAutodesk
THANK YOU to all those who express interest in being a part of the Nerd Corps team. Unfortunately, due to the volume of applications we receive, we may be unable to reply to all applicants. If we feel that you may be a good match for one of our current openings you will be contacted.