Playtonic is looking for a VFX Artist to join our growing team in the heart of the Midlands in the UK near Burton upon Trent.

Playtonic is renowned for their characterful 3D & 2D platforming titles Yooka-Laylee and Yooka-Laylee and the Impossible Lair and is currently working on unannounced stuff that is bursting at the seams with character, fun, colour and joy.

We offer hybrid working with the option to work up to 2 days a week from home and the rest in office where you’ll find a very friendly and inclusive environment where we value collaboration highly.

What you’ll be doing

As a VFX Artist at Playtonic, you will be responsible for designing and implementing captivating visual effects that enhance the immersive qualities of our games and deliver rewarding and informative feedback for players. Working in the Unity game engine and using tools such as Maya and Photoshop, your creativity and technical expertise will play a pivotal role in bringing our game experiences to life.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Collaborate closely with the art, design, and engineering teams to create and integrate high-quality real-time visual effects for characters, environments, and gameplay mechanics.
• Ensure VFX assets align with the game’s artistic direction and technical requirements while adhering to performance and gameplay considerations.
• Contribute to the development of shaders and materials that enhance the visual impact of VFX while maintaining a consistent art style.
• Stay up-to-date with emerging trends and techniques in real-time VFX and share knowledge within the team.
• Problem-solve technical and artistic challenges related to VFX production and integration.
• Work with the Art Director and Lead Artist to develop VFX style guides for projects.

ESSENTIAL QUALITIES:

• Impressive portfolio demonstrating a mastery of real-time VFX creation and implementation in video games.
• Proficiency in industry standard VFX tools and software, such as Unity’s Particle System and VFX graph or similar systems.
• Strong understanding of the principles of animation, physics, and lighting as they relate to VFX.
• Experience with shader creation and manipulation to achieve unique visual effects.
• Ability to optimize VFX for performance while maintaining high-quality standards.
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and visual, for effective collaboration within a multidisciplinary team.
• Strong problem-solving skills to address technical and artistic challenges in VFX production.
• Passion for video games and a keen eye for detail to ensure a polished player experience.

DESIRABLE QUALITIES:

• Familiarity with Playtonics games and a passion for creating VFX that align with our distinctive style.
• Experience with 3D modelling and texturing to complement VFX assets, we use Maya at Playtonic.
• Proficiency in in the Unity game engine, particularly with the particle system and VFX graph.
• Experience in scripting languages (e.g., Python, C#) for tool development and workflow enhancements.
• Knowledge of version control systems and project management tools for efficient collaboration.
• Understanding of shader programming languages (e.g., HLSL, GLSL) for advanced VFX effects.

INTERESTED IN WORKING AT PLAYTONIC?

Drop us an email introducing yourself over to jobs@playtonicgames.com. Attach a copy of your CV and any portfolio work you wish to share! Including the position that you’re applying for in the subject line would be ace too!

If you require any adjustments for interviews, please let us know and we will try and facilitate those needs as best we can.

Playtonic is an equal opportunities employer, we celebrate diversity and encourage applications from all communities. It is also Mental Health aware, with in-house Mental Health First Aiders and sponsored training opportunities.

Playtonic is looking for a Senior level Technical Artist to join our growing team in the heart of the Midlands in the UK near Burton upon Trent.

The ideal candidate is an experienced Technical Artist with a proven track record who will be responsible for leading and directing a wide variety of technical art requirements including defining the graphic production pipeline, tool development in Unity and Maya, performance profiling and optimising across the art asset and render pipelines and the development of custom shaders and graphics solutions.

As recently announced, Playtonic has acquired investment from a leading technology company, and this will be used to drive expansion for development on multiple internal titles and to grow our recently launched publishing arm, Playtonic Friends. Playtonic retains full creative control over its IP and is looking to scale internal development teams with an emphasis on hiring diverse talents that share our passion for creating the vibrant and uniquely fun games, worlds and iconic characters that we are known for.

Responsibilities

• Collaborate with the Head of Art, development team Art Leads and the Technical Director to develop and evangelise the graphics production pipeline.
• Drive optimisation to define best working practices and procedures for the art team, evangelising to the team and taking responsibility for the adoption and application of these practices and procedures.
• Develop or source the best tools and methods to facilitate the art team to improve productivity and quality and helping us innovate as a company.
• Provide training, technical support and documentation on the tools and engine for the graphics team.
• Remain informed and up to date on the latest technological developments, evaluating and introducing these where relevant for projects.
• Mentor and manage Junior Technical Artists.

 Requirements

• Proven track record working as a technical artist, having released at least one finished game with substantial input and impact on the technical art
• Excellent knowledge of Maya and real-time modelling techniques and ideally knowledgeable in other content creation tools (Zbrush, Substance, Photoshop).
• Knowledge of scripting (Python, mel), C family programming languages and shader programming.
• Detailed understanding of the capabilities and constraints of game engines and different game hardware platforms.
• Excellent communication skills, organisational skills and enthusiasm for collaboration.
• Have a passion for games across many genres.

INTERESTED IN WORKING AT PLAYTONIC?

Drop us an email introducing yourself over at jobs@playtonicgames.com. Attach a copy of your CV and any portfolio work you wish to share! Including the type of role you’re after in the subject line would be ace too!

If you require any adjustments for interviews, please let us know and we will try and facilitate those needs as best we can.

Playtonic is an equal opportunities employer, we celebrate diversity and encourage applications from all communities. It is also Mental Health aware, with in-house Mental Health First Aiders and sponsored training opportunities.