Senior Surfacing Artist

Flying Bark Productions is a dynamic and innovative animation studio dedicated to pushing the boundaries of character animation and storytelling. We are working on exciting projects such as Avatar: The Last Airbender feature film, Netflix's Ghostbusters animated series and Stranger Things animated series, as well as our production Tales From Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan.  The Senior Surfacing Artist establishes the look and surface qualities for animated characters, props and environments. Through the use and development of textures and shaders; the Surfacing Artist will guide the production process to achieve the desired visual style. The Surfacing Artist collaborates with or aids the rest of the CG team to ensure the proper workflow and specifications are being developed to achieve the desired look on all textures. Please be aware that for this specific role, having a valid work permit for Spain/Europe is a requirement. About You: Working within a brief and using 2D design reference to create high-quality CG textures and grooms that are faithful to the visual style of the production. Create, develop, and maintain hair, fur, and feather grooms using Yeti, ensuring they are production-ready and optimized for animation and rendering. Develop shaders for all CG assets, including groom-related shading and look-development. Submit CG assets and grooms for review, presenting them in a way that clearly demonstrates their intended use within the Series. Create and adjust UV maps as required, ensuring they adhere to pipeline requirements and are suitable for the resolution and complexity of both surface and groom assets. Collaborate closely with the CG modelling team, providing feedback on topology and UV layouts to ensure they are suitable for grooming, texturing, and final rendering. Work with the CG, Groom, and BG teams to resolve creative and technical challenges, ensuring assets meet the highest artistic and technical standards and are correctly prepared for downstream departments. Partner with rigging, animation, lighting, and compositing teams to ensure grooms behave correctly in motion and render efficiently, meeting schedules and deadlines set by the Producer and Directors. Carry out all other duties and responsibilities as reasonably required by the Production Company. Skillset: In-depth knowledge of Maya, with strong experience creating and managing Yeti grooms for characters and environments. High proficiency in Photoshop and painting software such as Substance Painter or Mari for texture and look-development work. Experience in Katana, with a solid understanding of groom integration, shading networks, and both photoreal and non-photoreal rendering workflows. Strong understanding of hair and fur workflows, including optimization, performance considerations, and troubleshooting groom-related issues. Ability to work in close partnership with the CG, Groom, and Design teams, following guidance from creative and technical supervisors. Ability to maintain consistent productivity in a fast-paced production environment while delivering high-quality grooms and textures. Comfortable working independently as well as under direct supervision. Excellent communication, time-management, and problem-solving skills, with the ability to multitask and prioritize effectively. Performs other tasks and responsibilities related to the creation of computer-generated animation and grooming, as otherwise reasonably required by the Production Company. Specific requirement: Valid work permit for Spain. Why work with us? We work on some pretty cool projects - check out our website: We have cake days, movie nights, wrap parties & a Kulture Klub dedicated to coordinating our busy social calendar We offer hybrid working mode, with two days remote a week. If you love dogs as much as we do, you can bring them to work Career development is important to us so we offer training and support opportunities whenever possible.  We have a full slate and plans for international expansion so there is always plenty of opportunity for career development. Our employees say our culture is the best they've ever experienced - everyone is welcome and celebrated Flying Bark Productions is proud to be an Equal Opportunity Employer.