3D Creature Artist

Company Description

Epoch Games is a volunteer-based, all-online, global game development team. We have no centrally-located headquarters and are unincorporated at this time. Most of the original founding members were modders developing the total conversion Middle Earth Roleplaying Project (MERP) mod for the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim:
http://www.moddb.com/mods/merp-middle-earth-roleplaying-project
Currently Epoch Games is developing The Lays of Althas: Sundered Order (LoA:SO). LoA:SO is an in-development indie open-world RPG set in an original fantasy world. The game is being developed using Epic Games' Unreal Engine 4 (UE4):
https://www.unrealengine.com/
For more information about the game, please check out our IndieDb page:
http://www.indiedb.com/games/the-lays-of-althas-sundered-order
NOTE: The address above is the address related to Epoch Games' Incorporation, but is not related to the place of work. We are a fully-online team with no central headquarters at this time. Communication is mostly done via Slack (an instant messaging application) and Trello (an online project collaboration tool).

Job Description

In this volunteer position we are looking for someone who specializes in creating 3D realistic Creatures (yet with fantastical and heraldic touches/details), which includes Mesh Sculpting, Texturing and Fur/Hair Card experience, for "The Lays of Althas: Sundered Order" (LoA:SO). These Creatures would be seem alongside realistic Human characters. Rigging and Skinning Experience with 3D Creatures is not required, but is certainly helpful.
Communication is key to a smooth and efficient pipeline. You must be able to communicate clearly and effectively with other team-members and not be afraid to ask should any problems arise. We are an English-speaking team, so English fluency is a must.
If you are comfortable with teaching, you may be called upon to aid the more junior members of the team in any relevant area.
Other duties include following team policies (given through team orientation as upon acceptance to the team) as well as attending meetings through Slack (our instant message program that we use to communicate)

Qualifications

Minimum Requirements:

• Creating realistic Creature meshes and textures
• Creating Fur sculpts using Hair Card and Alpha Planes
• Physically-based Rendering (PBR) experience for game sculpting required
• Previous experience working with low-poly/game-ready assets required
• Full Texturing ability (Diffuse, Normal, Displacement etc).
• Able to work effectively and accurately from pre-defined concept art and designs.
• Able to work with and provide constructive criticism and feedback.
• Communication and Team-collaboration skills.
• A passion for modeling and a dedication to creating AAA quality games.

Additional Information

Required Software:

• Unreal Engine 4 (https://www.unrealengine.com/register)
• 3D Modeling Software, be it 3DS Max, Maya, Blender or similar. Must have valid license for said software.
• Adobe Photoshop, GIMP, Substance Painter, Marmoset, 3D Coat, or similar for creating high-quality 2D Textures.