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Animator

Irvine, California, United States
Blizzard Entertainment is looking for a talented 3D animator to assist our cinematics team in creating the next generation of our award-winning in-game animated feature films. The cinematic animator will be skilled at animating the movements of humanoids, beasts, and machines at a level that lives up to the ever-increasing Blizzard Entertainment standard of quality. The ideal candidate for this position is also able to demonstrate thorough knowledge of the 12 principles of animation*, weight, physical action, dramatic acting, facial expressions, and the ability to accurately lip synch to dialogue.
 
Requirements
  • A minimum of 3 years experience in game development, television, or the film industry using Maya or an equivalent 3D program
  • Excellent 3D animation skills as demonstrated on your demo reel
  • Passion for film, animation, and video games
  • An animation test
  • Able to effectively collaborate with other artists, producers, and programmers
  • Self-motivation, good communications skills, and a great team-player attitude
  • Assist in supporting and evolving the cinematics team with constructive feedback, both technically and artistically
  • Understanding of Blizzard Entertainment's visual style and a passion to push it to the next level
Pluses
  • Artistic skills: story boarding, figure study, gesture drawing, 2D animation, illustration and painting
  • Technical skills: rigging, scripting, and understanding of pipeline
  • Physical skills: acting, martial arts, and choreography
  • Film making skills such as cinematography, pre-visualization, editing, and story writing
  • Understanding of FX, particles, cloth, and hair as they contribute to a character's performance

*Principles of animation:  Squash and stretch, anticipation, staging, follow through, overlapping action, arcs, slow in and out, exaggeration, timing and spacing, secondary actions, appeal, and straight ahead vs. pose to pose.