The Senior Houdini FX Artist is responsible for developing complex FX setups and simulations while supporting the FX team with technical troubleshooting, mentoring, and look development.
Requirements
Duties:
- Hero FX Work: Deliver high-complexity FX setups across shots and sequences.
- Lookdev: Ability to understand the brief and define FX visual style and iterate quickly based on feedback.
- Collaboration: Liaise with lighting, comp, layout, and CFX to align FX with shot needs.
- Technical Oversight: Ensure setups are efficient, consistent, scalable, and pipeline-friendly. Deliver visually impactful and technically sound FX at scale.
- Quality: Set the standard for quality and problem-solving in the FX team.
- Mentorship: Provide support and review feedback for mid and junior artists. Support the team in elevating both output and efficiency.
- Scene Hygiene: Maintain clean networks, version control, and caching standards.
- Communication: Keep the team updated on progress and flag blockers early.
- Feedback: Be open to feedback and work iteratively to reach final quality.
- Problem-Solving: Strong technical ability to debug scene/cache issues such as simulation behaviour, collision or attributes.
- Workflow Contribution: Share techniques and suggest pipeline or tool improvements.
Skills, attributes and experience:
- Expert in Houdini pyro, destruction, particles, Vellum, and other solvers.
- Strong technical skill in simulation control, caching, and proceduralism.
- Proficient in rendering and preparing FX for lighting and comp.
- Experience with USD FX publishing or referencing.
- VEX scripting or Python for custom tools and setups.
- Understanding of FX-driven workflows in creature or environment scenes.
- Proficient in Maya, ZBrush, Mari, Substance Painter, and Arnold or equivalent.
- Solid understanding of modeling, UVs, texturing, and shading.
- Working knowledge of rendering, lighting, and asset publishing.
- Familiarity with USD workflows.
- Maya, Houdini, Nuke experience is a must.
- Basic scripting or tool awareness.
- Excellent communicator, sharing information clearly and actively listening.