Character Artist

Role Overview

Dirk Interactive is hiring an experienced Art Director for an unannounced PC game currently in development with Unreal Engine 5. The project is an action-oriented hybrid-genre game with a strong emphasis on gameplay, atmosphere, and visual storytelling. The Art Director will work closely with the Game Director to identify what should make the project visually singular and carry that vision across the complete presentation of the game.

What you'll do

• Define a bold and recognizable visual identity for an unannounced PC game.
• Establish the visual principles that distinguish the project from generic genre conventions.
• Develop a coherent language across environments, characters, animation, VFX, lighting, materials, colour, cinematics, interface presentation, and promotional art.
• Create hands-on visual-development work, including paintovers, style frames, key art, reference boards, and lighting studies.
• Translate artistic direction into practical standards that production artists can execute without flattening the original vision.
• Evaluate the current game and identify the changes with the greatest artistic and presentational impact.
• Work directly in Unreal Engine 5 to shape composition, lighting, atmosphere, materials, scale, and final presentation.
• Direct the visual development of in-game spaces, gameplay moments, cinematics, and representative imagery.
• Review work from concept, environment, character, animation, VFX, and other contributors.
• Help determine the lean combination of internal and contract talent needed to realize the direction.
• Define clear creative briefs and acceptance criteria for commissioned and fixed-bid work.
• Guide visual quality through implementation, capture, colour grading, and final presentation.
• Protect the clarity and individuality of the visual direction as the project grows.
• Handle confidential project materials with care and follow NDA requirements.

What we're looking for

• Professional experience as an Art Director, Associate Art Director, Lead Artist, or equivalent senior visual-development leader.
• A strong artistic vision and a clearly identifiable creative voice.
• Professional Unreal Engine 5 experience.
• Experience shaping visual direction through direct in-engine evaluation.
• A portfolio demonstrating authorship, taste, and high-quality production work.
• Evidence that your direction materially influenced the identity of a finished project.
• Expert understanding of composition, lighting, colour, form, materials, atmosphere, and visual storytelling.
• Ability to move between high-level artistic intent and concrete production decisions.
• Ability to critique work precisely while preserving and strengthening the artist’s contribution.
• Clear written and verbal communication.
• At least one shipped commercial title, published cinematic project, or equivalent professional production credit.
• Willingness to sign an NDA before receiving confidential project materials.

Nice to have

• Exceptional concept-art, paintover, or visual-development skills.
• A portfolio showing original visual languages rather than adherence to established genre templates.
• Experience with action-oriented or hybrid-genre games.
• Experience directing realistic, stylized-realistic, or visually unconventional projects.
• Strong Unreal Engine lighting and look-development experience.
• Experience with Sequencer, Movie Render Queue, Niagara, or real-time cinematics.
• Experience creating a consistent identity across gameplay, cinematic, and promotional work.
• Experience establishing visual direction for a small or distributed team.
• Resourcefulness in combining original art, procedural workflows, licensed assets, and selective custom production.

Engagement

• Remote contract role.
• Up to 30 hours per week with flexibility.
• The initial engagement will be front-loaded around visual exploration, art-direction development, and production planning, followed by continued guidance through implementation and review.
• Initial engagement of 3–4 months, with the possibility of extension based on project needs and mutual fit.
• Expected rate band: CAD $45–$65/hour, based on experience and scope.
• International applicants are welcome if they can maintain reliable working overlap with Pacific Time.
• An NDA and contractor agreement will be required before access to confidential materials is provided.

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Role Overview

Dirk Interactive is looking for experienced Concept Artists to help shape the visual identity of an unannounced PC game. The project is an action-oriented hybrid-genre game developed in Unreal Engine 5. We are looking for artists with a strong creative voice, curiosity, and the ability to bring unexpected ideas into a coherent visual world.

What you'll do

• Explore visual ideas through sketches, thumbnails, studies, and alternative designs.
• Develop selected ideas into clear concepts that communicate form, colour, materials, atmosphere, and character.
• Contribute original ideas while responding thoughtfully to the game’s direction.
• Work with the Art Director and Game Director to refine concepts through discussion and feedback.
• Produce supporting views, details, or callouts when needed for production.
• Create paintovers, mood pieces, or promotional illustrations where appropriate to your strengths and the agreed brief.
• Deliver organized source files and communicate clearly about progress and scope.

What we're looking for

• A portfolio demonstrating professional concept-art work and a distinct artistic voice.
• Strong fundamentals in drawing, composition, perspective, form, colour, and lighting.
• Evidence of your design process, including how you explore and resolve an idea.
• Professional client or studio experience, with a clear explanation of your contribution.
• Ability to create designs that support a larger visual identity.
• Ability to interpret feedback, explain creative decisions, and work independently.
• Reliable communication and delivery.

Nice to have

• Strength in environment, character, prop, or other relevant design disciplines.
• Experience translating concepts into useful references for 3D artists.
• Strong paintover and visual-storytelling skills.
• Experience combining 2D and 3D tools during concept development.
• Familiarity with Unreal Engine or real-time game production.
• Experience developing both production concepts and finished promotional artwork.
• Unreal Engine experience is welcome but is not required for this role.

Engagement

• Remote, commission-based contract work.
• Each piece or package is selected and briefed by the Art Director or Game Director.
• Scope, fee, schedule, review rounds, and deliverables are agreed before work begins.
• Work is anticipated over an initial period of 3–4 months, with the possibility of further commissions as the project develops.
• International applicants are welcome, with availability for occasional discussions during Pacific Time working hours.
• An NDA and contractor agreement are required before confidential project materials are shared.

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Role Overview

Dirk Interactive is seeking an experienced 3D Generalist Artist for an unannounced PC game developed in Unreal Engine 5. The project is an action-oriented hybrid-genre game. Working closely with the Art Director and Game Director, you will help translate the game’s visual direction into finished in-game assets and scenes.

What you'll do

• Create props, equipment, and other 3D assets from approved concepts and references.
• Develop textures and materials that support the game’s visual language.
• Assemble and dress scenes with attention to composition, scale, and visual storytelling.
• Integrate assets into Unreal Engine 5 and refine their appearance in context.
• Adapt existing or licensed assets to fit the approved direction.
• Prepare topology, UVs, textures, and materials appropriate to each asset’s use.
• Collaborate with the Art Director and other artists to resolve visual and production needs.
• Deliver organized source files and assets ready for use in the project.

What we're looking for

• A portfolio demonstrating professional 3D work across several production tasks.
• Strong understanding of form, proportion, composition, colour, and materials.
• Professional experience creating assets for real-time games.
• Practical Unreal Engine 5 experience, including asset integration and material setup.
• Ability to carry work from an initial brief through to a finished in-engine result.
• Resourcefulness in choosing when to create, adapt, or reuse assets.
• Ability to interpret creative direction and contribute thoughtful visual decisions.
• Reliable communication, realistic estimates, and the ability to work independently.
• Professional client or studio experience, with a clear explanation of your contribution.

Nice to have

• Strong prop and hard-surface modelling skills.
• Experience with scene assembly, set dressing, and lighting.
• Familiarity with modular assets and reusable material workflows.
• Experience supporting animation or VFX artists with the assets they need.
• Ability to maintain a consistent look across assets from different sources.
• Experience preparing work for both gameplay and close-up presentation.
• We welcome generalists with particular strengths. Please make clear which parts of the production process you handle confidently and where you prefer to collaborate with a specialist.

Engagement

• Remote contract work, scoped around defined assets, scenes, or production packages.
• Scope, fee, schedule, review rounds, and deliverables are agreed before work begins.
• Work is anticipated over an initial period of 3–4 months, with the possibility of further commissions as the project develops.
• International applicants are welcome, with availability for occasional discussions during Pacific Time working hours.
• An NDA and contractor agreement are required before confidential project materials are shared.

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Role Overview

Dirk Interactive is seeking an experienced 3D Character Artist for an unannounced PC game developed in Unreal Engine 5. The project is an action-oriented hybrid-genre game. Working closely with the Art Director and Game Director, you will help shape the characters that define the game’s identity.

What you'll do

• Develop character models, clothing, and equipment from approved concepts and references.
• Contribute artistic judgment when translating a design into three dimensions.
• Refine form, proportion, silhouette, and surface detail in collaboration with the Art Director.
• Create topology, UVs, textures, and materials suited to real-time production.
• Prepare characters for the agreed rigging and animation pipeline.
• Integrate and review character assets in Unreal Engine 5.
• Create or adapt character assets according to the needs of each brief.
• Deliver organized source files and finished assets ready for production.

What we're looking for

• A portfolio demonstrating professional character-art work.
• Strong understanding of anatomy, proportion, clothing, and silhouette.
• High-quality modelling, sculpting, texturing, and material skills.
• Professional experience creating characters for real-time games.
• Practical Unreal Engine 5 experience.
• Understanding of topology and how character construction supports deformation.
• Ability to interpret artistic direction while contributing thoughtful design decisions.
• Reliable communication, realistic estimates, and the ability to work independently.
• Professional client or studio experience, with a clear explanation of your contribution.

Nice to have

• Experience carrying a character from concept through to finished in-engine presentation.
• Strong clothing, equipment, and hard-surface accessory work.
• Experience adapting characters to existing rigs and animation systems.
• Familiarity with modular character construction.
• Ability to preserve a character’s identity across gameplay and close-up presentation.
• Rigging expertise is welcome, but the rigging responsibilities for each assignment will be agreed as part of its scope.

Engagement

• Remote contract work, scoped around defined characters or asset packages.
• Scope, fee, schedule, review rounds, and deliverables are agreed before work begins.
• Work is anticipated over an initial period of 3–4 months, with the possibility of further commissions as the project develops.
• International applicants are welcome, with availability for occasional discussions during Pacific Time working hours.
• An NDA and contractor agreement are required before confidential project materials are shared.