About the role
Details
- Positions: Unreal Engine – Lighting, Render & VFX Artists
- Hours: 37.5 hours, Mon-Fri, 9.30am-6pm. (Flexible working patterns available.)
- Contract: Fixed Term, PAYE
- Pay: £36,400 – £41,600 p/a, experience dependent
- Holiday: 29 days holiday (pro rata) and half-day Fridays every month
- Start Date: January 2027
- End Date: October 2027
- Location: Bristol – in-house, Hybrid or Remote
- End Date for Applications: Friday 30th October
- Eligibility: You must be eligible to work in the UK
- Benefits: See website for details
A Productions are looking for experienced Unreal Artists at all levels to work with us on an exciting new children’s animated TV series. We are looking for artists across a range of skills, particularly lighting, rendering and Unreal-based VFX.
Working as part of a team, you will help take approved animation through the final stages of our Maya and Unreal Engine pipeline. Including importing and checking animation supplied by our overseas co-production partner, assembling and lighting shots, creating visual effects in Unreal Engine, and preparing final shots for offline rendering.
You do not need to be an expert in every area listed above. We are building a team with complementary skills, so we are equally interested in strong lighting/render artists, Unreal VFX artists and versatile CG generalists.
You will work closely with the CG Supervisor, Director and production team to ensure that shots maintain the established visual style of the series and are delivered consistently and efficiently to broadcast quality.
Responsibilities
Depending on the role, responsibilities may include:
Lighting, Shot Assembly & Rendering:
- Import (when required) and manage approved character and camera animation supplied by our overseas animation partner.
- Check incoming animation and scenes for technical issues and ensure they integrate correctly into the production pipeline.
- Assemble and prepare shots in Unreal Engine, including characters, environments, cameras and other required scene elements.
- Light shots and sequences in Unreal, following the established visual style and lighting direction of the series.
- Maintain lighting and visual continuity across shots and sequences.
- Work with existing lighting setups and environments, making shot-specific adjustments where required.
- Troubleshoot issues with imported animation, skeletal meshes, materials, textures, cameras and scene assembly.
- Create and amend basic assets where required using Maya, Substance and ZBrush.
- Prepare shots for final-quality offline rendering from Unreal Engine.
- Review rendered material for visual and technical issues before delivery.
Unreal VFX:
- Create and implement visual effects within Unreal Engine, particularly using Niagara.
- Develop effects appropriate to the established style of the series, which may include atmospheric effects, particles, smoke, dust, magic, impacts and other character or environmental effects.
- Integrate VFX into animated shots and ensure effects work effectively with the lighting, environments and character animation.
- Adapt and refine existing effects as well as create new effects where required.
- Optimise effects to work reliably within the production and rendering pipeline.
- Troubleshoot technical and visual issues relating to Unreal effects.
General:
- Respond to notes from the Director and CG Supervisor and complete amendments as required.
- Troubleshoot issues with imported animation, skeletal meshes, materials, textures, cameras and scene assembly.
- Liaise with other departments and production to ensure shots progress smoothly through the pipeline and remain on schedule.
- Follow established production procedures for file management, naming, versioning and delivery.
Skills & Experience
- Professional experience in CG lighting, ideally within television or animated content.
- Strong working knowledge of Unreal Engine, particularly lighting, cameras, materials, rendering and VFX.
- Experience working with revision control, production tracking, and render management such as Deadline.
- Good working knowledge of Maya (or similar) and an understanding of animation scenes, character rigs and cameras.
- A strong creative eye and understanding of lighting, composition, colour, exposure and visual storytelling.
- Good technical understanding of CG production pipelines and transferring animation and assets between Maya and Unreal.
- Strong attention to detail and the ability to identify and resolve creative and technical issues.
- Ability to maintain a consistent visual style across a large number of shots.
- Ability to work collaboratively, respond positively to feedback and work effectively to production deadlines.
- Modelling skills in Maya, particularly the ability to make minor asset adjustments, fixes or additional scene elements where required.
- Knowledge of UVs, materials and textures for troubleshooting or adapting assets for individual shots.
Our commitment to Equality, Diversity & Inclusion
At A Productions, we are committed to creating an equitable, diverse and inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive. We believe that a broad range of perspectives, lived experiences and creative voices strengthens our work, our culture and the stories we tell.
We welcome applications from people whose backgrounds and experiences are currently under-represented in the TV industry, including (but not limited to) people who are:
- Disabled (as defined by the Equality Act 2010)
- From communities that experience racism
- Not university educated or had free school meals as a child
We strive to make our recruitment process as accessible and inclusive as possible. If you need any adjustments, additional support, or information in a different format during the application process, please email. If you would prefer to apply by phone, please call 07796 138559 and ask to speak with Hannah Murdoch, Welfare & HR Manager.