Are you an environment artist with a passion for stylized artwork and a love for traditional animation? Do you thrive in a challenging environment and seek a project where you can exercise creative ownership? Do you work autonomously and embrace wearing an extra hat or two where needed? If this sounds like you, then join the exciting new indie studio, "Le Catnip Collective," based in Montreal!

As one of two environment artists, you'll play a crucial role in developing and defining the project's unique style during pre-production. You’ll block out grey-box levels under the supervision of Design then follow them through to complete a stunning cartoon mansion and fantasy jazz worlds. This is an incredible opportunity to make a big impact on an exciting project and be a part of a small and collaborative team.

Responsibilities:

• Create stylized art influenced by traditional animation, with a focus on the Disney-esque mansion setting inspired by Aristocats and 101 Dalmatians, infused with Saturday morning cartoon edgy-ness.
• Modelling will be done in Blender with Adobe Substance Painter and Designer for texturing.
• Possess fundamental knowledge of Unreal engine 5, including lighting, importing/updating assets, and level editing.
• Optimize assets for performance on the Nintendo Switch while ensuring scalability for high-spec PCs.
• Collaborate with game design to create a beautiful world within the criteria defined by the game mechanics.

Mega bonus points:

• Located in the province of Quebec, Canada.
• Passionate about party games, 3D platformers, animation, and/or cats!

Mini bonus points:

• Able to offer skills in other disciplines beyond your specialty.
• Familiarity with software such as Notion, Redmine, Discord and Plastic SCM for source control.

Who are you?

• You thrive in small team environments and are eager to learn new skills and take on additional responsibilities as needed.
• You prioritize the game over your own ego and are always open to feedback that will improve the game's quality.
• You're great at working independently and don't need someone constantly looking over your shoulder.
• You value constructive comments and feedback on your work, and are able to share your opinions and ideas with empathy.

About the director: 

I’m an animator/tech artist with 20 years experience in AAA games (Next Level games, Rare, THQ) and feature films (The little prince, Sahara, Rumble, Mune, Legend of the Guardians) - Animation portfolio. I also have 4 years experience as a team leader managing artists and technicians at Cinesite and ReelFX here in Montreal. Come join me and become part of “Le Catnip Collective”, a core team of 4 with various additional contractor support. I value creating an inclusive group of collaborators who openly share ideas and feedback and also embrace owning and polishing their part of the game with pride. We’ve just partnered with a publisher and we’re excited to have the resources available to turn our little prototype into a unique and fun online party game!

Extra info:

• The studio space will be a hybrid approach, mixed with work from home and coworking office space - although full remote may be considered for the right applicant outside of Montreal.
• Positions are for 18 months full time, Starting May 2023.
• Please keep in mind that we are a small studio with limited resources and won't be able to respond to every application.
• Salary range is $50k-$70k CAD depending on experience.

How to apply:

Please shoot us an email with your portfolio and CV to the address provided below. We're particularly interested in seeing examples of your stylized environment art and any personal projects you're proud of. Looking forward to seeing what you've got!