This role is considered Hybrid, which means the employee will work 2-3 days onsite at a Company designated location and occasionally from home.

This posting is an opportunity to submit your resume for future consideration; this is not a role that is open at this time. We anticipate this role may be open in the future, but we are not actively hiring for the position. If you would like to be considered for this potential role, please submit your resume. If the role becomes available, you may receive an email or call from a recruiter.

Position Summary

ILM’s Groom Artist Team sits alongside our Digital Model Shop and Creature Teams. Creating hair, fur and/or feather grooms for characters and creatures as part of the Creature / Character pipeline for high-end VFX projects. The Groom Lead is responsible for the creation of outstanding character and creature grooms. They have experience in leading/mentoring teams, and understanding in all aspects of Groom work in a production pipeline.

What You’ll Do

• Creation of fur/feather/hair grooms for characters, creatures and props using a mix of off the shelf and ILM proprietary tools

• Support other artists when needed to make sure they are meeting all requirements of the show

• Collaborate with Creature TDs to determine requirements and solutions for dynamics 

• Work closely with additional departments in the Creature workflow including Modeling, Lookdev, Textures and Production for all technical, aesthetic and schedule needs

• Have a proactive role in driving  the production schedule, making sure the work is well understood, bids are appropriate and that assets are being delivered efficiently. 

• Participate as a team member in achieving various aesthetic solutions; provides feedback to other members of the production team by attending dailies on a regular basis

• Train and mentor new artists as well as provide technical assistance to the show supervisors before and during the production

• Maintains or exceeds consistent level of productivity while meeting deadlines and producing high quality work

• Independently and alongside the local Groom HOD be a driving force working with the global Groom teams to ensure development of the department, its technology, workflows and talent. Proactively bring new ideas and solutions to the table to raise the entire department up in quality and efficiency

What We’re Looking For

• 5+ years of proven experience within a high-end VFX facility 

• Good knowledge and proven experience of developing tool sets, templates and defining workflows

• Experience leading and mentoring other artists. 

• Demo reel and portfolio illustrating knowledge and experience in high end VFX

• Attention to detail

• Proven Groom skills within a high-end VFX production environment

• Must have a good creative and critical eye for driving the look and feel of a groom, especially when direction is unclear. Takes ownership in the ability to interpret others visions to realise an end goal

• Ability to learn quickly and assimilate new information

• Good interpersonal skills

• Expert in Houdini

• Nice to have:

  • Good organizational skills

  • Proficient in Maya, Mari, zbrush, photoshop

  • Ability to liaise with various parts of the Computer Graphics pipeline

  • Ability to navigate complex Computer Graphics pipelines

Join ILM

The hiring range for this position in Vancouver is C$124,900.00 to C$159,900.00 per year based on a 40-hour work week. The amount of hours scheduled per week may vary based on business needs. The base pay actually offered will take into account internal equity and also may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience among other factors. A full range of medical, financial, and/or other variable pay or benefits, may be offered dependent on the level and position offered.