BC - Senior Groom Artist

Senior Groom Artist

This position is onsite, based in Vancouver, BC. (Some remote work may be considered) All applicants must reside in the lower Mainland of BC, Canada.

About Zoic

Zoic Studios is a Visual Effects company that specializes in high end visual effects for television, film, and advertising.

Our mantra is VisualEvolution- we focusoneverypart of theprocess, from the final picture to the pipeline used to create them.

Are youlooking for your nextcreative and technical challenge?Come join our team!

Why Join Zoic?

• We are an Artist owned and operated VFX studio.
• We love what we do and always stay curious about new technology and techniques.
• We respect work / life balance in a hectic industry.
• We work with a team from all walks of life and backgrounds.

There's an exciting project that we'll be working on at Zoic. It's a stop-motion animated feature that will continue into Fall of 2025.

For this particular show Zoic employees assigned to the project will be working within our Zoic Vancouver Studios, in the Gastown Area (close to Waterfront Station Downtown).

Coming together as a team within our studio will help create the excitement and positive work environment we want for this special project.

Summary of Position

The Sr. Groom Artist is responsible for the creation, delivery, and maintenance of high-level hair, fur, feathers, and other forms of grooming for digital characters and environments.

Job Functions

• Create, maintain, improve, and support fur, hair, feather, and environment grooms through VFX production utilizing Houdini and proprietary tools.
• Create and maintain Houdini templates and toolsets / HDAs used in groom creation.
• Assess references and reproduce assets with great attention to detail and efficiency.
• Work closely with all disciplines within the Asset department to troubleshoot creative and technical issues.
• Interact with the VFX department to maintain and create proper workflows to achieve dynamic results within the asset debrief.
• Perform basic modeling, texturing, look dev, and rendering tasks for groom development as needed.
• Communicate effectively with Production, Asset Leads and the Asset Supervisor to consistently produce high-quality work while meeting deadlines.
• Assist Asset Leads with mentoring, training, and developing team members within the VFX department.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of CG / Visual Effects grooming experience on theatrically released films.
• Strong knowledge of grooming in Maya and Houdini.
• Strong understanding of VEX is preferred.
• Experience building a wide variety of grooms (fur, hair, feather, environment grooms, etc.).
• Strong knowledge of procedural workflows in Houdini that goes beyond the grooming tools.
• Knowledge of Houdini, USD, Katana, Renderman, Mari, Zbrush, Karma, and Solaris.
• Background in visual arts / design with a strong understanding of form and movement, preferred.
• Proficiency working in a Linux environment.
• Extra asset skills such as modeling, texturing, look dev, a plus.
• Experience with python, a plus.
• Great organizational skills.
• Able to learn and adapt to challenges.

Additional information

• British Columbia Employees Pay Range : $50 - $65 (The actual base salary offered will depend on a variety of factors, including without limitation, the qualifications of the individual applicant for the position, years of relevant experience, level of education attained, certifications or other professional licenses held, and if applicable, the location of the position)
• Candidates MUST be located in the Lower Mainland, British Columbia. This Role requires the candidate to work onsite, within our Vancouver Studio in Gastown.

Some remote work may be considered)

• Zoic does not cover relocation costs.
• Any and all remote positions require the candidate to have a reliable internet connection via ethernet and work on Pacific Standard Time.
• This job description contains the basic requirements for the position and is NOT intended to be a complete list of responsibilities;

other duties may be assigned.

Due to the sheer volume of applications we receive, we regret that only those selected to interview will be contacted.

This position is based in Vancouver. All applicants must reside in British Columbia.

Permanent Residents and Canadians only, please.,