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Character Designer Jobs (NOW HIRING)

2K

Character Artist

Manhattan, NY · On-site

$133K - $140K/yr

What We Need As Lead Character Artist, you'll drive the craft of exceptional characters across our diverse 2K titles and styles. You're here to push our visual bar, mentor the team, and make sure our ...

Side

3D Character Artist - Talent Pool (N Americas)

$123K - $130K/yr

As a 3D Character Artist , you will play a key role in crafting high-quality characters that bring ... Collaborate with art leads, designers, and animators to ensure characters align with the project ...

Naughty Dog

Senior Character Artist

Santa Monica, CA · On-site

$69.09 - $86.35/hr

The Character Art team is looking for a highly technical and artistic Senior Character Artist to join our team in creating the next generation of award-winning story telling! We are looking for an ...

Naughty Dog

Senior Character Artist

Santa Monica, CA

$135K - $142K/yr

The Character Art team is looking for a highly technical and artistic Senior Character Artist to join our team in creating the next generation of award-winning story telling! We are looking for an ...

New

2K

Lead Character Artist

Manhattan, NY · On-site

$133K - $140K/yr

What We Need As Lead Character Artist, you'll drive the craft of exceptional characters across our diverse 2K titles and styles. You're here to push our visual bar, mentor the team, and make sure our ...

2K

Lead Character Artist

Manhattan, NY · On-site

$133K - $140K/yr

What We Need As Lead Character Artist, you'll drive the craft of exceptional characters across our diverse 2K titles and styles. You're here to push our visual bar, mentor the team, and make sure our ...

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How much do character designer jobs pay per hour?

As of Aug 8, 2026, the average hourly pay for character designer in the United States is $31.64, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $28.85 and $36.30 per hour, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are some common challenges character designers face when collaborating with other departments during production?

Character Designers often collaborate closely with animators, modelers, and directors, which can present challenges such as aligning on the visual style, ensuring designs are animation-friendly, and accommodating technical limitations. Balancing creative vision with practical constraints—like simplifying details for animation or adapting designs based on feedback—requires strong communication and flexibility. Successful Character Designers are proactive in seeking input, open to revision, and skilled at translating character concepts into workable assets that serve the story and production pipeline.

What is a character designer?

Character designers are artists who create the visual appearance, style, and personality of characters for animation, video games, comics, films, and other media. Their work involves conceptualizing and illustrating characters based on story requirements, often working closely with writers, directors, and animators. Character designers develop everything from facial expressions and costumes to body shapes and color schemes, ensuring each character is visually appealing and communicates the intended traits or emotions.

What is the difference between Character Designer vs Character Artist?

AspectCharacter DesignerCharacter Artist
Primary FocusCreating original character concepts, designs, and visual stylesRendering and illustrating detailed character artwork based on designs
Skills & ToolsConcept art, illustration, creativity, design software (Photoshop, Illustrator)Digital painting, rendering, shading, software skills (Photoshop, Painter)
Work EnvironmentGame studios, animation, film, advertisingGame studios, animation, film, freelance projects

While both roles involve working with characters, a Character Designer focuses on creating original character concepts and visual styles, whereas a Character Artist specializes in bringing those designs to life through detailed illustrations and rendering. Understanding these distinctions helps clarify career paths and job expectations in the industry.

What does a character designer do?

As a character designer, you create the look and animation of a cartoon character in a film, TV show, or video game. Your responsibilities are to develop physical features, design costumes and clothes, pose characters, and collaborate with team members from concept to production. Your duties include working with mouth charts, expression sheets, shadow and color indications, and marketing artwork. You sketch, draw, illustrate, and animate by hand and through computer software. You also work with different drafts and copies and maintain artwork storage. To be successful in this field, you must be able to balance creativity with the needs and requirements of the project.

How to work on character design?

To work on character design, develop strong drawing skills and a good understanding of anatomy, proportion, and color theory. Use digital tools like Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator, and create a diverse portfolio showcasing original characters. Gaining experience through practice, studying existing designs, and understanding the project's style are essential for success in this field.

How to get a job as a character designer?

To become a character designer, build a strong portfolio showcasing your artistic skills and character concepts, often using digital tools like Adobe Photoshop or Illustrator. Gaining experience through internships, freelance work, or art schools can improve your chances, and understanding character anatomy, storytelling, and industry trends is essential.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a character designer, and why are they important?

To thrive as a Character Designer, you need strong drawing and illustration skills, a deep understanding of anatomy, color theory, and character development, often supported by a degree in art or design. Proficiency with digital design tools such as Adobe Creative Suite, Procreate, and 3D modeling software like ZBrush is typically required. Creativity, strong communication, and the ability to accept feedback help designers collaborate effectively and bring unique characters to life. These skills are essential to create compelling, visually distinctive characters that resonate with audiences and fit seamlessly within projects.

What qualifications do I need to be a character designer?

To become a character designer, a strong portfolio demonstrating artistic skills and creativity is essential, often supported by a background in fine arts, illustration, or animation. Proficiency in digital tools such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, or specialized software like Toon Boom is also important, along with good understanding of anatomy, storytelling, and character development. A bachelor's degree in art, design, or a related field is commonly preferred by employers.
More about Character Designer jobs
What cities are hiring for Character Designer jobs? Cities with the most Character Designer job openings:
What are the most commonly searched types of Character Designer jobs? The most popular types of Character Designer jobs are:
Who are the top companies hiring for Character Designer jobs? The top employers for Character Designer jobs are:
What states have the most Character Designer jobs? States with the most job openings for Character Designer jobs include:
What job categories do people searching Character Designer jobs look for? The top searched job categories for Character Designer jobs are:
Character Designer jobs near you
Infographic showing various Character Designer job openings in the United States as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 79% Full Time, 17% Part Time, and 4% Temporary. Highlights an 87% In-person, and 13% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $65,817 per year, or $31.6 per hour.

Reallusion Character Creator 3D Artist

Epoch Games

Winston Salem, NC • On-site, Remote

$104K - $109K/yr

Full-time

Re-posted 23 days ago

Job description

Company Description
Epoch Games is a volunteer-based, all-online, global game development team. The Co-Founders of Epoch Games were originally part of a Modding Team developing the total conversion Middle Earth Roleplaying Project (MERP) mod for the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim:
http://www.moddb.com/mods/merp-middle-earth-roleplaying-project
Currently Epoch Games is developing The Lays of Althas: Sundered Order (LoA:SO). LoA:SO is an in-development indie open-world RPG set in an original fantasy world:
http://www.indiedb.com/games/the-lays-of-althas-sundered-order
The game is being developed using Epic Games' Unreal Engine 4 (UE4):
https://www.unrealengine.com/
See our Benefits page for more information about what we can (and can't) offer Team Members at this time:
https://epochgames.co.uk/wordpress/benefits
NOTE: The address listed is our central office, but we are working as a completely remote development team at this time. No relocation is necessary.
Job Description
In this volunteer position we are looking for someone who is skilled with using Reallusion's Character Creator 3 (CC3) for creating realistic 3D Character Body, Face and Hair Meshes and within the software. We would also expect you to be able to create your own 2D Textures as well as be able to import/export your CC3 Creations to Epic Games' Unreal Engine 4.
If necessary, we can provide Reallusion Packs or whatever else you'll need for the Job, as long as you have Reallusion's Character Creator 3 (CC3) in any form.
These 3D Characters would be used in our game "The Lays of Althas: Sundered Order" (LoA:SO). If necessary, you can be provided with provided the necessary software for the work you'll be required.
Communication is key to a smooth and efficient pipeline. You must be able to communicate clearly and effectively with other team-members and not be afraid to ask should any problems arise. We are an English-speaking team, so English fluency is a must.
If you are comfortable with teaching, you may be called upon to aid the more junior members of the team in any relevant area.
Other duties include following team policies (given through team orientation as upon acceptance to the team) as well as attending meetings through Slack (our instant message program that we use to communicate)
Qualifications
Minimum Skill Requirements:
  • Creating realistic Human Character Meshes and Textures using Reallusion's Character Creator 3 (CC3)
  • Creating Human Hair sculpts using Hair Card and Alpha Planes using Reallusion's Character Creator 3 (CC3)
  • Full Texturing ability (Diffuse, Normal, Displacement etc) using Reallusion's Character Creator 3 (CC3)
  • Able to work effectively and accurately from pre-defined concept art and designs.
  • Able to work with and provide constructive criticism and feedback.
  • Communication and Team-collaboration skills.
  • A passion for modeling and a dedication to creating AAA quality games.

Required Software:
  • Epic Games' Unreal Engine 4: https://www.unrealengine.com/register
  • Reallusion's Character Creator 3 (CC3): https://www.reallusion.com/character-creator/
  • Adobe Photoshop, GIMP or similar for creating high-quality 2D Textures.

Minimum Hardware Requirements:
  • The ability to run Unreal Engine 4
  • The ability to run Character Creator 3 (CC3)
  • The disk space and Internet speeds to download (Git Pull) at least 40 GB of game files

Additional Information

Apply