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Senior Character Artist Jobs (NOW HIRING)

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 ...

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 ...

Thatgamecompany

3D Character Artist (Mid-Senior)

$81K - $114K/yr

3D Character Artist (Mid-Senior) thatgamecompany is looking for a Mid-Senior 3D Character Artist to join our team! Responsibilities: * Create 3D characters and cosmetics in a visual style aligned ...

Epic Games

Senior Technical Artist

Cary, NC · On-site

$117K - $140K/yr

ART What We Do Push your artistic talent to the limit on a team of world-class environment, character and concept artists who strive to innovate and inspire. What You'll Do Epic is looking for a ...

Arrow International, Inc.

Senior Artist

Chicago, IL

$80 - $120K/hr

The Senior Artist will use their artistic expertise with color, composition, shape, typography, animation, visual FX and character design skills to help push our games to new heights. You'll play a ...

Arrow International, Inc

Senior Artist

Chicago, IL · On-site

$80 - $120K/hr

The Senior Artist will use their artistic expertise with color, composition, shape, typography, animation, visual FX and character design skills to help push our games to new heights. You'll play a ...

Arrow International Inc

Senior Artist

Chicago, IL · On-site

$80 - $120K/hr

The Senior Artist will use their artistic expertise with color, composition, shape, typography, animation, visual FX and character design skills to help push our games to new heights. You'll play a ...

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Senior Character Artist information

See salary details

$104.5K

$120.5K

$128.5K

How much do senior character artist jobs pay per year?

As of Aug 13, 2026, the average yearly pay for senior character artist in the United States is $120,531.00, according to ZipRecruiter salary data. Most workers in this role earn between $121,000.00 and $127,000.00 per year, depending on experience, location, and employer.

What are the key skills and qualifications needed to thrive as a senior character artist?

To excel as a Senior Character Artist, you need advanced abilities in 3D modeling, digital sculpting, texturing, and anatomical understanding, often backed by a degree in art, design, or a related field. Expertise in industry-standard tools such as Maya, ZBrush, Substance Painter, and Photoshop is essential, with experience in game engines like Unreal or Unity being highly valued. Strong communication, collaboration, and time management skills help you work efficiently within multidisciplinary teams and mentor junior artists. These competencies ensure the creation of high-quality, visually compelling characters that align with project goals and deadlines.

What is a senior character artist?

A Senior Character Artist is responsible for designing and creating high-quality 3D characters for games, films, or other digital media. They work closely with concept artists, animators, and technical teams to bring characters to life while ensuring they meet artistic and technical requirements. This role requires expertise in modeling, sculpting, texturing, and optimization for real-time or pre-rendered environments. Senior Character Artists also mentor junior artists and contribute to the overall artistic vision of a project. Strong knowledge of industry-standard software such as ZBrush, Maya, and Substance Painter is essential.

What kind of projects and collaboration can a senior character artist expect in a typical studio environment?

As a Senior Character Artist, you'll typically be involved in creating and refining 3D character models for games, films, or visual effects, working closely with concept artists, animators, and technical artists. You can expect to participate in review sessions, provide feedback, and sometimes help set visual standards for character design within your team. Collaboration is key, as you'll often address feedback from art directors and work alongside developers to ensure characters function well in-game or on-screen. This role offers the opportunity to mentor junior artists, contribute to creative brainstorming, and have a significant impact on the look and feel of a project.

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Senior Character Artist jobs near you
Infographic showing various Senior Character Artist job openings in the United States as of August 2026, with employment types broken down into 75% Full Time, and 25% Part Time. Highlights an 75% In-person, and 25% Remote job distribution, with an average salary of $120,531 per year, or $57.9 per hour.

Senior Character Artist

Naughty Dog

Santa Monica, CA

$135K - $142K/yr

Full-time

Posted 9 days ago

Job description

This is a hybrid / onsite position.  

For nearly 40 years, Naughty Dog has been crafting best-selling, critically acclaimed games that constantly push the boundaries of narrative, gameplay, and technology. Naughty Dog recently released The Last of Us Part II Remastered as well as a current generation remake of The Last of Us Part I for the PS5. We're also proud to say that The Last of Us Part I and Part II are now available for the first time on PC. Currently, we're busy at the kennel working on Intergalactic: The Heretic Prophet, and we'd love to find talented individuals to join us!

Naughty Dog games have long been lauded for their evocative, character-driven stories and attention to detail. We are committed to innovation within our games and as such have curated some of the top creative and technically innovative minds in the industry. We welcome diverse candidates and believe that a broad range of cultural and life experiences contribute to the overall well-being and success of the studio and the titles we craft together.

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 artist who can help create characters, creatures AND develop pipelines that help streamline and push boundaries to create compelling characters that fit seamlessly within the narrative-driven worlds we build. By working alongside other departments and disciplines to inform, inspire, collaborate and develop artistic solutions to technical obstacles, you'll help ensure our character pipeline is at the forefront of AAA development. 

What you will do: 

  • Work with artists, technical artists, and engineers to design, implement and maintain new workflows that will help streamline and enhance our tools, shaders, and processes
  • Use provided concept art and references to create highly detailed character and creature models 
  • Create high poly models, UVs, in game topology and textures to ensure high quality in game characters that work within our technical constraints, while also looking for areas to develop and push past our current boundaries
  • Monitor the needs of rigging, animation, and design to ensure clear characters in game Maintain a clear and consistent workflow under an established schedule Work closely to FX and Lighting artists to create characters that meet artistic and technical requirements 
  • Provide direction to character artists for aesthetic and technical considerations 
  • Work closely with the Tool and Engine Team to develop new or improve upon old techniques to improve character model quality 
  • Work closely with Leads, Principals and Directors to keep quality and style consistent across all characters 
  • Help document new and existing pipelines to streamline processes for internal and external artists
  • Act as a power user to evaluate and demo new software and tools from 3rd party developers for the character pipeline 

What skills will you use:

  • Highly skilled at working with and defining standards for PBR materials, topology, and in game character pipelines 
  • Experience developing shaders with technical artists and programmers 
  • Intermediate knowledge of python scripting, not required, but a plus 
  • Highly skilled at sculpting, modeling, texturing, shading characters and assets for games
  • High level knowledge of hair curve and card creation for next gen games 
  • Keen eye to form, lighting, colors and composition 
  • Very strong portfolio showing high quality characters 
  • At least 5 years of experience as a character artist, working on at least one AAA title 

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