Senior Character Artist

## Company Description Keywords Studios is a global provider of creative and technical services to the video games industry, with over 13,000 professionals across 70+ studios in 25+ countries. We support clients across the entire game lifecycle through four core Service Lines: - Create — Game development, art production, and audio - Globalize — Localization, localization QA, functional testing - Engage — Marketing, LiveOps, community, and player support - Media & Entertainment In Japan, Keywords Studios delivers its full range of services across Create, Globalize, and Engage, supporting leading publishers, developers, agencies, and IP owners through both local and global teams. ## Job Description ***Applicants must be currently residing in Japan and possess valid authorization to work in Japan.*** **Character Creation** - Contributing to the art vision for the Characters - Produce assets that align with the project’s artistic direction and technical requirements. - Develop polished models, textures, shaders, and materials optimized for real-time game engines. **Collaboration & Production** - Work closely with concept artists, designers, animators, and technical artists to translate concepts into final in-game assets. - Collaborate with cross-functional teams throughout the production pipeline to ensure artistic consistency and quality. - Participate in reviews, feedback sessions, and iterative development processes. **Technical Art & Optimisation** - Ensure assets meet performance, memory, and platform-specific requirements across all gaming platforms. - Apply strong understanding of optimisation techniques. - Maintain consistency in quality while adhering to technical constraints and engine limitations. **Innovation & Continuous Improvement** - Stay current with industry trends, emerging technologies, tools, and workflows. - Contribute ideas and improvements to pipelines and production processes. - Continuously push the visual quality and innovation of game art production. **Mentorship & Leadership** - Provide guidance, mentorship, and constructive feedback to junior and mid-level artists. - Support collaboration across internal teams and external vendors to maintain consistent asset quality. - Contribute positively to team culture and artistic growth within the department ## Qualifications **Required Skills and experience** - Extensive experience as a Character Artist within the video game industry, with a strong portfolio showcasing high-quality real-time game assets. - Strong understanding of industry-standard 3D software such as Autodesk Maya, Blender, 3ds Max, ZBrush, Substance Painter, and related tools. - Strong understanding of modelling, sculpting, UV mapping, texturing, anatomy, form, colour theory, and material creation. - Experience creating optimized assets for modern real-time game engines such as Unreal Engine or Unity. - Ability to work collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams, communicate ideas effectively, and incorporate feedback throughout production. - Knowledge of game development pipelines and the ability to adapt artistic styles to suit various game genres and target platforms. - Fluent in Japanese and with a high degree of English language proficiency. **Desirable skills and experience** - Passion for gaming and a strong understanding of market trends, player expectations, and gaming cultures across PC, Console, and Nintendo platforms. - Experience successfully guiding and communicating with other art teams to ensure artistic vision and asset quality are maintained from concept through to final in-game implementation. ## Additional Information **Employment Type:** 1-Year Contract If you'd like to know more about Keywords Studios we recommend visiting our corporate site [HERE](https://www.keywordsstudios.com/en/) Keywords is committed to creating a diverse, inclusive and supportive working environment. Role Information: EN Studio: Keywords Studios Location: Asia Pacific, Japan, Tokyo Area of Wor…