DICE is looking for a Technical Artist!

Role Overview

Creating visually stunning, immersive games is an art that takes a tremendous amount of skill and talent. DICE artists are responsible for creating the visual elements of a game, such as characters, scenery, objects, vehicles, surface textures, clothing, and even user interface components. Other Artists bring the game to life with Animation, Lighting and Visual effects and draw the gamer into an immersive experience where they can suspend disbelief and emotionally connect with the game and enjoy the ride. Some games go for a look that is as realistic as possible, while others aim for a more stylized or fantastical look. In the end, the look of a game is one of the most significant factors contributing to the overall success of the game.

The Technical Artists (TA) act as a bridge between the artists and programmers working on a game. They ensure that art assets can be easily integrated into a game without sacrificing the overall artistic vision or exceeding the technical limits of the chosen platform. Technical Artist is becoming increasingly important as game systems become more complex. The Technical Artists work as part of the art team, and coordinate closely with the lead artists and the art director, as well as with the lead programmers.

The main areas of responsibility for Technical Artists include setting up and maintaining the art production workflow and making decisions about which art packages and tools a studio should use. Technical Artists are also charged with investigating new techniques and implementing them within the team. The job often includes an instructional element, with the Technical Artist sharing their knowledge with other artists via training and mentoring sessions.

The Technical Artist typically works one step removed from the direct creation of game art assets. Instead, they act in more of an advisory position, setting up the systems of production as well as solving problems as they arise. It’s crucial for the Technical Artist to keep up-to-date in changes in technology, both in terms of console hardware, art packages, and new techniques. The Technical Artist is expected to be able to create custom tools to improve the efficiency of their team. This is usually carried out using the scripting languages included in the main modeling packages.

The Technical Artist will also research and oversee the implementation of rendering techniques such as normal and specular maps, particle systems, and pixel shaders as well.

What skills does DICE look for?

Technical Artists are generally required to have between two to five years’ experience. Involving both art or programming experience, a Technical Artist can come from either background, though most tend to have been artists who have specialized in a particular area of art production.

They should have a detailed knowledge of at least one industry-standard art package. The use of scripting languages is required, as is an understanding of the limitations of console hardware. Some Technical Artists come to games after holding a similar position in the film or special effects industries, where experience of high-end rendering techniques or complex animation are useful skills.

The role of Technical Artist is a specialized one. Candidates must be able to show technical proficiency in areas such as lighting and rendering, texturing, and graphics-related programming languages such as shaders. They should also have extensive knowledge of art packages ranging from modeling to texturing and special effects, and be able to customize them to be as streamlined as possible for specific projects.

Skills

Organized
[ul]
[li]Problem solver
[/li][li]Like to help and support
[/li][li]Expert in at least one of the common 3D softwares
[/li][li]Some knowledge in the most common game industry softwares and tools
[/li][li]Able to work under high pressure and tight schedules
[/li][li]Shader knowledge
[/li][li]Some knowledge in memory/performance work for AAA titles is a +
[/li][li]Interest in game and rendering tech
[/li][li]Scripting knowledge
[/li][/ul]

What’s in it for you? Glad you asked!

At DICE we take care of our staff and have done so during our steady growth over the last decade. In addition to a competitive compensation package we offer our employees 10 EA games per year, massage every three weeks, a variety of sports activities (yoga and crossfit to name a few) and health care allowance. We have a collective bargain agreement with Unionen and Sveriges Ingenjörer and also provide our employees’ with occupational pension

Although we enjoy working hard at DICE, we respect and value our employees’ personal lives. A good work-life balance is something we practice and maintain even during high-intensity periods

As part of the application process we might ask you to perform a practical work test. The position is permanent and applications will be selected continuously. Apply online with a combined CV and Introduction letter in English explaining “Why I want to work at DICE”. Don’t forget a link to your portfolio or reel!

Apply here: http://www.dice.se/jobs/positions/technical-artist
Or send an direct email to: peter.kjellberg@dice.se