Remote Character Artist

We're an early-stage horror game prototype in Unreal Engine 5 looking for a senior freelance 3D character artist to build our central characters. The project leans toward psychological and domestic horror — closer in tone to Hereditary or The Babadook than to creature-feature horror — and we're looking for an artist whose work reflects restraint, anatomical truth, and emotional weight over shock or spectacle.
Time Commitment: Ad hoc, project-based.
About the Project
The game centers on a relationship between characters where ambiguity and intimate familiarity drive the core experience. Character work has to support that - faces need to read as deeply human and specific, with topology and shading that hold up at close range. We're looking for an artist who thinks about character through anatomy, performance, and deformation, not just surface detail.
What You'll Deliver
High-poly sculpts and game-ready low-poly meshes for central characters
Clean, animation-ready topology with edge flow that supports facial deformation and morph targets
Authored facial morph target / blendshape stacks (jaw, mouth, eyes, brow, cheek deformations) for both performance animation and specific narrative beats
UVs, texture sets, and PBR materials authored for Unreal Engine 5
Hair, clothing, and accessory work as needed (groom or card-based hair both acceptable depending on approach)
Final assets imported and validated in UE5, including morph target verification and material setup
Key Responsibilities
Translate concept art and written direction into game-ready 3D characters
Author topology specifically to support a stack of facial morph targets, with edge loops laid out for clean deformation through extreme expressions
Iterate on likeness, expression, and silhouette based on creative direction
Collaborate with our design and tech leads on rigging handoff and engine integration
Maintain a cohesive visual language across the cast
Required Qualifications
Strong portfolio of game-ready 3D character work, ideally with realistic or grounded human figures
Excellent anatomy, especially facial anatomy and how it deforms through expression
Demonstrated experience authoring morph targets / blendshapes on identical topology
Fluent in ZBrush or Blender for sculpting; Maya, Blender, or equivalent for retopo and UVs
Substance Painter or equivalent for PBR texturing
Direct experience importing and configuring characters in Unreal Engine 5, including morph target import and material setup
Clear communicator who works well from loose direction, hits milestones, and handles iteration
Preferred Qualifications
Shipped characters in horror, dramatic, or narrative-driven games
Sensibility for domestic, psychological, or folk horror over creature or action horror
Familiarity with UE5 grooms, or strong card-based hair work
Awareness of how character assets handoff to rigging and animation
How to Apply

Please send your portfolio with specific examples of:
Realistic or grounded human character work (faces especially)
Any morph target / blendshape work you've authored
Characters you've taken into Unreal Engine
A brief note on what draws you to horror as a genre is welcome. We're especially interested in artists whose work suggests unease through subtlety rather than spectacle.
Please send portfolio and resume tojobs@visionsof.games