Senior, Virtual Material Production Artist

WHO YOU'LL WORK WITH

We are looking for a Sr. Virtual Material Production Artist to be a part of the virtual material studio at Nike to create, capture, and visualize Nike's sportswear materials for use in 3D software tools such as CLO3D, Browzwear, Substance Painter, Blender, and Unreal Engine. This candidate will combine their experience, problem solving abilities, organizational skills, and creativity to create assets that supports product visualization.

WHO WE ARE LOOKING FOR

The ideal candidate needs to be a highly organized and creative problem solver who works well individually and in a team environment. This person is also proactive, has excellent communication skills, has an eye for detail and can quickly adapt to new technologies. Candidates will excel at 3D textile visualization and understand the real-world development of sportswear (apparel and footwear) materials. Candidates should also have a background including production art, 3D modelling, and 3D product visualization.

• Bachelor's degree in design/art, 3D art, game design, or related field, or equivalent combination of education, experience, and training.
• 5+ years of experience in either the game or VFX as a 3D artist, or 3+ years of experience working with 3D digital workflow teams at Nike.
• Expert level proficiency using 3D material scanning equipment.
• Expert level proficiency in Adobe's Substance Suite.
• Expert level proficiency in standard 3D apparel design software including Browzwear and CLO3D.
• Expert level proficiency in creating parametric materials using Adobe's Substance Suite.
• Expert level proficiency with PBR-based material standards.
• Professional level proficiency look-development skills.
• Highly proficient understanding of the interaction between color, materials, and lighting.
• Proficient in standard 3D design software such as Maya, Modo, Blender, and 3DS Max.
• Proficient with real time and path-tracing render engines for product visualization.
• Experience and understanding of the apparel and footwear product creation process
• Extensive portfolio demonstrating ability to create and present a wide variety of high quality, photoreal 3D materials.
• Highly organized, proactive, and self-sufficient.

• Scan or manually replicate physical material samples including both the visual characteristics (texture, color) and physical properties (weight, drape, stretch).
• Problem solves materials and trims that are difficult to digitally represent.
• Create component and trim 3D assets from physical samples and design intent schematics.
• In partnership with the team, review and maintain digital library assets.
• Work with the manager and team to develop and maintain technical standard, best practices, and SOP documents for 3D material creation.

• Support of 3D material design projects including new design directions.
• Leads 3D projects and Influence partners to collaborate using 3D tools and techniques.
• Materialize product models to enable seasonal digital product sampling.

• Reviews product renders to ensure the look and feel of digital product images meet standards.

• Communicate technical information and persuade others effectively
• Understand requirements, present work, and influence direction while working with partners.
• Uses 3D tools to improve product creation communication and help reduce the cost of physical samples.

• Mentor virtual material artists, providing guidance and feedback on their work.
• Help onboard new talent into the virtual material production team.
• Invite others to learn from personal workflows and share tips and tricks to improve workflows of others.
• Continuously improves skills and stays current with studio standards and 3D industry technologies.