Effects Animator

For the last century, Walt Disney Animation Studios has been combining the best in artistry and storytelling with cutting-edge technology to bring wonderful new characters and visual spectacle to the big screen for audiences around the world. We currently have an exciting opportunity for Effects Animators to join our world class award winning team at our Burbank, CA studio.

Effects Animators create a wide variety of visual effects that range from hyper-realistic simulations of natural phenomena, to realizing the futuristic and the completely fantastical. They are expected to exercise their technical and artistic talents in collaboration with other artists from all disciplines to create the appealing, compelling and unexpected images that support the emotional beats of the film.

Responsibilities

• Bring a strong sense of personal authorship and art direction to visuals, while meeting the artistic vision of the Director and Production Designer.
• Ability to execute on a range of visuals, from the photoreal to the wholly imagined.
• Collaborate with other artistic departments to achieve desired look for effects elements.
• Communicate regularly with the production team to establish and meet expectations and deadlines.
• Develop innovative tools and workflows necessary to achieve technical and visual goals.
• Generate effects with an awareness of how they will be received and used by other departments, with a mind towards data efficiency and consumability.
• Participate in team discussions and critiques, to give feedback on visuals or technical solutions in an effort to push artistry and efficiency.
• Work with Effects department leadership to develop and enforce artistic and technical goals for projects and/or teams.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field and/or equivalent experience.
• Experience in CG visual effects production for animation, live-action film, television or games.
• Proficiency with SideFX’s Houdini.
• Comfortable using, or willingness and ability to learn, various effects animation techniques including procedural animation, keyframing and simulations such as rigid bodies, soft bodies, fluids, particle dynamics, etc.
• Open to taking technical and artistic direction, as well as receiving and addressing notes and feedback from peers and leadership.
• Attentive to detail and quality in work.
• Intrinsic drive to improve technical and artistic skills and embrace a studio culture that strives to innovate and change.
• Ability to clearly convey artistic and technical concepts, challenges and processes.
• Keen understanding of animation and film making fundamentals, including timing, silhouette, appeal, light, color, composition, etc.
• Familiarity with Linux and Python scripting is a plus.

Visual examples of images exemplifying work in this area are requested for review. Please include a resume and reel breakdown with your online profile.

The Walt Disney Company is an Equal Opportunity Employer.

The base pay actually offered may vary depending on the candidate’s geographic region, job-related knowledge, skills, and experience, among other factors.

About Walt Disney Animation Studios:

Combining masterful artistry and storytelling with groundbreaking technology, Walt Disney Animation Studios is a filmmaker-driven animation studio responsible for creating some of the most beloved films ever made. Disney Animation continues to build on its rich legacy of innovation and creativity, from the first fully-animated feature film, 1937’s Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, to our 62nd animated feature, Wish, releasing November 2023. Among the studio’s timeless creations are Pinocchio, Sleeping Beauty, The Jungle Book, The Little Mermaid, The Lion King, Frozen, Big Hero 6, Zootopia, and Encanto.

About The Walt Disney Company:

The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international family entertainment and media enterprise with the following business segments: Disney Entertainment, ESPN, Disney Parks, and Experiences and Products. From humble beginnings as a cartoon studio in the 1920s to its preeminent name in the entertainment industry today, Disney proudly continues its legacy of creating world-class stories and experiences for every member of the family. Disney’s stories, characters and experiences reach consumers and guests from every corner of the globe. With operations in more than 40 countries, our employees and cast members work together to create entertainment experiences that are both universally and locally cherished.

This position is with Walt Disney Pictures, which is part of a business we call Walt Disney Animation Studios.

Walt Disney Pictures is an equal opportunity employer. Applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, protected veteran status or any other basis prohibited by federal, state or local law. Disney fosters a business culture where ideas and decisions from all people help us grow, innovate, create the best stories and be relevant in a rapidly changing world.