People Can Fly is hiring Principal Character Artist

People Can Fly is looking for a Principal Character Artist to join the Art team on Project Florence in Warsaw, Poland. The role focuses on creating high-quality characters, creatures and props for a AAA game, from high-poly sculpting and organic modelling to low-poly assets, PBR texturing and in-game shaders. You’ll work closely with Art, Animation and Technical teams, help maintain the project’s visual quality, and share your expertise with other artists. This is a full-time remote/hybrid position for experienced game artists based in Europe.

Job Summary : Principal Character Artist

About the Role

People Can Fly is looking for an experienced Principal Character Artist to join the Art team working on Project Florence.

As a Principal Character Artist, you’ll play an important role in creating high-quality characters, creatures and related assets that fit the project’s visual direction and technical requirements.

You’ll work closely with the Art Director, Leads, Animation, Technical Art and other departments to establish and maintain a strong visual standard across the game. You’ll also help explore new techniques, improve workflows and share your knowledge with other artists.

This role is ideal for a senior-level character artist who has a strong artistic eye, excellent technical skills and the ability to work independently while helping raise the quality of the wider team.

About People Can Fly

People Can Fly is an independent AAA game development studio with more than 20 years of experience in the industry.

Founded in 2002, the studio is known for games including Painkiller, Bulletstorm, Gears of War: Judgment and Outriders.

People Can Fly has teams working across Poland, the UK, Ireland, the US and Canada, as well as remote locations.

The studio has extensive experience with Unreal Engine and continues to develop ambitious action games and new interactive experiences.

Current projects include Gears of War: E-Day, developed in collaboration with Microsoft, Project Echo for KRAFTON, Lost Rift, an original IP developed in-house, as well as other projects across new platforms and technologies.

What You’ll Do

Character & Creature Creation

You’ll be responsible for creating high-quality character and creature assets that fit the game’s world and visual style.

Your work will include:

• Creating detailed characters, creatures and props for the game.
• Developing assets that meet both artistic and technical requirements.
• Creating believable characters with strong personality and visual appeal.
• Building characters from initial concepts through high-poly and low-poly stages.
• Creating detailed high-poly sculpts and optimized game-ready models.
• Creating realistic clothing, accessories, armor and other character elements.
• Creating complex creatures, including bipeds, quadrupeds and other creature types.
• Working on both organic and hard-surface elements.
• Creating and refining textures using modern PBR workflows.
• Setting up or adjusting surface shaders for in-game characters.

Art Direction & Quality

You’ll help maintain a consistent visual standard across the project.

You’ll:

• Work with the Art Director and Art Leads to understand and develop the project’s visual direction.
• Help establish artistic benchmarks and quality standards.
• Ensure character assets remain consistent with the game’s universe and style.
• Review your own work and identify areas where the visual quality can be improved.
• Help push the quality of character art across the project.
• Interpret concept art while also using your own artistic judgment when appropriate.
• Adapt your techniques and workflow to meet the project’s specific artistic requirements.

Production & Deadlines

You’ll also be responsible for delivering work efficiently within the production schedule.

This includes:

• Completing assigned work according to project specifications.
• Following established production pipelines and workflows.
• Delivering high-quality assets within agreed deadlines.
• Troubleshooting and fixing asset-related issues.
• Documenting research, development and technical solutions when necessary.
• Sharing useful R&D findings with the team through the project’s knowledge base.

Collaboration

Character art requires close collaboration with several departments.

You’ll work with:

• Art Directors and Art Leads
• Character and Animation teams
• Technical Art
• Engineering and other technical departments
• Other artists and production teams

You’ll help ensure that characters work correctly both visually and technically in the game.

You’ll also participate in discussions about new techniques, tools and workflows that can improve the character art pipeline.

Mentoring & Knowledge Sharing

As a Principal-level artist, you’ll also have opportunities to support the wider team.

This may include:

• Sharing your knowledge and techniques with other artists.
• Providing constructive feedback during art reviews.
• Helping improve the quality of character assets.
• Supporting R&D initiatives with Technical Art and Animation teams.
• Helping develop better workflows and production techniques.
• Supporting recruitment activities when required.
• Helping with the onboarding of new team members.

What We’re Looking For

We’re looking for an experienced character artist with a strong portfolio and a deep understanding of character creation for games.

You should have:

• A strong portfolio demonstrating high-quality character modelling and texturing.
• Professional experience working in the game industry.
• Excellent knowledge of 3D modelling and sculpting workflows.
• Strong organic modelling skills, particularly for human characters and faces.
• Experience creating realistic and believable clothing and character details.
• Strong anatomical knowledge of human and animal forms.
• Experience creating both bipedal and quadrupedal creatures.
• Strong hard-surface modelling skills for assets such as armor, weapons and character equipment.
• Experience creating both high-poly and low-poly game-ready models.
• Strong understanding of textures and modern PBR workflows.
• Experience with Substance Painter or similar texturing software.
• Experience working with Unreal Engine.
• A strong understanding of art fundamentals, including:
  • Shape
  • Form
  • Texture
  • Value
  • Colour
  • Proportion
  • Anatomy
• The ability to interpret concepts and turn them into production-ready 3D assets.
• The ability to develop or adapt to a specific art style with minimal supervision.
• Strong communication and collaboration skills.
• A proactive and solutions-oriented approach.
• The ability to adapt to changing project requirements and workflows.

Software & Tools

Experience with the following tools is relevant to the role:

• Maya
• 3ds Max
• Modo
• Blender
• ZBrush
• Marvelous Designer
• Substance Designer
• Substance Painter
• Adobe Photoshop
• Unreal Engine

Equivalent software and experience may also be considered.

What Success Looks Like

In this role, you’ll be expected to create character assets that are not only visually impressive but also work effectively within a real-time game environment.

You’ll help ensure that characters:

• Match the project’s visual direction.
• Have believable anatomy and strong visual personality.
• Meet the required technical specifications.
• Use efficient geometry and textures.
• Work correctly in Unreal Engine.
• Maintain consistent quality across the game.
• Support the overall storytelling and gameplay experience.

Work Environment

People Can Fly offers a collaborative environment where artists can work alongside experienced developers from different disciplines and locations.

Depending on your location and team requirements, the role can be performed remotely or in a hybrid setup.

You’ll have the opportunity to work with an international team and contribute to a large-scale AAA game development project.

Benefits – Poland

Employees based in Poland can benefit from:

• Private medical healthcare, including dental treatment, for employees and their families through Signal Iduna.
• MultiSport card options for employees and eligible family members or friends.
• Access to a free library with a wide range of games and books.
• Company-supported Polish and English language classes.
• Fresh fruit, snacks and beverages available at the office.
• Flexible working hours.
• Virtual health and mental wellbeing sessions for employees and eligible dependents.
• Personal development opportunities.
• The opportunity to work in an international and collaborative environment.
• A creative team of people who are passionate about game development.

Benefits – UK

For eligible employees based in the UK, benefits include:

• Private medical healthcare through Vitality.
• BUPA dental insurance for employees and their families.
• Gympass for employees and family members.
• Online Polish and English language classes.
• Access to the pension scheme.
• Flexible working hours.
• Virtual health and mental wellbeing sessions for employees and eligible dependents.
• Personal development opportunities.
• The chance to work with a global game development team.

Important Eligibility Requirement

This position is open only to candidates who:

• Have professional experience in the game development industry, and
• Are currently based in Europe.

Candidates outside Europe or without professional game industry experience may not be eligible for this position.

Ready to Join People Can Fly?

If you’re a highly experienced Character Artist with a strong portfolio, excellent modelling and texturing skills, and a passion for creating memorable characters for games, People Can Fly would like to hear from you.

This is an opportunity to work on Project Florence, collaborate with experienced artists and developers, and contribute to the visual quality of a major game project.

Prepare your portfolio and apply today.