Mighty Yeti Studios is a premier creator-owned indie animation house specializing in imaginative, high-quality kids and family entertainment. We are currently in active episodic production for our original preschool series, Classtronauts, and we are looking for a technically proficient and creatively “smart” FX Artist to join our remote global team.

In an episodic environment, FX is about more than just “the big explosion.” It is about balance—creating dynamic, engaging visuals that enhance the story while remaining practical within real-world production timelines. We are looking for an artist who treats FX as a system, building reusable and dependable setups that support a fast-paced pipeline.

At Mighty Yeti Studios, we view FX as a collaborative craft. Our pipeline is built on Autodesk Maya and Arnold, and we utilize Bifrost where it adds meaningful value to the visual storytelling. We don’t just want one-off simulations; we want architects of visual effects.

The ideal candidate understands that “clever” beats “heavy.” We prioritize artists who can achieve 90% of the look with 50% of the render time through smart procedural setups, efficient caching, and clean integration.

I. FX Design & Implementation

Your core mission is to create the elemental and magical forces that populate the world of Classtronauts.

• Diverse Asset Creation: Develop high-quality FX setups for fire, smoke, water, atmospheric haze, debris, and magical “preschool-friendly” sparkles or energy.
• Procedural Workflows: Utilize Maya’s internal toolsets (particles, fluids, nCloth) and expression-based workflows to create effects that are non-destructive and easily adjustable.
• Bifrost Integration: Leverage Bifrost for more complex procedural scattering or liquid simulations when the creative brief calls for a higher level of technical sophistication.

II. Technical Pipeline & Optimization

Because we operate a Deadline-based render farm on AlmaLinux nodes, efficiency is a requirement, not a suggestion.

• Caching & Portability: You are responsible for delivering clean, cached data (VDBs, Alembics) that can be easily handed off to the Lighting and Compositing departments.
• Reusable FX Rigs: Build “FX Rigs” that other artists can pick up and use. If you create a “dust puff” for a character landing, that setup should be intuitive enough for a junior artist or lighter to implement across twenty different shots.
• Performance Tuning: Monitor the memory footprint and render times of your FX. Work closely with the Render Wranglers to ensure your setups don’t bottleneck the Deadline farm.

III. Team Collaboration & Documentation

In a remote, episodic environment, your documentation is your voice.

• Integration Support: Collaborate with the Lighting team to ensure that your FX shaders interact correctly with the show’s light rigs in Arnold.
• Clear Documentation: Provide concise “how-to” notes for your reusable setups. This ensures the studio retains the knowledge and can maintain visual consistency across an entire season.
• ShotGrid Mastery: Maintain up-to-date statuses on all assigned tasks within ShotGrid, ensuring that the production management team has clear visibility into your progress.

Technical Requirements

• Maya FX Specialist: Deep knowledge of Maya’s FX stack is mandatory. You should be comfortable with legacy particles as well as modern MASH and Bifrost workflows.
• Arnold Rendering: Strong understanding of Arnold volume shaders, AOVs, and how to optimize FX for the renderer.
• Mathematics & Logic: Comfort with expressions (MEL/Python) to drive procedural behavior is highly preferred.

Experience & Background

• The 3-Year Rule: You must have at least 3 years of professional experience specifically in episodic animated TV or feature animation. We need artists who understand the specific pressures and “short-hand” logic of TV production.
• Portfolio/Reel: A reel that demonstrates a range of styles—from realistic fluids to stylized, “poppy” preschool effects—is essential. We want to see how you handle timing and weight.

Professional Mindset

• The “Team-First” Builder: You enjoy designing systems that help the broader team move faster. You take pride in a clean out-liner and a well-organized node graph.
• Problem Solver: You see production constraints (time, render budget) as a creative challenge rather than a limitation.

Mighty Yeti Studios is built for the modern professional.

• Freelance Flexibility: Our “per-episode” or “per-asset” model allows you to integrate this work into your existing freelance schedule or dedicate yourself to our series full-time during production peaks.
• Global Community: You will work with top-tier talent from around the world, contributing to an original IP that will be seen by millions.
• Cutting Edge Tech: Gain experience working with a modern Linux-based render farm and high-end procedural tools within an indie studio environment.

Please note: Submissions without demonstrated episodic production experience will not be considered. We require a link to your current demo reel and a shot breakdown.