Electronic Arts hiring Character Artist (Shanghai, China)

Character Artist – Electronic Arts (Shanghai, China)

About Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts (EA) is a world leader in interactive entertainment, creating next-level gaming experiences that inspire millions of players worldwide. At EA, everyone is part of the story — contributing to a creative, collaborative, and diverse community where ideas are valued and innovation thrives. Here, creativity meets technology, and every team member plays a vital role in shaping the experiences that define modern gaming.

About EA Create
EA Create is EA’s global content production network, partnering closely with EA Studios to deliver outstanding visuals, audio, and technology for AAA games. Our teams are composed of artists, engineers, designers, and development directors who combine creativity, technical expertise, and collaboration to produce immersive, high-quality content. Across locations worldwide, EA Create operates as a collective, bringing together extraordinary talent to push the boundaries of art and technology in gaming.

Role Overview

Electronic Arts is seeking a talented and experienced Character Artist to join the Shanghai studio. This role acts as a key creative liaison between the art team and project directors, ensuring alignment with the project vision while directly contributing to the 3D creation pipeline. The Character Artist will oversee the quality of character assets, mentor other artists, and collaborate with technical and production teams to maintain performance standards, technical innovation, and artistic consistency.

You will report to the Character Domain Lead and Senior Artists, playing a crucial role in maintaining the artistic direction and pushing the boundaries of character design in AAA games.

Key Responsibilities

• Art Direction & Quality: Assist the Art Director in maintaining high visual quality, ensuring all character models align with the project’s artistic vision.
• Pipeline & R&D: Collaborate with other departments to refine art pipelines, research new techniques, tools, and workflows, and adapt industry innovations for use in production.
• Production Coordination: Work closely with Production Managers to manage daily activities of the art team and ensure timely delivery of assets.
• Risk Assessment: Identify potential risks in production pipelines and coordinate with partners to implement mitigation plans.
• Team Development: Create a motivating and inspiring environment for artists, providing coaching, feedback, growth plans, and mentoring to enhance team skills and performance.
• Feedback & Communication: Deliver clear, precise, and actionable feedback to internal and external teams using verbal, written, paint-overs, and presentations to ensure understanding of art style and project quality standards.
• Optimization & Implementation: Collaborate with Technical Artists to complete optimization, debugging, and implementation passes for character assets.

Required Qualifications

• Experience: 5+ years in AAA game production as a Character Artist or Lead.
• Art Skills: Strong understanding of human anatomy, hard surface modeling, fabric sculpting, hair creation, and texturing.
• Visual Design: Expertise in shape language, silhouette, color theory, and versatile skills adaptable to multiple art styles.
• Creative Contribution: Experience contributing to creative briefs, visual targets, and prototype development.
• Technical Proficiency: Familiarity with real-time environment creation workflows and mainstream game engines.
• Collaboration: Ability to polish art quality in collaboration with other art teams and complete asset passes with technical accuracy.
• Feedback Skills: Ability to provide clear and concise feedback across various formats, supporting the growth of team members and maintaining quality standards.
• Portfolio Required: Applicants must submit a portfolio demonstrating their skill and experience in character creation.

About Working at EA

At EA, employees enjoy a supportive and flexible work environment, with opportunities for personal and professional growth. EA’s holistic benefits programs emphasize physical, emotional, financial, career, and community wellness, tailored to local needs. Benefits may include:

• Healthcare coverage and mental well-being support
• Retirement savings plans
• Paid time off and family leave
• Complimentary games and other perks

EA fosters an environment where every team member can contribute their best work while developing new skills and advancing their careers.

Diversity & Inclusion:
Electronic Arts is an equal opportunity employer. All employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, genetic information, religion, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, marital status, family status, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. EA also provides workplace accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities as required by law and considers applicants with criminal records in accordance with applicable regulations.

This is a unique opportunity to join EA Create in Shanghai, contribute to AAA game productions, and shape the future of character art in interactive entertainment. Bring your creativity, technical expertise, and passion for gaming to a global team dedicated to crafting exceptional experiences for players worldwide.