Job Description

Senior Houdini Crowd Artist
All applicants must be residents of British Columbia, Canada.
Must be legally entitled to work in Canada ie. Citizen, PR, Open Work Permit.
At this time, we're pleased to offer this role as an option to work from home OR work from our Vancouver studio in the beautiful Gastown area, close to the Waterfront Station in Downtown. (Remote is not available outside of BC; there is no hybrid)
This project contract would be approximately from November 3rd, 2025, to mid-March 2026.
About Zoic
Zoic Studios is a Visual Effects company that specializes in high end visual effects for television, film, and advertising. Our mantra is Visual Evolution - we focus on every part of the process, from the final picture to the pipeline used to create them.
Are you looking for your next creative and technical challenge? Come join our team!
Why Join Zoic?

• We are an Artist owned and operated VFX studio.
• We love what we do and always stay curious about new technology and techniques.
• We respect work/life balance in a hectic industry.
• We work with a team from all walks of life and backgrounds.

We are excited to share an incredible stop-motion animated feature project that promises creativity, collaboration, and a fantastic chance to showcase your skills!
Summary of Position
The Crowd Artist is responsible for creating crowds of characters and creatures to the visual style and narrative of the film.
Job Functions

• Create layouts and performances of crowds in scenes and shots on style of the animation performances of the film.
• Publish crowds using Houdini to specifications needed by layout for downstream consumption.
• Receiver of the crowd launches in sequences, scenes, and shots. Take crowd specific creative input and translate to crowd behavior through performances and overall movement and timing through rules and simulations.
• Work with animation to get supporting animation performances that can be used effectively in crowd simulations.
• Collaborate with technical directors to develop processes and tools to enhance capabilities, workflows, and throughput.
• Perform technical work in support of shot production using various production tools and help troubleshoot and develop creative solutions to complex tasks.
• Partner with other disciplines to support each departments' integration requirements.

Qualifications

• 5+ years of high-end production experience in television or feature films as a Crowd Artist and/or TD.
• Experience in producing crowd simulations.
• Proficiency with particle simulations in controlling the motion and look of crowds.
• Knowledge of applicable software and platforms; Houdini 18.0 (or higher) experience.
• Experience in Houdini Crowd setup and simulation.
• Working knowledge of Mantra rendering, Nuke compositing and Maya.
• Working knowledge of Renderman and Katana for lighting effects, a plus.
• Understanding rigging approaches, a plus.
• Strong communication skills to perform in a collaborative work environment.

Additional information

• British Columbia Employees Pay Range: $50 - $65 / hour (The actual base salary offered will depend on a variety of factors, including without limitation, the qualifications of the individual applicant for the position, years of relevant experience, level of education attained, certifications or other professional licenses held, and if applicable, the location of the position)
• Zoic does not cover relocation costs.
• Any and WFH remote positions require the candidate to have a reliable internet connection via ethernet and work on Pacific Standard Time.
• This job description contains the basic requirements for the position and is NOT intended to be a complete list of responsibilities; other duties may be assigned.
• Due to the volume of applications, we receive, we regret that only those selected to interview will be contacted.

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