3d Character Animators

3D Character Animator

The 3D Character Animator will be responsible for bringing the characters of The Expressionists to life through body movement, acting, facial performance, and scene animation.

This role focuses on creating believable and expressive character performances that support both quieter dialogue-driven scenes and larger action sequences.

Responsibilities may include:

• Animating character movement and body mechanics

• Creating expressive acting performances for dialogue scenes

• Animating facial expressions and lip synchronization where required

• Developing character-specific body language and movement

• Creating walk cycles, running, jumping, reactions, gestures, and other physical actions

• Animating interactions between multiple characters

• Working from storyboards, shot descriptions, scripts, and direction

• Blocking scenes before refining them into final animation

• Refining timing, spacing, posing, weight, and movement

• Maintaining clear silhouettes and readable character performances

• Making revisions based on feedback from the Animation Director and Creator/Showrunner

• Working with rigging artists when animation controls or deformation problems need to be addressed

• Coordinating with Combat Animators when scenes transition between acting and combat

• Working with VFX artists when Expressions directly affect a character's movement

• Helping maintain animation consistency across episodes and characters

• Preparing finished animation for lighting, VFX, rendering, and compositing

The Expressionists is a character-driven series, so animation should communicate personality even when characters are not speaking.

Elliot, Simon, Isaac, Javier, Maya, Naomi, and the rest of the cast should each move differently based on their personality, confidence, background, and abilities.

Expressions should also affect the way characters move.

A character increasing their density should feel heavier and more forceful. Someone manipulating friction may move differently across surfaces. Characters using water, energy, body transformation, or other Expressions should feel physically connected to what their abilities are doing.

Because of this, animators should think about more than simply moving a rig from one pose to another. Performance, weight, intent, and physicality are all important parts of the role.

Applicants should have a strong understanding of:

• 3D character animation

• Body mechanics

• Acting and performance

• Timing and spacing

• Weight and momentum

• Strong posing

• Facial animation

• Character interaction

• Animation cleanup

Experience with stylized or cinematic 3D animation is strongly preferred.

Applicants should provide a demo reel or examples of previous animation work. Dialogue scenes, acting tests, character performances, and action animation are all useful examples.

This role will work closely with the Animation Director, Character & Facial Rigging Artists, Combat Animators, VFX Artists, and other members of the animation department.

The 3D Character Animation Department is allocated 11% of total distributable project revenue.

This percentage operates as a shared role pool and will be divided among the contracted 3D Character Animators according to the terms established in their individual agreements.

Individual percentages will depend on department staffing, workload, and production responsibilities.

All selected contributors will be required to sign a written agreement before beginning official production work.