# Character Artist **Group:** Art ## Roll-out by scenario | Scenario | Engagement | Window | Rate | Year-one cost | |---|---|---|---|---| | A: full-time studio | Full-time remote employee | M2–M11 | $90,000–$130,000 base/yr | $93,750–$146,250 | | B: lean core + contracts | Contract, 480–640 hours | M2–M7 | $60–$100/hr | $28,800–$64,000 | Employee cost = base × months ÷ 12 × (1 + 25–35% employer load). Contract cost = hours × hourly rate. ## Responsibilities - Likeness sculpt, Mesh to MetaHuman / From Custom Mesh, MetaHuman Creator look-dev - Neutral Pose refinement via MetaHuman for Maya - Cine and Optimized assemblies; orbit test - Coordinates groom and cloth contractors ## Skills - See [[Stage 2 — Likeness and Body Skills]] areas 1–4 and 7 - ZBrush, Maya, Unreal 5.8 MetaHuman toolchain ## Requirements - 4+ years realistic character art; shipped real-time humans - Portfolio with a likeness from photographs - Pass the likeness interview task ## Training (local tutorials) - [[Tutorial — Starting a Head and Base Body in ZBrush]] - [[Tutorial — Obtaining Initial Head DNA]] - [[Tutorial — Expression Editor Fundamentals]] - [[Tutorial — ZBrush No-Topology-Change Round Trip]] - [[Tutorial — Sculpting Expression Targets for the Expression Editor]] - [[Tutorial — Flat Albedo from Polypaint]] - [[Tutorial — Baking Detail Maps for MetaHuman]] ## Remote working Studio ships the hero workstation (RTX 5090) to the artist's home. ## Rate evidence - Glassdoor 3D character artist $64k–$119k (about $31–57/hr employed); Upwork expert 3D $50–$100+/hr - Glassdoor, 3D character artist salary 2026: https://www.glassdoor.com/Salaries/3d-character-artist-salary-SRCH_KO0,19.htm - Upwork, 3D artist hourly rates: https://www.upwork.com/hire/3d-artists/cost/ Back to [[Roles and Hiring Plan]] · [[Year One Budget — Personnel]]