Modeling/Surfacing Supervisor

Overview:
WildBrain Studios is looking for a Modeling/Surfacing Supervisor - Character to join our team! Reporting to the Head of CG, you will be responsible for leading the character modeling team on an animated feature production. You’ll establish and maintain modeling standards and workflows, oversee asset planning and delivery, and provide hands-on artistic and technical guidance to ensure feature-quality characters that support rigging, animation, CFX, and lighting requirements. You will collaborate closely with cross-department Supervisors and Heads of Department to ensure character assets move through the pipeline efficiently while meeting creative intent and production schedules.

Find a job that lets your imagination run wild! WildBrain Studios produces fan-favorite animation and award-winning content that kids and families love in every corner of the globe. Our custom-built Vancouver studio in beautiful British Columbia is a wonderful backdrop for our artists, but it doesn’t end there – we have employees working remotely across BC, Canada, and the world! Our artist-centric culture means we invest in our people, provide training and growth opportunities, a healthy work-life balance, and fun activities throughout the year to meet, mingle and get creative with your team.

What You'll Do:

• Oversee the creation and delivery of all environment assets on the feature, including modeling, surfacing, and set dressing.
• Translate production design, concept art, and keyframes into fully realized, feature-quality CG environments.
• Ensure environments support storytelling, shot composition, lighting, camera movement, and scale.
• Collaborate closely with Layout and Camera teams to ensure environments function effectively for shot requirements.
• Partner with Lighting to ensure materials, textures, and scene complexity enable feature-quality lighting and rendering.
• Work with FX to ensure environments support simulations such as destruction, atmosphere, weather, and secondary effects.
• Establish and maintain show-specific environment standards, workflows, and documentation.
• Guide environment complexity and modularity decisions to balance visual fidelity, reusability, and production efficiency.
• Review environment work at all stages, providing clear and actionable creative and technical feedback.
• Mentor and support Environment Leads and artists, fostering growth, collaboration, and artistic excellence.
• Participate in environment asset breakdowns and help prioritize tasks throughout the production lifecycle.
• Work with Production to help scope environment builds, revisions, and delivery schedules.
• Review and approve all environment assets before downstream use.
• Provide direction and feedback on outsourced environment work when applicable.
• Proactively identify and resolve creative or technical environment-related issues.
• Participate in dailies, asset reviews, and client or internal creative discussions as the environment authority on the show.
• Foster a collaborative, respectful, and creatively strong team environment.

What You'll Bring:

• Proven experience as a Supervisor, Lead, or Senior Artist on feature or high-end episodic CG productions.
• Strong expertise in environment modeling, surfacing, layout, set dressing, and look development.
• Excellent understanding of scale, composition, architectural form, and environmental storytelling.
• Solid understanding of how environments interact with layout, lighting, FX, and rendering.
• Strong artistic eye for materials, textures, mood, and visual continuity.
• Ability to guide both realistic and stylized environment workflows as required by the project.
• Excellent communication and collaboration skills.
• Experience working in multi-shot, sequence-based production environments.
• Proficiency with industry-standard tools: Maya, ZBrush, Substance Painter/Mari, Houdini, Gaffer/Katana/Solaris, and Unreal Engine.
• Familiarity with Arnold and/or RenderMan.
• Experience using ShotGrid (Flow (ShotGrid) in a production environment.
• Passion for characters, storytelling, and performance-driven design.

This is a Union position and the terms and conditions of employment are covered by a collective agreement.

Pay Range: $2311–$2500 CAD per week (based on a 40-hour work week).
Why WildBrain: We offer RRSP matching, multi-tiered benefits, free mental health resources, and regular team events. Life is good on the Wild side!

Job Location: Hybrid/Flexible
Level of Experience: Supervisor/Manager