Surfacing Artist

About the role

Flyingbark is seeking a talented Surfacing Artist to join their creative team in Sydney, New South Wales. This full-time position involves developing detailed surface textures and materials for 3D assets used in interactive digital experiences across multiple platforms. The role requires close collaboration with art directors and other artists to ensure visual consistency and quality standards across all projects. You will be responsible for creating high-quality surface treatments that enhance the overall aesthetic of digital environments and characters while meeting technical performance requirements. The Surfacing Artist plays a vital role in defining the visual identity and tactile quality of in-game and interactive content.

Key facts

What you'll do

Create texture maps and material definitions for 3D models and environments used in interactive experiences.

Develop visually compelling surface details that respond appropriately to dynamic lighting conditions and environmental changes.

Collaborate closely with modeling teams to ensure proper UV mapping and accurate material application workflows.

Iterate on surface properties based on art direction and constructive feedback from the creative team.

Optimize texture resolutions for optimal performance across all target platforms including mobile and desktop devices.

Paint custom procedural patterns and detailed hand-crafted surface elements that bring assets to life.

Maintain visual consistency in material style across all project assets, environments, and character models.

Research real-world surface properties to inform accurate and realistic digital material creation and implementation.

Participate in regular reviews with the art team to align on visual goals and standards.

Troubleshoot rendering issues related to surface appearance and material behavior within the game engine.

Coordinate with shader developers to translate surface materials into functional shader networks for rendering.

Document material workflows and creation processes to ensure knowledge sharing and team efficiency.

Ensure all surface materials meet technical specifications and visual quality standards for final delivery.

Requirements

Demonstrated experience creating surface textures and materials for 3D digital content in professional production environments.

Proficiency with industry-standard texturing software and related creative production tools is essential for this role.

Strong understanding of material properties including roughness, metallic, and subsurface scattering behavior in various conditions.

Ability to work with UV layouts and optimize texture space efficiently for high-quality production output.

Familiarity with physically-based rendering workflows and industry-standard technical practices is required for all surface work.

Experience with game engines or real-time rendering pipelines is strongly preferred for interactive content creation.

Attention to detail in observing and accurately recreating real-world surface qualities and material characteristics.

Good communication skills for collaborating effectively with multidisciplinary creative production teams on complex projects.

Ability to manage multiple texture projects simultaneously while maintaining consistent quality and meeting deadlines.

Nice to have

Experience with Substance Designer or similar procedural texturing tools for advanced material creation workflows.

Knowledge of shader creation and material graph networks within modern real-time rendering systems and pipelines.

Background in film, animation, or gaming production environments with shipped commercial titles or releases.

Understanding of color theory and material aging techniques for creating realistic surface degradation and wear.

Familiarity with photogrammetry or scan-based workflows for capturing real-world surface data and translating to digital materials.

Skills & tools

Substance Painter and Substance Designer for texture creation, material authoring, and procedural surface generation.

Adobe Photoshop for image editing, texture map generation, and detailed surface manipulation and refinement.

3D modeling software such as Maya or Blender for asset preparation, UV unwrapping, and layout.

Game engines like Unity or Unreal Engine for material implementation, testing, and real-time preview.

Understanding of PBR physically-based rendering workflows and industry-standard material definitions and specifications.

Version control systems like Perforce or Git for asset management, collaboration, and project organization.

Knowledge of rendering techniques including bake lighting, ambient occlusion, and normal map generation.

Practical notes

This position is based in the Sydney, New South Wales office with standard full-time working hours and schedule.

Flyingbark offers a collaborative studio environment with regular team feedback sessions, creative reviews, and mentorship opportunities.

The role reports directly to the Art Director and works within the broader creative department structure.

Candidates should be prepared to present their portfolio demonstrating surface texturing capabilities and material creation skills.

Flyingbark values work-life balance and offers flexible scheduling options within the framework of full-time employment.