Lighting Artist

Cloud Imperium is looking for a lighting artist to work in a cooperative, cross-disciplinary team environment who possess high artistic skill, including a thorough understanding of color theory, composition, light, and form. They should have experience with a 3D graphics package and demonstrate a solid understanding of rendering, lighting, shading networks, polygonal modeling, and texture UVs. Responsibilities: * Involved in look-development around key surfaces and shaders to ensure lighting delivers against visual reference * Creating both exterior and interior lighting within game environments and cutscenes * Placing and adjusting light sources within the environment * Tweaking shading materials and textures to improve the perception of the lighting * Post-processing: color grading, exposure, SSAO, bloom, tone mapping curves, etc. * Contributing to the development and placement of special effects related to lighting and atmosphere, such as light flares, fog, god rays, and camera optics * Prototyping the use of lighting technology to reach the visual targets defined by the art direction * International travel may be required as part of the role Requirements: * Deep understanding of computer graphic lighting technology, both real-time and software rendering * Strong sense of lighting theory: color space, exposure, light fixtures, natural light, reflections, etc. * Good understanding of cinematography and dramaturgy: the use of camera technology, scene blocking, and lighting to set a mood * Good understanding and experience with physical-based lighting systems * Being pro-active in the use of lighting as a powerful tool in gameplay clarity. For example, to guide the player forward, highlight objectives and enemies * Ability to thoroughly digest the art direction and champion executing it in-game * Skilled at balancing visual quality against performance requirements * Thorough knowledge of the game development process * Working knowledge of Maya and/or other commercial 3D authoring packages This position is offered at our Wilmslow Studio by Cloud Imperium Games Ltd.