Game Animator (Maya → Unreal Engine)

Studio Zubio • Contract • Remote OK

About the Project

Bunderkin: The Curse of the Ocular Eclipse is a stylized narrative adventure being developed by Studio Zubio. We are currently building a 10–15 minute free-to-play demo segment of the full game to support our upcoming Kickstarter campaign. This demo will feature core exploration, environmental interactions, expressive character moments, and key story beats that establish the tone of the larger game.

To help bring our characters and world to life, we are seeking a Contract Game Animator skilled in Maya and comfortable delivering polished animation clips for integration into Unreal Engine.

Role Overview

This contract role focuses on producing high-quality character animation—including gameplay loops, emotive reactions, creature cycles, NPC interactions, and short cinematic moments. You’ll work closely with our rigging and Unreal teams to ensure animations export cleanly into our runtime systems.

Responsibilities

Create gameplay cycles in Maya (idles, walks, runs, turns, interaction loops, stylized reactions).

Animate cinematic acting shots in Maya for moments that appear in the demo’s story sequences.

Produce NPC and creature animations with strong personality and stylized performance.

Export animations via FBX following Studio Zubio naming and skeleton conventions.

Collaborate with Unreal developers to ensure animations function correctly in Animation Blueprints and cinematic sequences.

Adjust or polish animation as needed based on integration feedback.

Requirements

Strong demo reel highlighting keyframe animation—locomotion + emotional acting shots.

Proficiency animating in Autodesk Maya.

Understanding of FBX export workflows and Unreal-friendly animation practices.

Ability to deliver clear, appealing, stylized animation for biped and creature characters.

Good communication and comfort working on milestone-based contract tasks.

Bonus Skills

Experience with 2D swappable texture-based facial animation (eye/mouth sheet swaps, flipbook cycles).

Familiarity with Unreal Engine 5 animation previews and Sequencer.

Understanding of root motion, retargeting, or animation compression techniques.

Contract Details

Remote contract position

Flexible schedule, milestone-based

Duration tailored to animation workload for the Kickstarter demo

Potential follow-up work as the full game enters production