Lead Animator

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ICON Creative Studio is Canada’s largest independently owned animation entertainment company located in the historic Gastown district of Vancouver, BC Canada with design, storyboarding, modeling, rigging, animation, technical finaling, lighting, visual effects, and compositing artists alongside creative and management teams.

Known for our quality, efficiency, and timely deliveries, ICON has partnered alongside distributors, broadcasters, and streaming platforms around the world to help create, realize and produce noteworthy content.

ICON operates from a holistic philosophy that leverages individual skill sets to maximize production efficiency on the floor while maintaining an optimal balance of creativity and quality on-screen.

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Work remotely (anywhere in BC) or in studio

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**Why work at ICON?**

At ICON we constantly invest in raising the bar of our productions and fostering our people. If you are passionate about animation and enjoy sharing success with others, we'd like to hear from you
- Join the fastest growing CG Animation studio in Vancouver
- Work on top feature and episodic CG franchises for leading streaming platforms (Netflix, Disney+, Apple TV+, Amazon, Peacock, Paramount+ etc.)
- Work with a diverse group of artists from all over the world who have come to BC to join our expanding studio
- Use all of the latest tools and softwares
- We uphold a premium standard of quality across all of our productions by putting all of our resources up on screen
- We hire for the long term and give artists the opportunity to grow, get promoted and take on as much responsibility as they can manage
- We offer flexibility and autonomy
- We facilitate requests in a timely manner
- We offer direct deposit
- We offer a generous benefits package
- And more...

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**LEAD ANIMATOR**

**Responsibilities**:

- The leads’ primary focus is to make sure the Animation line runs smoothly and efficiently, firing on all cylinders,
- They are the primary problem solvers of the animation department.
- They must help manage their Team and keep them on track and motivated.
- They are proactive in identifying issues and will coordinate with all relevant departments to have those issues resolved quickly.
- Leads are tasked with disseminating important information within the department, including familiarizing new hires to their workflow and pipeline.
- They are skilled Animators and are expected to tackle the most challenging of shots with ease and can power through average difficulty sequences with speed.
- They must be able to demonstrate a broad range of character and acting skills. They must have a deep understanding of the principles of Animaton and how to employ those principles to create a performance that supports the characters and story goals of the production.
- The Lead Animator is familiar enough with the show to assist the crew if the director is not available.
- They will actively participate in Leads’ meetings, show dailies, client calls, and staff reviews.
- Helps create a strong foundation for productions, in their infancy, by partnering with the Rigging department to push the consistency and quality of the character rigs provided, develop a show style based on the clients requests and construct tools that will increase production and eliminate complications for animators.
- When necessary, supplying cycles, poses and reuse animation for the library to support the Animation team.
- Works closely with the Animation Supervisor to problem solve any potential issues in upcoming episodes by finding creative, but more importantly, realistic solutions for the animation teams.
- Provides support to the animation teams, in early stages of production, while they become acclimated to the new show.
- Manages the validity of requests to the Rigging department based on importance, while maintaining consistency and delivering an achievable result for our schedule and budget.
- Organizes and runs workshops to demonstrate clean workflows and also educates proper animation techniques to further advance the quality of animation produced by Icon.**Requirements**:

- More than 4 years of work experience in 3D animation using MAYA in a series or film production;
- A strong background as a Lead in feature or series CG character animation;
- Have experience and an interest in cartoony style;
- Quadruped animation’s experience recommended;
- Comfortable with filming reference footage and using the reference footage;
- Ability to work within an established pipeline and learn to use custom tools;
- Ability to understand and interpret effectively a storyboard and the Director’s feedback and be able to give direction to a team;
- Have good teaching skills, be a mentor, and technically and artistically develop the team;
- Ability to work well in a team and excellent communication skills;ICON Creative Studio is an equal opportunity employer. All applicants will be considered for employment without attention to