Freelance Animation Artist
- Role
- Design
- Experience
- Senior
- Employment
- Contract
- Company size
- Enterprise
Open to CA only. Set where you work from to check your eligibility.
No BS summary
Freelance animation artist with 6+ years in a VFX or animation studio. Must be strong in Maya and able to deliver high-end creature, character, and object animation with solid body mechanics and facial animation.
Core skills
Optional skills
Repeatedly voted one of Montreal’s Top Employers and Employer of the Year for the 2022 Mercuriades Awards, Rodeo FX is a high-end creative company offering services in visual effects, advertising, animation, and experiential.
Nominated for multiple Emmy® Awards for its work on the series Stranger Things season 4, The Witcher season 2 and The Lord of The Rings: The Rings of Power season 1, the independent, Oscar®-winning company boasts close to 900 artists crafting from studios in Montreal, Québec City, Toronto, Los Angeles and Paris.
Rodeo FX is a creative partner to the world’s best storytellers including Netflix, HBO, Disney, Marvel, Amazon Studios, Warner Bros. and Sony, and has collaborated on ads for YouTube, NBC and Apple. Current projects include Blue Beetle, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, and Zack Snyder's Rebel Moon. Recently released projects include John Wick: Chapter 4, Black Adam, Disney's The Little Mermaid and Love, Death and Robots Volume 3, for which the company won a 2023 VES award.
The Freelance Animation Artist is responsible for delivering high-end, hyper-realistic performances for creatures, characters, and animated objects. With a sharp eye for timing, weight, and emotion, the artist brings life and credibility to animated assets, whether realistic or stylized. Working closely with the Animation Lead and Supervisor, the artist contributes creatively and technically to the success of each shot, while adhering to the project’s artistic vision, technical specifications, and deadlines.
Key Responsibilities:
Master your craft
- Deliver polished animation work that meets both creative intent and production specifications.
- Demonstrate a solid grasp of animation principles—timing, weight, arcs, and posing—across different performance styles.
- Adapt quickly to varying animation contexts (realistic creatures, mechanical objects, stylized characters).
Creative Quality
- Interpret creative direction and reference materials to build nuanced and expressive performances.
- Propose original ideas and motion choices that enhance the storytelling and overall impact of the shot.
- Seek and integrate feedback constructively to elevate the quality of animation.
Technical Quality
- Ensure animation is clean, functional, and export-ready for downstream departments.
- Anticipate and troubleshoot rigging or scene-related issues in collaboration with technical teams.
- Maintain naming conventions, file structures, and technical requirements as per pipeline standards.
Communication
- Provide realistic time estimates, communicate promptly in case of issues or potential delays, and collaborate with production to adjust priorities if needed.
- Maintain open communication with production, leads, and adjacent departments to support smooth handoffs and problem-solving.
- Flag roadblocks proactively and propose viable solutions when technical or creative issues arise.
- Participate actively in dailies and reviews, clearly presenting work and responding to notes.
Teach, learn and grow
- Share tools, tips, and approaches with peers to foster collective improvement.
- Engage in learning sessions, studio initiatives, or internal mentorship programs.
- Stay current with evolving trends, software, and animation methodologies to refine your practice.
- Minimum 6 years of experience in a VFX or animation studio environment.
- Strong proficiency in Maya; experience with other animation tools is a plus.
- Solid understanding of body mechanics, facial animation..
- Ability to animate from reference and build compelling acting performances.
- High attention to detail, autonomy, and ability to manage deadlines effectively.
- Positive, collaborative mindset and strong communication skills.
- Asset : Experience with ShotGrid or other production tracking tools.
- Asset : Knowledge of rigging fundamentals or custom tool development.
- Immediate start date
- Multiple positions
- Temporary contracts of varying lengths
Diversity : At Rodeo FX, diversity is a core value. We’re committed to creating an inclusive, equitable workplace where different perspectives are embraced. Every team member brings unique insight that strengthens our creativity, challenges our thinking, and helps us deliver better work.
Rodeo FX may use AI-based tools to support certain steps of the recruitment process, such as interview transcription or preliminary application analysis. These tools may be operated by third-party providers, and data may be processed outside Quebec. These tools never replace human decision-making: all final hiring decisions are made by our recruitment team and hiring managers. To learn more about how we protect your personal information and your rights, please consult our Privacy Policy.
What you'll do
- Deliver high-end, hyper-realistic performances for creatures, characters, and animated objects.
- Bring life and credibility to realistic or stylized animated assets with attention to timing, weight, and emotion.
- Work closely with the Animation Lead and Supervisor.
- Contribute creatively and technically to each shot while following artistic vision, technical specifications, and deadlines.
- Deliver polished animation work that meets creative intent and production specifications.
- Demonstrate animation principles including timing, weight, arcs, and posing across different performance styles.
- Adapt quickly to varying animation contexts such as realistic creatures, mechanical objects, and stylized characters.
- Interpret creative direction and reference materials to build nuanced and expressive performances.
- Propose original ideas and motion choices that enhance storytelling and shot impact.
- Seek and integrate feedback constructively to improve animation quality.
- Ensure animation is clean, functional, and export-ready for downstream departments.
- Anticipate and troubleshoot rigging or scene-related issues with technical teams.
- Maintain naming conventions, file structures, and technical requirements according to pipeline standards.
- Provide realistic time estimates.
- Communicate promptly about issues or potential delays.
- Collaborate with production to adjust priorities when needed.
- Maintain open communication with production, leads, and adjacent departments to support handoffs and problem-solving.
- Flag roadblocks proactively and propose viable solutions to technical or creative issues.
- Participate actively in dailies and reviews, presenting work clearly and responding to notes.
- Share tools, tips, and approaches with peers to support collective improvement.
- Engage in learning sessions, studio initiatives, or internal mentorship programs.
- Stay current with evolving trends, software, and animation methodologies.
What they require
- Minimum 6 years of experience in a VFX or animation studio environment.
- Strong proficiency in Maya.
- Solid understanding of body mechanics and facial animation.
- Ability to animate from reference and build compelling acting performances.
- High attention to detail, autonomy, and ability to manage deadlines effectively.
- Positive, collaborative mindset and strong communication skills.
- Preferred: Experience with other animation tools.
- Preferred: Experience with ShotGrid or other production tracking tools.
- Preferred: Knowledge of rigging fundamentals or custom tool development.
- Immediate start date.
- Temporary contracts of varying lengths.
Benefits
- Multiple positions.
- Inclusive, equitable workplace where different perspectives are embraced.
Rodeo FX is a high-end creative company with over 15 years of experience offering visual effects, animation, advertising and experience services. The independent Oscar-winning company has nearly 900 artists working in studios in Montreal, Quebec City, Toronto, Los Angeles and Paris.