At a Glance
- Tasks: Create high-performance facial rigs for stunning VFX and TV productions.
- Company: Join DNEG, a leader in visual effects with a collaborative spirit.
- Benefits: Competitive salary, creative environment, and opportunities for professional growth.
- Other info: Dynamic team atmosphere with a focus on innovation and quality.
- Why this job: Be part of groundbreaking projects that bring digital characters to life.
- Qualifications: Experience in facial rigging and a passion for VFX.
The predicted salary is between 40000 - 50000 £ per year.
Facial Riggers at DNEG focus on developing high-performance facial rigs that enable expressive, believable performances for world-class VFX and TV productions. Working closely with modelling, animation, look development, and capture teams, you will design robust and efficient rig systems capable of supporting complex facial performances in extreme close-ups, LED volume environments, high-resolution formats, and next-generation real-time workflows. Your work will ensure that digital humans and creatures can achieve subtle and convincing facial performances, supporting both keyframe animation and performance-capture pipelines.
Responsibilities
- Develop high-quality facial rigs for digital humans and creatures that support a wide range of expressive performance.
- Build and maintain FACS-based facial rig systems that enable natural deformation and animation control.
- Work closely with facial modelling teams to ensure topology supports deformation requirements and efficient rig implementation.
- Integrate blendshape, joint-based, and procedural deformation systems to achieve high-fidelity facial motion.
- Support facial performance capture workflows including marker-based systems, HMC capture, and retargeting pipelines.
- Collaborate with animation teams to refine control systems and ensure rigs are intuitive, flexible, and animator-friendly.
- Work with pipeline and rigging teams to ensure facial rigs integrate seamlessly with body rigs and production workflows.
- Optimize rigs for performance and stability within production environments.
- Troubleshoot rigging and deformation issues during production and provide technical solutions to support shot work.
- Participate in asset and shot reviews, providing feedback on deformation quality, performance fidelity, and animation usability.
Must Haves
- Strong experience building facial rigs for high-end VFX projects.
- Excellent understanding of facial anatomy, expression mechanics, and muscle systems.
- Expert knowledge of rigging in Maya, including deformers, rigging tools and Python scripting.
- Experience implementing FACS-based facial systems and corrective deformation workflows.
- Strong understanding of how facial rigs support animation and performance capture pipelines.
- Ability to troubleshoot complex deformation issues and develop practical technical solutions.
- Experience working with proprietary pipelines and the ability to learn new tools quickly.
- Excellent problem-solving skills and attention to detail.
Nice to Have
- Experience with performance capture pipelines, including marker-based facial capture or HMC systems.
- Familiarity with wrap workflows, photogrammetry, or facial scan processing.
- Experience with real-time pipelines or game engines such as Unreal or Unity.
- Familiarity with machine learning-driven facial systems or facial retargeting tools.
- Experience working with USD pipelines.
- A passion for human and creature anatomy.
About You
- Meticulous, observant and committed to delivering photoreal results.
- Clear communicator and collaborative team player.
- Adaptable and eager to learn new tools and techniques, including in-house technologies.
- Calm under pressure with strong time-management skills and an accurate sense of task duration.
- Self-driven with a proactive, solution-focused mindset.
- Objective and self-critical eye with a strong sense of quality control.
Facial Rigging TD (DNEG VFX) employer: DNEG
At DNEG, we pride ourselves on being an exceptional employer, particularly for those passionate about digital Creature technology. Our collaborative work culture fosters creativity and innovation, allowing Software Developers to thrive while working alongside talented artists and technologists in a dynamic environment. With a commitment to employee growth and development, we offer opportunities to influence cutting-edge VFX and animation technologies, making this an exciting place to advance your career.
StudySmarter Expert Advice🤫
We think this is how you could land Facial Rigging TD (DNEG VFX)
✨Tip Number 1
Network like a pro! Reach out to industry professionals on LinkedIn or attend VFX meetups. We can’t stress enough how important it is to make connections that could lead to job opportunities.
✨Tip Number 2
Show off your skills! Create a portfolio that highlights your best facial rigging work. We recommend including breakdowns of your projects to showcase your process and problem-solving abilities.
✨Tip Number 3
Prepare for interviews by brushing up on technical questions related to facial rigging and performance capture. We suggest practising with friends or colleagues to build confidence and refine your answers.
✨Tip Number 4
Apply through our website! It’s the best way to ensure your application gets seen. Plus, we love seeing candidates who are genuinely interested in joining our team at DNEG.
We think you need these skills to ace Facial Rigging TD (DNEG VFX)
Some tips for your application 🫡
Show Off Your Skills:Make sure to highlight your experience with facial rigging and any high-end VFX projects you've worked on. We want to see your expertise in action, so don’t hold back on showcasing your best work!
Tailor Your Application:Read through the job description carefully and tailor your application to match. Use the same language and keywords that we’ve used to show us you understand what we're looking for in a Facial Rigger.
Be Clear and Concise:Keep your application clear and to the point. We appreciate a well-structured application that gets straight to the important bits without unnecessary fluff. Remember, clarity is key!
Apply Through Our Website:Don’t forget to apply through our website! It’s the best way for us to receive your application and ensures you’re considered for the role. Plus, it’s super easy to do!
How to prepare for a job interview at DNEG
✨Know Your Anatomy
Brush up on your understanding of facial anatomy and expression mechanics. Being able to discuss how these elements influence rigging will show that you’re not just technically skilled, but also have a deep understanding of the art behind it.
✨Showcase Your Work
Prepare a portfolio that highlights your best facial rigging projects. Be ready to explain your thought process, the challenges you faced, and how you overcame them. This will demonstrate your problem-solving skills and attention to detail.
✨Familiarise with Tools
Make sure you’re comfortable with Maya and any other tools mentioned in the job description. If you have experience with performance capture pipelines or real-time engines like Unreal or Unity, be prepared to discuss how you’ve used them in past projects.
✨Collaborative Mindset
Since the role involves working closely with various teams, be ready to talk about your collaborative experiences. Share examples of how you’ve communicated effectively with animators or modelling teams to refine rig systems and ensure they meet production needs.
