3D Animator/Rigger (Contract - Project Based)

About the Role

WISEcode is pioneering an intelligent, interactive experience that empowers families with clarity, confidence, and curiosity around everyday food decisions. We are seeking an experienced 3D character artist, technical rigger, and animator to transform our existing branded owl into a fully controllable, reusable 3D character system for use across our products, marketing, and future AI experiences.

This project requires creating a master owl asset that can be recolored, posed, animated, and exported into any digital environment without rebuilding the character. The owl must preserve the design, proportions, personality, and visual identity of the existing WISEcode owl.

Responsibilities

• Create a production-ready master owl 3D model with accurate geometry, clean topology, and optimized UVs suitable for real-time use.
• Develop a professional, animator-friendly control rig supporting expressive facial and full-body animation, including:
  • Direct control over face, head, eyes, eyelids, beak, and mouth.
  • Body controls for spine, torso, wings, legs, feet, and tail.
  • Modular color and material system for independent adjustment of body regions (e.g., wings, tail, eye iris).
• Design a facial expression and speech system supporting core emotions (e.g., happy, curious, confused) and viseme-based lip-sync workflows.
• Build a reusable animation library focused on product and brand behaviors, including:
  • Idle, awareness, and communication animations.
  • Product reactions (e.g., scan processing, score reveals).
  • Emotional reactions (e.g., celebrating, warning).
  • Basic movement (e.g., walking, flying, perching).
• Ensure animations are reusable, blendable, and support layered facial/body control.
• Deliver a real-time optimized GLB asset tested for web and application use (e.g., Three.js, React Three Fiber).
• Provide comprehensive documentation, including rig controls, material editing, animation naming, and GLB export instructions.
• Collaborate on technical direction, including polygon budgets, bone counts, and performance targets.

Requirements

• Proven experience as a 3D character artist, technical rigger, and animator.
• Portfolio demonstrating:
  • High-quality 3D character modeling and topology.
  • Professional rigging for creatures, birds, or winged characters.
  • Facial rigging and expressive animation examples.
  • Real-time character work and GLB/glTF exports.
• Proficiency in creating modular systems for color variations, accessories, and reusable animations.
• Ability to deliver clean, optimized assets with reliable deformation and no geometry issues.
• Strong problem-solving skills to address technical challenges (e.g., feather control, secondary motion).
• Clear communication to explain technical tradeoffs and propose scalable solutions.

Deliverables

• Master assets:
  • Rigged master Blender file with high-quality and optimized models.
  • Blue, green, and red material presets.
  • Complete UVs, texture-source files, and shape keys/blend shapes.
• Animation assets:
  • Approved core animation library with clearly named clips.
  • Facial-expression presets and pose library.
  • Transition animations and real-time optimized data.
• Export assets:
  • GLB/glTF and FBX files with preserved skeleton, animations, and materials.
  • Transparent-background animation previews and turntable renders.
• Documentation:
  • Rig-control guide and material-editing instructions.
  • Animation naming conventions and GLB export workflow.
  • Instructions for adding new animations, accessories, or color variations.
• All project source files, custom scripts, and test environments.

Technical Quality Standards

• Clean topology and reliable deformation with no broken geometry.
• No visible clipping during animations (e.g., wings, feathers).
• Stable feather behavior and consistent animation transitions.
• Predictable rig controls for animators without reverse-engineering.
• Successful GLB playback in target environments (e.g., browsers, Three.js).

Project Phases

• Phase 1: Model and Technical Direction
  • Character translation and turnaround approval.
  • Production model with topology and UVs.
  • Initial materials and technical pipeline confirmation.
• Phase 2: Rig and Character Controls
  • Complete body, face, and wing rigs.
  • Expression system and color preset setup.
  • Initial GLB export testing.

Candidate Value-Add Opportunities

A strong candidate may enhance the project by proposing:

• Simplified animator-facing control panel or developer API.
• Procedural systems (e.g., eye tracking, blinking, gaze targeting).
• Reusable accessory socket system or lightweight mobile model.
• Automated tools for color-variant generation or GLB exports.
• Animation state-machine recommendations or compression techniques.
• Browser-based character test environment or integration documentation.

Submission Requirements

• Portfolio showcasing character modeling, rigging, and animation work.
• Examples of creature/bird rigs, facial animation, and real-time exports.
• Proposed technical approach, milestones, and cost breakdown by phase.
• Revision policy, testing process, and any risks or scope adjustments.
• Clarification on which work will be completed personally vs. subcontracted.