Digital Matte Paint and Environment Lead
$70,000–$150,000 year
On-site · Sherman Oaks, California, United States
Job Summary
Digital Matte Paint and Environment Lead responsible for leading the creation of photo-real environments, set extensions, matte paintings, and textures for integration into live-action plates or as standalone DMP assets. Hands-on DMP work as needed, leading integration into 3D environments and shot workflows, collaborating with VFX Supervisors, CG Leads, Production, and Scheduling to assign artists, mentoring team members, overseeing onboarding, and ensuring efficient workflows, version control, and pipeline integration. Requires senior-level leadership, expert Photoshop with Maya and Nuke proficiency, strong environmental and lighting skills, experience with LiDAR/photogrammetry, and the ability to bid, estimate, and plan production tasks while maintaining high visual quality across multiple departments.
Required Qualifications
- Minimum of 5 years experience in digital matte painting, environment work, or lead-level production roles for episodic TV and/or motion pictures
- Strong ability to lead creation of photo-real environments, set extensions, and backgrounds with consistent lighting, perspective, scale, color, and mood
- Expert-level proficiency in Photoshop; production experience in Maya and Nuke; projection-based workflows
- Strong skills in painting, cleanup, projection setup, plate integration, color matching, perspective, and photographic realism
- Experience with modern environment workflows including 2D projections, environment assembly, kitbash assets, photogrammetry, and procedural environment techniques
- Strong understanding of cameras, lenses, perspective, parallax, depth of field, and real-world scale for accurate environmental integration
- Ability to combine 2D and 3D elements across multiple workflows and pipelines
- Strong understanding of production pipelines, publish workflows, version control, and how DMP/Environment connects with downstream departments
- Strong artistic eye for composition, lighting, color grading, atmosphere, and environmental storytelling
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills with the ability to lead, mentor, onboard, and support artists
- Experience with bidding, task estimation, and production scheduling discussions considered a strong asset
- Ability to interpret and execute creative direction while maintaining high visual quality and technical consistency
- Strong collaborative mindset focused on achieving creative and technical goals
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