Groom Artist (All Levels) – ILM London

Job Position(s): Groom Artist (All Levels) - ILM London

ILM London, part of Disney, is hiring a Groom Artist at all experience levels based in London, UK. This role sits within the digital assets department and is focused on building hair, fur, and feathers for digital doubles and creatures across feature film production, taking assets from initial construction through to look development, rigging, and simulation handoff. It suits a CG artist with a strong eye for realism who is comfortable working from scan data and reference to produce mid-to-close-up photoreal results.

About the Role

The Groom Artist works within a cross-discipline assets team alongside modelers, texture artists, and rigging, feeding into a well-established VFX pipeline built around Houdini and Linux-based infrastructure. Day-to-day work involves crafting guide curves and detailed hair structure for both photoreal and stylised assets, depending on what the production slate demands. The position is hybrid, requiring a minimum of one day on-site per week at ILM’s London facility.

Key Responsibilities

• Design and construct hair, fur, and feather grooms for digital doubles and creature assets, built to the detail level required for mid-to-close-up feature film shots.
• Prepare groomed assets for downstream departments including look development, rigging, and simulation, ensuring technical compatibility across the VFX pipeline.
• Build guide curve structures and layered hair detail using advanced grooming tools, meeting both artistic and technical production requirements.
• Work from scan data, on-set reference, concept art, and original design ideas to achieve photoreal results that hold up at close range.
• Manage multiple assets simultaneously across different production stages, keeping downstream departments informed of progress and any technical dependencies.
• Contribute to creative reviews with constructive feedback and stay engaged with grooming approaches across the broader team.

What You Bring

• A portfolio or demo reel demonstrating photoreal hair and fur grooms created within a feature film or high-end production environment.
• Established experience with professional grooming software, with Houdini strongly preferred for this role.
• Working knowledge of Linux is required to navigate ILM’s production pipeline.
• Knowledge of VEX and HDAs is a plus, as is familiarity with node-based and procedural grooming workflows.
• Strong spatial awareness when constructing complex hair and fur structures, particularly at close-up detail levels.
• A solid understanding of the full CG pipeline and how groom assets interact with adjacent departments is an advantage.

Why This Role

ILM has a long track record on some of the most technically demanding feature film production work in the industry, and the London studio operates at that same level. For a groom artist looking to build credits on major productions and develop within a structured VFX pipeline, this is a role with real depth. Applications close 21st August 2026, and a demo reel or shot breakdown is required alongside your resume.

Apply now for the Groom Artist position at ILM London and submit your work for consideration.