Lighting Artist

Untold Studios is hiring a Lighting Artist based in Toronto, Canada, to join their VFX pipeline for upcoming 2026 productions. This role sits within the lighting and lookdev department, responsible for building and refining lighting setups across both full CG shots and live action plate integration. It suits a technically grounded artist who is equally comfortable with shader development and colour science as they are with reading a comp.

About the Role

Working across a variety of projects, the Lighting Artist at Untold Studios handles everything from asset lookdev through to generating render passes ready for the compositing team. A typical day moves between assembling lighting scenes from the asset pipeline, attending dailies, addressing feedback from leads, and troubleshooting render farm logs. The studio is currently building its talent pipeline for 2026, reviewing applicants at all experience levels ahead of confirmed start dates.

Key Responsibilities

• Build and maintain lighting setups for full CG sequences and live action VFX shots, working within an established production pipeline.
• Lead asset lookdev through the creation of texture maps and shader networks in Houdini, Substance, and Mari.
• Apply ACES colour space theory across all stages of the rendering pipeline, including physically plausible shader creation.
• Generate rough comps from render passes and AOVs before handoff to the compositing department, ensuring passes are clean and integration-ready.
• Troubleshoot and optimise rendering scenes and farm logs, working within a Linux operating environment.
• Communicate directly with production and your lighting lead to manage your own schedule and meet shot deadlines from brief through to final delivery.

What You Bring

• Hands-on experience in lighting and lookdev within a VFX studio or post-production environment, at any level from junior to senior.
• Working knowledge of Houdini for lighting and shader development, alongside asset creation tools including Substance and Mari.
• A solid understanding of rendering software, AOV structure, and how render passes feed into a compositing workflow.
• Familiarity with ACES colour management and physically based rendering principles.
• Comfort working in Linux operating systems as part of a larger VFX pipeline.

Why This Role

Untold Studios offers a structured personal progression plan for every artist, with direct support from leads rather than a sink-or-swim approach common at busier facilities. The studio confirms it does not use AI or automated systems to screen applicants, meaning your application is reviewed by an actual person. The salary range for this Lighting Artist position is $70,000 to $120,000 CAD annually, depending on experience, skills, and qualifications.

Apply now for the Lighting Artist role at Untold Studios and get your work in front of a team that reviews every submission directly.