Senior Creature Animator — Photoreal VFX Specialist

Job Position(s): Senior Creature Animator — Photoreal VFX Specialist

Framestore Limited is hiring a Senior Creature Animator with a photoreal VFX specialism, based in Central London. This role sits within the animation department and focuses on delivering high-quality creature and character animation for feature film VFX production, working directly within Framestore’s established VFX pipeline from brief through to final render. It suits an animator who has moved beyond the generalist phase and built a track record specifically in photorealistic creatures and digital characters for studio-level productions.

About the Role

You’ll work under the Animation Lead as part of a department responsible for some of the most technically demanding character work in the VFX industry, contributing to premium feature film projects at the studio’s London facility. Day to day, that means taking creature rigs from blocked poses through to polished final animation, attending shot reviews, and responding to client and supervisor notes within a live production schedule. The work demands a genuine understanding of how animals and creatures move, not just what looks good on screen.

Key Responsibilities

• Produce photoreal creature and character animation in Maya across multiple shots within a feature film VFX pipeline, meeting both technical and creative briefs.
• Work closely with the Animation Lead to align shot work with the overall animation style and storytelling direction of each production.
• Apply a thorough understanding of physical motion, weight, and anatomical structure to ensure creatures read as believable within live-action plates.
• Participate in internal shot reviews, incorporating feedback from supervisors and clients to hit final approved quality standards.
• Maintain clean scene files and adhere to pipeline conventions to support the wider post-production workflow across departments.
• Contribute to style development discussions, offering animation solutions that serve the director’s vision at a production level.

What You Bring

• Substantial experience as a creature or character animator within a VFX studio environment, with feature film credits preferred.
• Advanced proficiency in Autodesk Maya as a primary animation tool.
• A strong working knowledge of animal anatomy, locomotion, and physical dynamics as applied to photoreal animation.
• A showreel that demonstrates photorealistic creature work at a professional production standard.
• Experience working within structured VFX pipelines, including shot handoffs, versioning, and review processes.

Why This Role

Framestore is one of the most recognised VFX houses in the world, with a production slate that consistently includes major studio tentpole films and prestige television. The Senior Creature Animator position here offers direct exposure to complex, high-profile creature projects with a team that has a long history of setting the bar for photoreal animation. For an animator at this level, the scope of the work and the calibre of the surrounding team are genuinely rare in the London market.

Apply now for the Senior Creature Animator role at Framestore Limited and bring your creature work to one of London’s leading animation studios.