[PAID / REMOTE] Realistic Character Animators – UE5 / MetaHuman – Oct–Feb + Long-Term Potential

Hi everyone, I’m Ana-Maria, Producer at VertexBee Studios. We’re currently looking for experienced realistic character animators to join us on a paid UE5 game project starting in October.

The role can be fully remote, or if you’re based in Sofia, Bulgaria, you’re also welcome to work with us from the studio.

The work focuses on realistic human character animation, strong body mechanics and believable movement. Animation is created in Maya and integrated into an existing Unreal Engine 5 / MetaHuman production pipeline.

The current production is planned to run through February 2027, with potential to continue into a longer-term collaboration.

What we’re looking for

  • Strong realistic character animation and body mechanics

  • Professional production experience in games, cinematics or similar pipelines

  • Strong Maya animation workflow

  • Ability to work independently and deliver production-ready animation

  • Good communication skills and willingness to work closely with our production and development teams

Strong plus

We’re especially interested in animators who are comfortable with modern animation workflows, including: Motion capture workflows, Mocap cleanup and refinement, Retargeting, Cascadeur, AI-assisted tools.

You don’t need to have experience with every tool above, but being comfortable learning and adapting to newer workflows is definitely a plus.

Who we’re open to working with

We’re primarily looking for 1-2 mid/senior character animators who can work closely with our team.

This can be either:

  • A freelance / contract animator working directly with us
  • An animator employed by an external studio, where the studio can allocate a dedicated team member to us on a monthly retainer / dedicated-resource basis

Project setup

  • Paid contract

  • Fully remote or in-studio in Sofia, Bulgaria

  • International applicants welcome

  • Start: October 2026 Planned through February 2027

  • Potential for longer-term continuation

  • Good working overlap with GMT+3 is important

  • Direct communication with our production and development teams

The project is currently in prototype stage, so there is regular back-and-forth with developers and we’re looking for someone comfortable working collaboratively while things are still evolving.

Industry disclosure

For full transparency, the project is a realistic mobile casino game.

How to apply

Freelance animators

Please complete our freelancer application form: bit.ly/vertexbee-application-form

After submitting the form, please also email us.

Just let us know that you’ve applied and include your name and portfolio/reel. We’ll then send you our NDA and, once signed, the more detailed project brief and materials.

Studios/production partners

If you’re a studio that can provide a suitable animator from your team on a dedicated-resource or monthly retainer basis, please do not use the freelancer form.

We are not looking to outsource the full animation scope — we’re looking for a dedicated animator who can work directly with our team.

In both cases, please contact us: talents@vertexbee.com

Please include:

  • Relevant animations reel / portfolio

  • Availability and earliest possible start

  • Hourly / daily / monthly rate

  • Location and timezone

Even if your availability doesn’t align perfectly with this production, we’d still be happy to hear from you. We’re actively building a trusted network of animators as we plan to take on more animation-heavy projects in the future.

About VertexBee

VertexBee Studios is a game art and animation production studio based in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Applications are reviewed directly by our production team. To help us keep everything organized, please submit your application once via email rather than across multiple channels.

If you’d simply like to confirm that your application reached us, you’re welcome to connect with me on LinkedIn and send a short message.

Ana-Maria Petrova
Producer, VertexBee Studios

Looking forward to seeing your work!