Texture Artist ILM

Are you a creative visionary with a passion for breathing life into digital beings and hyper-realistic environments?
Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), the legendary visual effects house founded by George Lucas and a cornerstone of The Walt Disney Company, is seeking Texture Artists of all levels to join our elite London studio.

From the iconic micro-details of a Star Wars droid to the complex skin textures of a Marvel hero, our Texture Artists are the ones who bridge the gap between a gray 3D model and a living, breathing cinematic masterpiece. If you have a keen eye for the nuances of real-world materials and a drive to push the boundaries of photorealism, we want you on our team.

• Company Name:
  Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) / The Walt Disney Company
• Job Title:
  
  Texture Artist (Junior, Mid, Senior, Lead)
• Location:
  
  London, United Kingdom (Hybrid)
• Work Mode:
  Hybrid (Minimum 2 days per week on-site in London)
• Contract Type:
  Full-Time / Project-Based
• Estimated Salary Range: £38,000 – £85,000+ (Commensurate with experience)
• Primary Software:
  Mari, Substance Designer/Painter, Katana, Maya
• Key Specialization:
  Organic Creatures, Digital Doubles, Hard-Surface Assets

ILM provides competitive compensation packages designed to attract the industry’s top talent. Based on 2026 London VFX market benchmarks, the following table outlines the expected base salary ranges:

As a Texture Artist at ILM, you are a master of surface storytelling. You will develop high-quality textures for 3D characters, digital doubles, and creatures, with a relentless focus on realism. Your work involves more than just “painting” surfaces; it requires a deep understanding of light interaction, material properties, and the technical constraints of a high-end film pipeline.

You will work within a cross-functional team, collaborating directly with Modelers to define surface topology and Look-Development TDs to ensure that your textures react predictably and beautifully under various lighting conditions.

• Surface Realism: Develop intricate textures for organic creatures and humans, focusing on skin shaders, displacement, and fine-grain details that withstand 4K and 8K scrutiny.
• Versatility: Pivot between organic sculpting/painting and hard-surface environmental assets, ensuring consistent quality across all production needs.
• Hybrid Workflows: Utilize a blend of hand-painted artistry, procedural node-based workflows, and photogrammetry data to achieve the required look.
• Technical Integration: Ensure all assets are optimized for the ILM pipeline, maintaining clean node networks and efficient data management.
• Show
  
  Collaboration:
  
  Work under the guidance of Show Supervisors to iterate on artistic notes and refine the “visual language” of the project.
• Mentorship: For Senior and Lead levels, you will be expected to support Junior artists, refine studio best practices, and contribute to the evolution of our texturing toolsets.

• Portfolio/Reel: A professional-grade showcase of photorealistic texture work. We want to see how you handle specular breakup, subsurface scattering, and complex weathered surfaces.
• Software Expertise: Mastery of Foundry Mari is essential. You should be comfortable working in a high-resolution, multi-tile (UDIM) environment.
• Procedural Proficiency:
  
  Experience with
  Substance Designer/Painter for non-destructive, procedural material creation.
• Data Processing: Familiarity with processing photogrammetry and scanned data to create base textures for digital doubles.
• Artistic Eye: Exceptional attention to visual detail, including an understanding of color theory, value, and real-world aging/wear patterns.
• Collaboration: A team-first attitude. VFX is a collaborative sport, and the ability to take and give constructive feedback is vital.

• Proficiency in Katana and Nuke for look-development testing.
• Understanding of Python or scripting for workflow automation.
• Mastery of UV mapping principles and optimizing layouts for maximum texel density.
• Experience with industry-standard renderers (e.g.,
  Render…