Mobile Game VFX and Animation Designer

Animation Designer — Mobile Rhythm Game We are developing a mobile rhythm game and are looking for a talented animation designer to create and implement all in-game animation assets. This is a project-based role with the potential for ongoing collaboration. --- About the project A mobile rhythm game (portrait 9:16) featuring a 4-lane note highway with a concert stage atmosphere. Gameplay involves gem-shaped notes scrolling down colored lanes toward hit zone buttons at the bottom of the screen. The visual style is high-energy, cinematic, and VFX-heavy — neon glow, fire, electricity, and particle effects throughout. Reference screenshots and a full animation spec document will be provided upon engagement. --- What you'll be delivering Video loop assets (pre-rendered, seamless) • Lane energy streaks — 4 vertical fire+electricity beam loops (one per lane color: purple, gold, green, blue), portrait 9:16, 1080×1920, 60fps, 3–4 sec seamless loop • Showtime bar — horizontal rainbow lightning loop for the bottom activation bar Code-driven animations (CSS / game engine) • Note tails — scrolling hold-note tails with a live "burning edge" that depletes while held; snap/dissolve on early release • Hit zone burst — shockwave ring expansion + colored particle explosion on PERFECT hit • Lane flash — full-lane column flash (~80ms strobe) on PERFECT hit • Gem approach glow — brightness and ring pulse as gem nears the hit zone • Score / combo pop — number roll-up, PERFECT text scale+fade, combo bounce per hit • Star Power activation — full-screen flash, gold particle burst, lane color swap, badge drop-in • Progress bar — smooth fill animation, star bounce-scale on milestone unlock • Crowd & spotlight — background crowd sway, sweeping spotlights, surge on big combos • Guitar watermark — slow opacity breathe, gold glow during Star Power • Health hearts — shake+pop on miss, urgent pulse at low health, bounce cascade on restore • Showtime charge — bar fill animation leading to full activation eruption --- Requirements • Strong portfolio demonstrating mobile game VFX and animation (rhythm games, action games, or particle-heavy UI a strong plus) • Proficiency in at least one of: After Effects + video export, Unity VFX Graph, Spine 2D, or CSS/canvas animation • Ability to produce seamless looping video assets (MP4/WebM) • Understanding of game feel — snappy, frame-precise feedback animations • Comfortable working from a written animation spec and reference screenshots • Ability to deliver assets in formats compatible with mobile game engines (Unity / Unreal / custom) Nice to have • Experience with rhythm game mechanics and note highway aesthetics • Familiarity with shader-based glow, bloom, and particle effects • Experience with AI video generation tools (Runway, Kling, Sora) for pre-rendered asset creation --- Deliverables and format • Video loops: MP4 (H.264) + WebM, 1080×1920, transparent background where applicable • Code animations: CSS keyframes or Unity Animator clips, documented and commented • All assets delivered with source files --- To apply Please share: 1. Portfolio or showreel (links preferred) 2. 2–3 examples most relevant to this style (VFX, particles, glow effects) 3. Your preferred tools and workflow 4. Estimated timeline and rate for the full scope above We will respond to all applicants with reference materials and answer any scoping questions before work begins.