Low-Poly Game Models & Animation

About the project

We are developing MARAOTH: Age of Kharos, an indie dark-fantasy turn-based tactical RPG with a stylized low-poly 3D art direction. We are looking for a freelance 3D Character Animator / Rigger experienced with Blender, game-ready skeletal animation, reusable rigs, and Godot 4-compatible GLB/glTF export. The goal is not cinematic animation. We need clean, readable, efficient animations designed for tactical gameplay and reusable across multiple characters. Game Overview Combat takes place on a 5x5 tactical grid with a party of 4 characters. The combat camera is fixed or nearly fixed, using a 3/4 top-down / isometric-style view, so animation readability and strong silhouettes are more important than subtle facial or finger animation. The game includes: - 6 playable races - 8 masterclasses - 16 subclasses - modular armor - multiple weapon types - summons, companions and transformed creatures Playable classes include tanks, melee fighters, ranged characters, spellcasters, healers, summoners and support characters. Main Technical Goal We want to establish a shared humanoid animation pipeline. Whenever technically possible, playable humanoid races should use the same base humanoid skeleton or be compatible through retargeting. We want to avoid creating separate animation libraries for every race or subclass. The first major task will likely be creating or validating a: MARAOTH Master Humanoid Rig Once approved, this skeleton should remain consistent throughout production. Important requirements: - consistent bone naming - consistent hierarchy - consistent rest/bind pose - reusable animations - clean skinning - predictable root bone - efficient bone count - no unnecessary deformation bones - no skeleton modifications without prior approval Character Customization Characters will use modular equipment. Armor is divided into: - Helm - Chest - Gloves - Legs - Boots Each subclass has its own visual identity and color palette. The only class using true heavy armor is the Guardian. Other classes use medium armor, light armor or cloth depending on their role. Characters may also use: - different head presets - hairstyles - facial hair - hair colors - skin tones - racial features Animations must therefore work correctly with modular character parts. Weapons / Combat Examples Some important class-specific equipment: Protector - giant shield - no weapon - heavy armor - defensive and interception-based animations Juggernaut - two smaller shields - heavy armor - aggressive tank / crowd control Disciple Paladin - one-handed hammer - tome/focus in off-hand Oathbreaker - darker necrotic Paladin theme Werebear / Weretiger - humanoid form plus dedicated transformed creature model - transformed forms use fixed models Battlemage - sword - blood-magic focus - melee / close-range combat Bloodmage - ranged blood magic - magical focus Turret Master - giant crossbow - three deployable turrets Puppet Master - same giant crossbow weapon family - autonomous golem companion Warlock - spellcaster - two small ranged demon companions Demon Hunter - bow - autonomous melee demonic companion Holy Seer - cloth/light armor - healing/support magic Demonic Seer - cloth/light armor - curse / poison / damage-over-time magic Chronomancer - hooded cloth/light outfit - time manipulation Lawbringer - hooded cloth/light outfit - magical law / authority theme Non-Humanoid Characters Some units will need their own dedicated rigs and animation sets: - Werebear - Weretiger - Puppet Master Golem - Warlock demons - Demon Hunter companion These do not need to share the humanoid skeleton. Engineer Turrets The Turret Master uses three static deployables: - Ballista — single-target offense - Tesla Turret — electrical / Tesla damage - Repair Turret — healing/support These may use simple mechanical rigs. Possible animations: - deploy - idle - aim - fire - recoil - damaged - destroyed Animation Style Animations should be: - stylized - readable - slightly exaggerated where useful - efficient - game-ready - suitable for a tactical camera The game is turn-based, so we prefer clear poses and fast readable actions rather than highly realistic motion capture. Shared Humanoid Animation Set The initial reusable library may include: - Idle - Combat Idle - Walk - Run if needed - Hit Reaction - Heavy Hit Reaction - Stun - Death - Victory - Generic Melee Attack - Generic Ranged Attack - Generic Spell Cast - Generic Buff Cast - Generic Defensive Action Movement is grid-based, so most animations should preferably be in-place. Character movement and displacement can be handled by Godot game logic. Root motion should only be used where specifically required. Subclass-Specific Animations Some classes will require custom animations for signature abilities and ultimates. Examples: - shield bash - push / pull attacks - bow attacks - giant crossbow attacks - blood magic - healing - curse casting - time manipulation - law-based magic - transformations - companion commands - ultimate abilities Ultimate animations should feel important but remain reasonably short to preserve combat pacing. Technical Requirements Engine: Godot 4 Preferred final format: GLB / glTF 2.0 Source format: Blender .blend All animations must be: - baked before export - correctly named - separated into clean clips - trimmed correctly - looped correctly where needed - compatible with Godot 4 - free from unsupported Blender-only constraints - exported with correct transforms Example animation naming: Idle Combat_Idle Walk Hit Stun Death Victory Attack_Melee_01 Attack_Ranged_01 Cast_Generic Subclass-specific examples: Protector_Shield_Bash Juggernaut_Push Battlemage_Attack_01 Bloodmage_Cast_01 DemonHunter_Bow_Attack Chronomancer_Cast_Time Deliverables Typical deliverables: SOURCE/ Character_or_Animations.blend EXPORT/ Character_or_Animations.glb PREVIEW/ AnimationPreview.mp4 If working directly on character rigs: Character.blend Character.glb Textures, if required: BaseColor.png Normal.png Roughness.png Emission.png Initial Milestone The first milestone would preferably be: 1. Master humanoid skeleton 2. Idle 3. Walk 4. Hit Reaction 5. Death 6. Generic Melee Attack 7. Generic Spell Cast We will test these directly inside Godot 4 before moving to the full production pipeline. This first milestone is very important because all future humanoid characters, modular armor and animations will depend on it. Ideal Freelancer We are looking for someone experienced with: - Blender - 3D character rigging - skeletal animation - stylized / low-poly characters - game-ready animation - GLB / glTF 2.0 export - Godot 4 or similar game engines - reusable humanoid rigs - retargeting - modular character systems Experience with tactical RPGs, turn-based RPGs or stylized indie games is a strong advantage. Project Priorities Our priorities are: 1. Godot compatibility 2. reusable skeleton and animations 3. clean technical pipeline 4. gameplay readability 5. strong class identity 6. low-poly visual consistency 7. reasonable production cost 8. animation polish We prefer smart reusable systems over large quantities of one-off animations. Please include in your application: - portfolio - examples of rigging work - examples of game-ready animations - experience with Blender - experience with GLB/glTF export - any Godot experience - your estimated cost for the initial rig + animation test milestone

Skills required