Animator Internship

It’s a really exciting time to be at Space Ape Games. We’ve created a fast-paced environment that promotes genuine autonomy and we have projects at all stages of the development cycle. We launched our hit music game, Beatstar, in 2021 and we’re following its success with Countrystar less than two years later. We also officially launched our first puzzle game in 2023, Chrome Valley Customs, and we’re focusing on scaling this game to further global success. On top of all this, we’re running several mature live games and working on some exciting new projects behind the scenes!

Space Ape is offering an Animator the opportunity to join our studio on an eight-week paid artist intern programme. We’re looking for aspiring creatives, passionate hobbyists, students of the craft and anyone who has decided on games as their career path. You will work collaboratively in cross-functional groups with designers, coders, producers, and more.

At Space Ape, our goal is to make great games with great people, and we are always looking for talented people to enrich our work and community. We believe it’s important for our studio to reflect the diversity of society and the worldwide audiences for whom we make our games.

Exciting internship opportunities await recent graduates in Animation.

The ideal Intern will showcase the following qualities:

• Curious & hungry to learn
• Passionate about mobile games
• Proactive & resourceful in finding the answers
• Comfortable with feedback
• Confident in making your own decisions
• Self-motivated: Because you have to want it
• Not afraid to ask questions or seek help
• Positive attitude

Where is it?

The internship will take place in our central London office. Depending on the internship stage, you will work onsite between 2-5 days a week. The internship will last for eight weeks, beginning September 16th, 2024.

What will I be doing?

• Work alongside programmers and designers to ensure animations align with technical and game design requirements
• Be part of the creation process of in-game production pipelines
• Level up your skills and techniques through mentorship from industry experts
• Gain familiarity with industry-standard production tools
• Assist in optimisation and debugging processes to address issue
• Brainstorm, ideate and play a part in planning new features
• Help us ship builds and be part of our agile development practices
• Participate in team art discussions, critiques, and evaluations

What do I need to have?

• A degree level education in art/animation and recent graduate status
• A portfolio demonstrating a solid appreciation of animation fundamentals
• Good understanding of animation principles
• Good understanding of a 3D animation software, preferably Maya
• Familiarity with game engines - Unity and/or Unreal Engine. Or willingness to learn
• Experience in developing in-game animation cycles
• Bonus: Experience in crafting story-driven animations and marketing cutscenes
• An avid interest in all types of art
• A professional, proactive & collaborative work attitude
• Passion for games & mobile gaming
• A "raise the bar" attitude

How do I apply?

Please fill out our application in Workable and include a Cover Letter and link to your portfolio telling us why you think you would be the right candidate. As an Art team member, you'll need to be a great artist and communicator, collaborate with your team, problem-solve, anticipate challenges, and be comfortable receiving feedback. Take your time with your Cover Letter, as this will be one of the main ways for us to get to know our hopefuls.

Recent grads who are within the first year post-graduation are eligible to apply. You must have the right to work in the UK and be able to travel to central London 2-5 days a week.

Why Space Ape?

• Did we mention we are globally launching two games this year? Immerse yourself in meaningful projects and become a valuable part of the team
• Hone your skills alongside the industry’s best talent and gain unparalleled experiences through mentorship
• Enjoy our company-wide events, launch parties and studio perks!
• Our interns go on to do amazing things! There is potential for full-time employment with us following a successful internship
• Space to innovate and learn new tech/tools

About us

Space Ape is an award winning mobile game studio in Central London and founded in 2012. Since then our five games have been played by over 170m people and have generated half a billion in revenue. We have around 150 employees, from 30 different nationalities and diverse backgrounds united in a mission to make the world's next great game. In 2017 we began a strategic partnership with Supercell (makers of Clash of Clans and part of Tencent).

Our music game, Beatstar, reached #1 download in 24 countries and is the top grossing music game globally. If country music is more your thing check out Country Star, a recent follow up to Beatstar!

Chrome Valley Customs, our new car restoration puzzle game, brings an innovative twist to cater to a large underserved segment of the world's most successful game genre. Within the first two months it became the top grossing car game globally and we're just getting started!

Space Ape was voted Best Game Developer, and Beatstar Game of the Year in the 2022 Pocket Gamer Mobile Game Awards in BAFTA London 2022. Its Game Lead, Charmie Kim, won Best Newcomer at the Develop Awards 2022, and it was short listed as one of Google Play User Choice Awards (Dec 2021). Space Ape won Mobile Developer of the Year in the Pocket Gamer Awards 2023.

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