This job might no longer be available.

Art Director

At Wizards of the Coast, we connect people around the world through play and imagination. From our genre defining games like Magic: The Gathering® and Dungeons & Dragons® to our growing multiverse, we continue to innovate and build new ways to foster friendship and connection. That’s where you come in.

We are looking for an experienced, inventive Art Director to join the leadership team of our New IP Studio to help us build a new, digital game-centered franchise. This role will be responsible for driving the overall visual style and tone for the project. Our world is vibrant, fun, and full of energy. Dark themes are great for other games, but our AD must love color and thrive on telling the story of the world with iconic silhouettes and minimalistic adornment. They will build the game art team as the studio grows, identify staffing and other art needs, and orchestrate creative solutions that help us meet our goal of crafting an amazing new game and world.

This person will have strong skills in driving concept and reference art, in both 2D and 3D, together with a deep understanding of technical pipelines and familiarity with optimizing and implementing art assets for game engines. The AD will also be a key contributor to the growth, culture, and ultimate success of the studio!

What you'll do:

• Work with other creative leaders on the team to create the vision and overall tone for our new game.
• Develop the visual look and feel of the world, balancing gameplay clarity with an original, ownable style that can be translated to various media.
• Build a team of artists, working with the Creative Manager to supplement internal art staff with freelancers and/or potential contract studio partners as needed.
• Establish a unified vision for teams of internal and external artists producing 2D, 3D and VFX assets for games on multiple platforms.
• Drive the creation of art and ensure that the vision is maintained and that artists have clear benchmarks for asset production.
• Define the quality bar for asset creation and outsourced art.
• Find artistic solutions which balance creative vision with production realities.
• Review artists’ work and give feedback to ensure that quality expectations are met.
• Collaborate with technical artists, designers and programmers to develop efficient and productive art pipelines and establish metrics which ensure artistic goals are met within technical performance targets.
• Produce assets to inspire and define art direction; mood videos, image mockups, etc.
• Keep yourself and the team informed about the latest advances in game art technique and technology
• Be an active mentor, leader and role model for the art team
• Work to maintain morale and create an atmosphere of creativity and enthusiasm.
• Be actively involved with recruitment, vetting candidates, performing interviews

What you'll bring:

• At least one shipped title as an Art Director, and five or more years at a Senior Level or above.
• Excellent communication skills (spoken and written).
• Positive influence and leadership skills - Motivates and encourages others to generate new ideas.
• Experience with early phase project development and ideation.
• Strong portfolio demonstrating a high level of artistic creativity in one or more game art disciplines.
• Expert knowledge of industry standard art and animation programs.
• Proven ability to balance aesthetics with performance and usability.
• College Degree in art, animation, video game development or equivalent experience.

We are an Equal Opportunity / Affirmative Action Employer

The above is intended to describe the general content of and the requirements for satisfactory performance in this position. It is not to be construed as an exhaustive statement of the duties, responsibilities, or requirements of the position.

We will ensure that individuals with disabilities are provided reasonable accommodation to participate in the job application or interview process, to perform essential job functions, and to receive other benefits and privileges of employment. If you are selected to move forward in our application process and need to request an accommodation, please let your recruiter or coordinator know.