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Lead Character Concept Artist
2 years ago
Description
2D and 3D skills are highly desirable for this position.
Atomhawk is looking for a talented, experienced, and passionate Lead Character Concept Artist to join our team in the beautiful city of Vancouver, Canada!
As a Lead Character Concept Artist at Atomhawk, you’ll be responsible for overseeing the work being done by the Character team on a variety of AAA video game projects, while also getting to work on high-profile projects yourself! As a result, we are looking for someone capable of inspiring others through a combination of hands-on, high-quality artistry, along with a proven track record of being able to lead other artists of all levels to succeed in a positive and supportive way.
This is a key role within the company that will see the successful candidate working closely with the management group to shape the future of the studio for years to come, ensuring the team is equipped to deliver industry-defining art in the most efficient ways.
What we’d love to see from you is an eye-catching portfolio that demonstrates your ability and experience designing and developing industry quality character artwork. We want to see all of it - from initial idea generating sketches all the way through to rendered, finished pieces. We’re looking for people who can effortlessly capture a pose, who obsess over anatomy, and who will take the time to study and appreciate how a character’s clothing would naturally fold and droop in a specific pose. Ultimately, we’re looking for someone who understands and enjoys all the little details that go into making successful character designs and concept art.
Atomhawk is incredibly proud to have an industry leading team producing top tier art and design across all stages of the development life cycle, for leading brands that include WB Games, Xbox Game Studios, 2K, EA, and many more. If the thought of joining a supportive and passionate team that helps shape the games of tomorrow has you excited, then we encourage you to apply now!
Please note: This role is located in Vancouver, BC and we are ideally looking to recruit a candidate who has the necessary visas and right to work in this location. Fully remote applications will also be considered on the basis that candidates are able to work with us on the PST time zone.
Portfolio Requirements
Functional Responsibilities:
- Lead, support, and mentor the Character Art team.
- Set goals, help define process, review progress, assess artist performance, and ensure the consistent delivery of AAA artwork to schedule.
- Support the studio management team to enhance Character design methods and stay ahead of innovations.
- Design and develop characters for a variety of different video game projects (different genres, different art styles),
- Use your creativity to showcase strong idea generation in the early stages of the character design process,
- Deliver a sense of style and personality to your characters that are appealing to the target audience,
- Design and develop costumes and props for your characters that help bring them to life and tell a story,
- Produce highly rendered, polished character art for concepts, marketing, box art etc.
We look for the following things in people who want to join our team:
- Quality at all stages of the process – Creation of artwork that is well presented and defined from sketch through to final polish. You can see examples of our finished work on our website,
- Design thinking – Solving creative problems through innovative design, balancing form and function,
- Technical skill – Fluency in Photoshop and an understanding of complimentary software and tools,
- 3D skills - Experience using 3D software such as Core, Mudbox, Blender, 3DsMax, Z-Brush and Maya,
- Art fundamentals – A strong grasp of colour, light, composition, anatomy, perspective and depth,
- Variety and iteration – The ability to provide multiple creative options, then iterate upon them as projects progress,
- Adaptability – Switching quickly and fluidly to new requirements and processes when required,
- Working to a brief – Understanding creative briefs, then considering elements such as context, timescales and creative constraints when solving tasks,
- Time management – Creation of high-quality work within allocated timescales,
- Collaboration – Receptive to taking feedback and working together with team-mates and clients.
About Atomhawk
Atomhawk produces the very best in cutting-edge creative conceptualisation, visualisation, and realisation. Our client list includes major names - 2K, EA, Microsoft, Sony and WB Games all feature. And we like variety. Every project is different from the last. The spectrum covers gritty, hard-hitting Mortal Kombat, irreverent and stylised Surgeon Simulator 2, comic book superheroes, nostalgic childhood favourites and all things in between. Whichever franchise is on today’s agenda - DC, Halo, Marvel, Mortal Kombat and Warhammer - we move through their worlds with ease and creative curiosity.
The work our team produces is world-class. We’ve celebrated that fact in three artbooks. Each one features concept art, tutorials and professional tips. Volume 3 was created to mark the studio’s 10th anniversary, and was displayed and sold at the Great North Museum: Hancock in Newcastle, where we held the exhibition Other Worlds: The Art of Atomhawk in 2020. You can
take a virtual tour of the exhibition here.
Our output hasn’t gone unnoticed. We received Best Companies’ 3 Star Accreditation 2021 and Top Companies North East 2021. We hold the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade, as well as the TIGA Star Award 2021. We were also named Best Art/Animation/Trailer Supplier at the 2021 Develop Star Awards.
Creativity thrives through diversity, not conformity. Every Atomhawk applicant and employee is afforded space and freedom to be their true self, with no fear of prejudice or persecution. During the application process, you won’t be judged on your name, your gender, your sexuality, your ethnicity, your age, your religion, or any other factor unrelated to your ability to do the job.
Benefits
- Competitive salary
- Annual bonus scheme
- Flexible work schedule with both in-studio and optional from home working
- 8 days of paid training & development time annually, plus free access to an extensive library of tutorials/courses
- Extended health & wellness benefits
- 5% RRSP employer matching
- 21 days of paid vacation annually (+1 for every year with us up to a max. of 25)
- $500 health & fitness annual reimbursement
- Monthly and quarterly team activities (cinema trips, lunches/dinners, go karting, arcades etc)
- Free snacks and drinks in the studio
As well as having the chance to work on some incredible projects, Atomhawk offers a unique environment for those wanting to be surrounded by like-minded creative people. We have one of the largest in-house teams of specialist digital artists in the world, providing a collaborative community that works, develops and socialises together.
Atomhawk provides structured career development and training pathways for staff at all levels. We offer flexible working hours and a strict ‘No-Crunch’ culture, meaning overtime is not required within the art team.
Atomhawk is part of Sumo Group Ltd, one of the UK’s leading videogame developers.
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