This job might no longer be available.
Principal Art Director - Arena
4 years ago
For decades, Wizards of the Coast has connected people around the world through play and imagination, with core games that have defined their genres - Magic: The Gathering® and Dungeons & Dragons®. We want to offer more ways to connect and play as the company grows. And that’s where you come in.
The opening is for a self-motivated, keen and versatile Principal Art Director who has proven ability to manage and encourage a team of game artists, ensuring that visual elements are of the highest quality and technically compliant. This person will have strong skills in driving concept and reference, 2D and 3D art together with a deep understanding of technical pipelines and familiarity with optimizing and implementing art assets for game engines. This role resides on our Magic the Gathering: Arena team.
Day to day responsibilities for this wizard
- Lead 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 a unified vision is maintained and that artists have clear benchmarks for asset production.
- Run asset creation and quality bar for outsourced art
- Find artistic solutions which balance creative vision with production realities.
- Review artists’ work and give feedback to ensure the highest 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.
- Develop and own art creation guidelines and pipeline specifications
- Work with production to ensure that realistic schedules are created, tracked and optimized.
- Keep informed about latest advances in game art technique and technology
- Develop and guide guidelines and process for leading art outsourcing
- Be an active mentor, leader and role model for the art team.
- Work to maintain morale and create an atmosphere of creativity and enthusiasm.
- Maintain contact with other studio projects to offer expertise and advice where needed.
- Be actively involved with recruitment, vetting candidates, performing interviews / recommending hires.
- Create training materials and events which develop the skills of the artists and raise the quality bar within the studio.
AM I QUALIFIED? (Knowledge, Skills and Abilities)
Experience Creating and Casting these Spells:
- 2 shipped titles as an Art Director, 5 or more years at a Senior Level or above.
- Experience of working on a published AAA game from conception to release.
- Strong portfolio demonstrating a high level of artistic creativity in one or more game art disciplines across a range of styles.
- Expert knowledge of Photoshop.
- Deep understanding of the latest techniques in 3D modeling
- Good Knowledge of 3DSMax, ZBrush and Substance Painter.
Knowledge, Abilities and Characteristics of the Ideal Wizard:
- Technical mindset with experience of implementing assets in game engines.
- Understanding of fundamental art theory including principles of color, light, composition and anatomy.
- Shown ability to balance aesthetics with performance and usability.
- Confirmed ability to present clear documentation communicating ideas both within the art team and to external clients.
- Excellent communication skills (spoken and written).
- Positive influence and leadership skills - Motivates and encourages others to generate new ideas.
- Good organization skills. Anticipates, prioritizes and plans own work.
- Considerable understanding of video games and broad video game culture.
- Ambitious and agile.
Education and Training:
- College Diploma/Degree in 2D/3D, video game development or equivalent training/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.
Create Your Profile — Game companies can contact you with their relevant job openings.