Art Director (Games)

Skybound is looking for a visually inventive Art Director to help lay the foundations of a new, unannounced project, building and leading an art team to deliver amazing characters, spectacular environments and stunning visual effects in a customized UE5 engine. The Art Director will define the unique look of our game, lead a team of multi-disciplined artists, and help build and manage relationships with multiple external partners.

As Art Director, you will lead the creation of an inspiring and distinctive visual style. You will help translate a well-known and much-loved property to games as it has never been seen before. You will own the look, end-to-end, driving visual development development, character design, amazing environments and effects, and advanced rendering and lighting techniques. We will help you build your cross functional dream team, and together we will turn concepts and prototypes into awe inspiring experiences for our players.

Reports: This position will report to the Executive Producer of Skybound Game Studios

Responsibilities: Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Define and champion the artistic vision of our game externally
• Work across disciplines to ensure a consistent vision
• Define performance standards and functional requirements
• Oversee outsourcing and concept materials
• Lead production of style guides and support materials
• Pilot new methods and advanced techniques to produce amazing characters and environments
• Ensure assets are optimized for target platforms while retaining artistic integrity
• Provide estimates, manage time, and hit deadlines to stay on track with deliverables
• Inspire, manage, and develop a team of artists

Basic Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in console or PC games as an Art Lead or similar role, with at least one shipped title
• Has shipped multiple games in an art-focused role: concept, character, environment, etc.
• Proficient in the creation of high-quality assets using Maya, Zbrush, Photoshop and Substance Painter
• Experience creating visuals in stylized and physical based materials
• Strong technical art skills with the ability to troubleshoot a game pipeline
• Proven experience with successfully interpreting 2D concepts into 3D assets
• Exceptional communication skills
• Ability to uphold high quality standards and honor commitments

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience building characters and environments in Unreal Engine
• Familiarity with asset tracking tools like Perforce and JIRA
• Experience with real-time, physically-based lighting
• Experience reviewing and providing feedback to internal teams and outsourcer vendors
• Passion for video game development, combat-oriented games and Skybound IP

Job Type: Regular, Full-Time

Salary Range: $140,000-180,000

• Actual base salary is dependent on several factors including but not limited to; market dynamics, location and region, experience, specialized skills/training (education), level of responsibility, budgetary considerations, tenure at the company (for current employees), etc.
• The salary range listed is just one component of the total compensation package for employees
• Compensation decisions are dependent on circumstances of each role

Skybound offers a wide array of benefits including medical, dental, vision, life insurance, flexible spending and dependent care accounts, as well as free counseling through our Employee Assistance Program (EAP). We also offer a 401K plan with 4% match, 12 weeks of paid parental leave, generous time off, wellness benefits, and tuition reimbursement. This role may also qualify for a possible discretionary bonus annually.

Company Overview

Skybound is a multiplatform content company working closely with creators and their intellectual properties, extending stories and universes to new platforms, including comics, television, film, tabletop and video games, books, digital content, events, and beyond. We are home to critically-acclaimed global franchises, including The Walking Dead and Invincible.

Skybound Games produces, publishes and distributes video and tabletop games across all genres, including the multi-million-unit selling The Walking Dead video game series. In addition to our wholly-owned franchises, we work with independent developers to foster and create original games with compelling characters and worlds, strong creator and artistic focus, and innovative approaches to engaging genres.

Equal Opportunity Employer

At Skybound we value diversity and are looking for extraordinary employees of all backgrounds! Skybound is an Equal Opportunity Employer and provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, citizenship, age, genetic information, disability, hair texture or veteran status. In addition to federal law requirements, Skybound complies with all applicable state and local laws governing nondiscrimination.

Skybound will consider applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the CA Fair Chance Act and Los Angeles Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance.

Skybound Entertainment