We are looking for an Art Director to join our growing team in Madrid, Spain. This is an opportunity for a current Artist that wants to take on managing a project and work with a small team to craft medium sized but impactful experiences.

At aheartfulofgames we value independence and flexibility on a mostly horizontal organizational structure. Until now Art Directing duties have been managed by the Creative Director, but recent and expected growth has made us look for somebody who can lead the existing art team and maintain a cohesive and impactful visual style that makes our games look unique.

As a Lead Artist you will work alongside the creative director to help guide the stylistic direction of our current multi-platform project (based on a very high-visibility media IP), as to keep it both true to the source material while adding a unique twist to its visual identity that makes it stand out. For that you will create either concept art or key reference assets to serve as a guide.

You will also work with the Producer and your Art Team to make sure the workload is managed efficiently and that each sprint’s deliverables are turned in on-time, of a high enough quality, reasonably scoped and do not stress the team beyond what is reasonably expected. You will be responsible to keep up to date with the different possibilities and processes available for games within the scope and platforms we usually target.

Because of our size, structure and ethics, we are looking for a very hands-on Lead Artist, one who can research tools and processes as needed, is not afraid of trying new approaches and can lead by example. Most importantly we want somebody who can work with the creative director and the whole team to coalesce the team’s vision into a cohesive whole that makes use of everybody’s strengths and input.

Requisitos mínimos

-Experience as an Artist in at least one released project.
-Ability to lead a creative team through a full project, establish a strong visual identity and acquire the buy-in from the entire team.
-Ability to communicate a stylistic vision through references and/or concept art.
-Knowledge of all the different production processes for game art (rigging, modeling, texturing, animation…).
-Knowledge of optimization techniques for last gen platforms.
-Up to date knowledge of techniques, processes and software used in art development.
-Knowledge of project management tools (Trello, Jira, HackNPlan…).
-Excellent communication skills.
-Fluent English and Spanish.

Requisitos deseados

-Experience as a technical artist and/or concept artist.
-Knowledge of node-based shader tools (ideally Unity’s shadergraph).
-Passion for stylized and non-photorealistic styles.

Responsabilidades

-Research and establish a clear artistic vision for all the different visual elements (cutscenes, UI, models, animations, FXs…) alongside the Creative Director.
-Break down the established style into clear guidelines and communicate them to the art team.
-Break down art production into relevant, interdependent tasks.
-Time each task along with the task coordinators and schedule both the short and long term art production, with sensible buffer times.
-Supervise the team’s work and maintain a unity of vision, expected quality and timely delivery.
-Anticipate problems further down the line and propose adjustments and solutions to avoid them.
-Manage emergencies and team members’ specific circumstances.

Beneficios

-While most of our team works on a hybrid schedule, Producers and Leads are expected to work partly onsite (depending on the project’s status, size, etc…).
-Very flexible working hours.
-Permanent, full time contract.
-Great working environment.
-Work on very recognizable and visible IPs and put your personal touch on them.