Lead Character Concept Artist

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 spearhead a small team of talented artists on a project-by-project basis and play a key role in inspiring the art team through the creation of your own AAA quality concept artwork, and through your positive mentorship and artistic guidance of others.
What we’d love to see in your application is an eye-catching portfolio that demonstrates your ability and experience designing and developing AAA quality character artwork, particularly in the genres of Realism and Sci-Fi. We want to see all of it - from initial idea-generating design sketches all the way through to your highest quality final rendered images.
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. Although our roots are in Vancouver, we work with a remote, distributed team across Canada. If you are interested in an opportunity at Atomhawk Canada but are not presently residing in Canada, please note that we may be able to offer the right candidate assistance in immigrating/relocating.
Portfolio Requirements
Please download and read our portfolio guide , which provides detailed guidance on what we look for in artist portfolios. Download the guide from http://atomhawk.com/s/Atomhawk_Portfolio_Guide.pdf
As a Lead Character Concept Artist at Atomhawk, you will:

• Support the recruitment of additional high-quality artistic talent for the studio.
• Lead by example in the hands-on production of AAA quality character artwork across a variety of different genres and styles, inspiring others on the team to follow.
• Work with production to define strong plans for your projects and processes, ensuring they are set up for success and result in the delivery of AAA art.
• Engage with clients on calls to review/discuss project progress, showing a deep understanding of their creative needs, expectations, and timelines.
• Work with art leadership to periodically assess our art creation methodologies and assess new tools/technologies that may help to boost our quality and efficiency.
• Inspire, guide, and mentor other artists, both through your own work, and by providing artistic feedback/direction on theirs when required.

What You Bring

• The ability to produce compelling character art for Realistic / Sci-Fi properties while also displaying some agility in other genres and art styles.
• An expert ability in the use of both 2D and 3D tools to produce AAA character art.
• Experience working directly with clients in the creation of AAA character design.
• The ability to work well under pressure in a fast-paced creative environment.
• Experience mentoring and guiding other artists in a supportive, positive way.
• A passion, determination, and proven track record of being able to produce stunning AAA character artwork.
• Highly efficient workflows that allow you to maximize your time and consistently deliver compelling work to both quality and budget.

You Might Also Bring

• Experience in producing art using game engine technology (e.g., Unreal Engine 5).
• Experience/skill in designing and producing art outside of characters (environments, props, weapons, vehicles, etc).
• An educational background in design/art that serves as a foundation for your work.

About Atomhawk
Atomhawk produces the very best in cutting-edge creative conceptualisation, visualisation, and realisation. Our client list includes major names - Warner Bros, Sony, Microsoft, SEGA, Activision, 2K, EPIC, The Pokémon Company and Blizzard 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

• 5% RRSP employer matching
• 8 days of paid training & development time annually, plus free access to an extensive library of tutorials/courses
• Annual bonus scheme
• Flexible work schedule with both in-studio and optional from home working
• Monthly and quarterly team activities (cinema trips, lunches/dinners, go karting, arcades etc)
• Extended health & wellness benefits
• $500 health & fitness annual reimbursement
• Free snacks and drinks in the studio
• Flexible paid time off (unlimited), plus holiday closure between Christmas and New Years, as well as National Day for Truth and Reconciliation
• Competitive salary

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.