Videogame Lead Artist (Remote)

Videogame Lead Artist (Remote)
Seismic Squirrel LLC
Job Title: Videogame Lead Artist
The Game: A vehicular tactical RPG videogame set in an alternate history 1930s New York City.
Role: Create various 2D digital videogame art.
Experience: 5+ years of professional videogame 2D art experience.
Must have successfully shipped a game title within this role.
Location: USA or Canada (Remote) - Must reside within the UTC-4 to UTC-8 timezones.
Team Size: 26
Pay: $32 - $50 USD per hour - Depends on skills and experience.
Job Type: Contractor
Portfolio Required: All applicants must submit a portfolio of their artwork.
Overview
We are looking for a creative and resourceful Videogame Lead Artist with experience and skills creating various types of 2D digital art for our game, a logical and systemic thinker, with an iterative approach to development, a collaborative spirit, excellent communication skills, and an enthusiasm for RPG and tactical videogames. The ideal candidate enjoys working with talented fellow artists, writers, designers, engineers, and management, with a drive to create a fun and cohesive gameplay experience.
The ideal candidate communicates effectively in a small cross-functional team environment, clearly presenting their ideas to stakeholders for signoff. They should bring a passion for working within an iterative development environment, bringing a collaborative spirit and an enthusiasm for videogames.
This is a remote contractor position which requires regular collaboration online during the core work hours of 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM Pacific, attending relevant team meetings (e.g. daily scrum, retrospectives, sprint planning, and showcase meetings). Occasional calls during late evenings, nights, and early mornings should be expected for international meetings with outside contributors. H-1B transfers and sponsorships are not available at this time.
The Company
Seismic Squirrel is a close-knit fully remote videogame studio with a passion for developing well-crafted story-based games. Our nimble size allows for everyone to have a voice in the projects we create, demanding the ability to be both detail-oriented and flexible.
For more information about Seismic Squirrel, go to http://www.SeismicSquirrel.com/
Quests

• Create 2D art assets according to the tasks' prompts, including concept and production work, accurately conveying mood, tone, and setting.
• Create various types of 2D artwork, including characters, environment interiors and exteriors, vehicles, props, as well as marketing pieces as needed.
• Create full orthographic views of mechanical or environmental assets for use by 3D modelers.
• Create story boards and suggestions for animatics for use in cinematic development.
• Provide interesting and effective visual solutions for technical and artistic challenges.
• Work with the Art Team and Narrative Team's leadership to ensure that artwork accurately reflects the game's design and themes.
• Maintain artistic quality throughout the process.
• Actively collaborate with the development team, openly communicating on progress and problems, helping us to set realistic project timelines and expectations.
• Participate in internal game testing and feedback.
• Balance and prioritize tasks to meet deadlines, working within agreed timeframes and budgets.
• Ensure that technical specifications - such as resolutions, naming conventions, file sizes, tile dimensions, aspect ratios, file types, texture budgets, geometry budgets, etc. - are adhered to by the artists.
• Assist in scheduling of tasks, writing task briefs, and leading conversations with other stakeholders, like design and engineering.
• Provide feedback to artists via paint-overs to ensure consistency with narrative and preserve the artistic vision of the project.
• Provide preliminary evaluation and approval of assets for final review by the Art Director.
• Mentor junior artists, meeting one-on-one to better understand their needs, desires, and career goals.

Character Stats

• 5+ years of experience as a 2D digital artist through the full lifecycle of game development.
• Experienced in a leadership role.
• Able to provide clear, concise, and timely art feedback.
• Able to understand project needs, scheduling, prioritization, and dependencies of other disciplines.
• Strong illustration skills, able to create final, polished art from scratch while working from a brief.
• Deep understanding of perspective, lighting.
• Able to work within an established artistic style.
• An enthusiasm for and a familiarity with the art styles of many games and genres, past and present.
• Shares our love for history and skilled in historical research.
• Strong self-discipline, motivated, a self-starter with a drive for excellence.
• Organized, detail-oriented, able to work fast and loose or carefully with quality when each is needed.
• Courteous and patient, able to give and receive constructive and inspirational feedback gracefully.
• Able to work effectively with people having a variety of personalities and backgrounds.
• Excellent problem-solving skills, resourceful, able to find solutions when needed.
• Adept at balancing and prioritizing tasks to meet deadlines, working within agreed timeframes and budgets.
• Adaptable: The job can change according to the needs at hand and requires wearing various hats.
• Skilled at working remotely using various collaboration tools.
• Possess strong written, visual, and verbal English language communication and presentation skills.
• Passionate for the videogame industry and a desire to grow within it.
• Proficient in art tools, including Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator.
• Proficient in business productivity tools, such as Microsoft Word, Excel, and Visio.
• Passionate to learn new tools and technologies.

Bonus Points

• Proficient in Substance Painter is a plus.
• 3D modeling and texturing skills.

If this sounds like an exciting opportunity for you and you're located in the USA or Canada, please submit both your cover letter and résumé to Seismic Squirrel, along with a link to your art portfolio.