Art Director

We're looking for an ambitious, driven, and creative Head of Art to join an incredibly successful Canadian independent studio to use their extensive leadership and art direction experience to drive the studio’s talented Art team forward.
As the Head of Art, you will play a pivotal role in shaping the visual identity and artistic direction of this studio's games and how they take advantage of the tools provided by Unreal 5.
You will lead the Art team at the studio, providing mentorship and direction to each of the Art Leads. You’ll collaborate closely with other departments to ensure the seamless integration of art assets into game environments, and use your Unreal Engine expertise to optimize workflows, implementing cutting-edge techniques, and pushing the boundaries of graphical fidelity to deliver stunning visuals that captivate players.
Your responsibilities…
Oversee all Art disciplines including Character, Hard Surface, Environment, Concept, Animation, and VFX

Manage Art Leads and external art outsourcing groups, fostering positive morale and high-quality standards across all the Art disciplines

Develop and implement art pipelines, tools, and workflows optimized for Unreal Engine 5 to streamline production and achieve efficient asset integration

Stay abreast of the latest developments in Unreal Engine 5 and emerging trends in the industry, leveraging this knowledge to continuously enhance the quality and innovation of games

Serve as the main contact for Artists regarding aesthetic and technical considerations for all artwork

Translate the art needs of each game into a strong art direction that considers the visual appeal and the art’s impact on the player experience and meets the technical performance requirements of the game

Assist in maintaining art schedules with the production team and ensuring timelines are met

Conducting regular check-in meetings with the Art department and direct reports

Manage the recruitment process for top art talent

The skills and experience you’ll bring to the role…
~ End-to-end game development experience as a Lead Artist/Art Director

~ Hands-on experience as an Art Director on critical and commercial game titles

~ Shipped 3 or more titles, with at least one on Unreal Engine as a Lead Artist or Art Director

~5 or more years of 3D game art production experience for Unreal Engine, including art quality assurance and outsourcing quality assurance experience

~ Expertise in Unreal Engine 4/5, including a deep understanding of its pipelines, capacities, technical constraints, lighting systems, material authoring, and optimization techniques

~ Experience of building live game services

~ Experience with outsourcing and co-development

~ Detailed understanding of art, animation, and visual effects pipelines, with a knack for identifying and suggesting improvements

~ Proficiency in industry-standard 2D and 3D applications such as Maya, 3ds Max, Blender, Zbrush, Substance Painter, Substance Designer, Photoshop etc

~ Familiarity with bleeding-edge art techniques

~2 or more years of leadership or management experience

~ Comfortable directing, supporting and mentoring Artists of all levels across multiple disciplines, fostering growth and plotting coherent career trajectories

~ Strong organizational and communication skills to communicate both internally and externally

~ Ability to give and receive feedback professionally

~ Ability to convey artistic concepts and goals verbally or visually

~ Passionate about games and play games in your spare time


Perks and benefits include…
~ Health and dental benefits

~ Wellness spending account

~ Retirement savings plan

~3 weeks annual leave plus 2 weeks studio shutdown over the festive period and every other Friday off work

~ Support towards transport costs


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