Senior Concept Artist

Who We Are:

Founded by an MMO legend who has led AAA teams for over 20 years, our new studio Fantastic Pixel Castle (FPC) is building an original fantasy IP from scratch. Players will be regularly engaged in our development process from early stages as part of our open and transparent studio culture, and we aim to craft an IP that will be worthy of their passion and dedication for decades to come. 

We are committed to being a fully remote and global studio, so that we can hire world-class people and have them live their best lives. We think top-heavy bureaucracy stifles creativity, so we aim to stay small as we focus on delivering a game and a world that players will love. We are fully-funded, and the team will share in all of our studio's successes. We're seeking talented teammates to join us in our journey so we encourage you to apply if you're interested, even if you're not sure you check all the boxes.

Position Overview:

Are you a talented Senior Concept Artist (Characters and Key Locations) that would want to join FPC to help shape the future of our brand new fantasy IP codenamed "GHOST"? FPC is seeking a concept artist to explore ideas and create concepts for our characters, creatures, and worlds. As our Senior Concept Artist, you will work closely with the Art Director, as well as the narrative and game teams, to create memorable and compelling designs that radiate personality. You will use your artistic expertise with color, composition, shape, and visual design to push our visual style. Your experience in character design will provide the inspiration to continue pushing the boundaries of our world's fashion, and armor designs, for characters and creatures in this new fantasy world. We are not just looking for an artist; we need a collaborative game developer who can contribute innovative ideas, collaborate with the team in these early stages of development to help bring our unique and compelling world to life. 

Responsibilities:

• Exemplifying a portfolio and concept art work that reflects proven game development experience with compelling designs that reflect your experience and love for creating compelling characters and new worlds.
• Incorporating interesting trends and non-traditional references into unique fantasy designs that occupy our worlds, ultimately supporting strong environmental storytelling
• Collaborating closely with the Art Director, the VP of Creative, Modelers, Designers, and Animators on a variety of unique designs that will enrich an extraordinary narrative that seamlessly aligns with the IP
• Delivering high-quality concept designs that inspire the team, and fulfill the requirements of the project’s game aesthetic and visual design

Requirements:

• A bachelor's degree (or equivalent certificate) in Art, Graphic Design, Game Development, or a related field
• 6+ years experience as a Senior Concept Artist within a game studio
• (10+ years with experience working on a live AAA game if applying at the Principal level) 
• AAA quality portfolio demonstrating exceptional skills in environment and level creation and a deep understanding of composition, shape & form, anatomy, lighting, and color
• Experience creating designs using inspiration from historical, fantasy, sci-fi, mainstream trends, and other pop-culture references
• Excellent communication skills, with a proven ability to articulate design concepts and rationales to other team members and stakeholders
• Capability for self-directed work and taking a brief prompt and/or idea and pushing the visual boundaries to create something inspiring
• Work well on a highly collaborative team, rapidly iterate on designs, in addition to providing constructive feedback to help refine ideas and steer the efforts of developers within, and outside, the Art department

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working on and shipping AAA titles (previous work on an MMO is a big plus)
• Strong understanding and practical experience with next-generation asset creation workflows
• Experience designing content for 3rd-person-chase camera views
• Passion for gaming (especially MMOs), with an awareness of current industry trends and an understanding of player expectations
• Exceptional problem-solving skills, able to adapt quickly to new technologies, workflows, and ideas

*Depending on your level of experience, this role has the potential to be a principal-level concept artist position. 

We are an equal opportunity employer that embraces diversity, equity, and inclusion. All employment decisions are made without regard to race, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, age, genetic information, religion, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, marital status, family status, veteran status, or any other protected status as required by law.

US Salary Band: $92,000 - 150,000 USD 

Canada Salary Band: $88,000 - 140,000 CAD