Art Director / Senior Art Director

Keywords Studios, the leading provider of technical and creative services to the global gaming industry, boasts over 13,000 staff across 70+ studios spanning 26 countries, serving over 950 clients worldwide.

Our Australia studios are seeking for a Senior Art Director for our Melbourne studio as well as Art Directors for Melbourne and Brisbane.

As a leader in the art discipline, you will be responsible for hiring, organising and motivating a team of artists to deliver at the highest standards. Utilising your artistic, technical and managerial expertise, you will work closely with the team and other department leads to plan and direct work to meet deadlines and product vision.

You will be an accomplished production-focused artist with a proven track record in the game industry, and excellent communication and people skills. In this role you are required to anticipate and find solutions on both team and art production levels to deliver stunning visual experiences.

Key Responsibilities

• Provide clear, concise visual direction and guidance across all Art development at Tantalus North and review all digital assets, providing feedback in a timely manner.
• Share your passion for excellence, create inspiring artwork/style guides to clearly promote the high visual quality standards we are aiming for and ensure that everyone is working together to meet these standards.
• Drive the vision forward by aligning with and fully understanding the art direction and then working alongside our internal and insourced art team/s to ensure creative cohesion.
• Continually look for opportunities to innovate and improve the visual quality on all projects.
• Take an active role in planning of project pitches and be comfortable dealing face to face with external clients to discuss opportunities for working with them on their games.
• Help to build and raise the profile of the growing art team.
• Mentor Artists in the team, providing support and nurturing to encourage their continued growth, helping to improve their skills and build their knowledge and confidence.
• Oversee and provide detailed feedback to multiple art disciplines including UI, Environment Art, Lighting, VFX, Character and Concept Art.

• An impeccable eye for aesthetic quality, visual excellence and a high attention to detail demonstrated through an impressive art portfolio.
• Highly proficient in current development tools and software including Unreal, Unity, Maya/ 3DS Max/Blender, Zbrush and Substance.
• A confident art leader with excellent verbal and written communication skills. You will have the ability to articulate visual ideas with clarity and conviction and provide clear feedback and guidance.
• Good understanding of fundamental art principles; colour and lighting theory, composition and staging techniques.
• Able to creatively supervise and drive artwork, directing other artists and leading by example.
• Agile, overseeing internal and globally diverse art teams on multiple projects and from various disciplines, and be able to adapt to a variety of art styles.
• Understand up-to-date game development technical processes, you will take a keen interest in latest workflows and have an interest in learning, evaluating and evangelizing appropriate usage of new software, tools and technologies.
• You will have good leadership skills, be a collaborative team player, with significant game art management experience.
• You will have a calm, positive and professional attitude alongside excellent interpersonal skills.

Workplace Policies and Practices

The video games industry represents the pinnacle of interactive digital content. At Keywords, we are using our passion for games, technology and media to create a global services platform for video games and beyond. We aim to become the “go-to” provider of technical services.

As a team member, you play a key role in demonstrating these standards and show integrity in your daily interactions with clients, your managers and colleagues.

Keywords Studios and our global network of independent studios offers a variety of benefits as per below:

• Competitive salary and benefits
• Projects aligned with your expertise
• Collaborate with industry leaders on AAA titles
• Professional growth opportunities
• Flexible work arrangements
• Relocation and visa support
• Dedicated to diversity and inclusion

Our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) Commitment: Keywords Studios is an Equal Opportunity Employer and considers applicants for all positions without regard to race, ethnicity, religion or belief, sex, age, national origin, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws. If you require any adjustments during the process please let us know in your application. We are committed to creating a dynamic work environment that values diversity and inclusion, respect and integrity, customer focus, and innovation. We especially welcome applications from candidates of underrepresented groups in the industry.

By providing your information in this application, you understand that we will collect and process your information in accordance with our Applicant Privacy Notice. For more information, please see our Applicant Privacy Notice at https://www.keywordsstudios.com/en/applicant-privacy-notice.

Role Information: EN

Studio: Keywords Studios

Location: Asia Pacific, Australia

Area of Work: Art Services

Service: Create

Employment Type: Full Time

Working Pattern: Hybrid