Senior Art Director

Keywords Studios Australia, consists of Wicked Workshop (Vic), Tantalus Media (SA, Qld, Vic), and Mighty Games. In 2023 we added over 70 new, talented individuals surpassing 250 employees in Australia. We're anticipating similar growth for 2024. Whilst we're backed by a highly successful global parent company, we still enjoy the intimacy and independent studio feels. If you're a passionate, collaborative, can-do, delivery focused individual, we'd love to hear from you. 

Job Description

The Senior Art Director reports to the Head of Art at Wicked Workshop. The position will see your supervise a large, thriving and talented art team, establish direction, consistency and quality. Your effective, and considered communication style will provide continual feedback, execution standards to help guide the artistic vision for our clients games. As Senior Director, you will ensure that assets are on time, at client and our quality bar, whilst performant in engine. 

• Managing dedicated art teams across geographies or studios, emphasizing overall quality, productivity, and continuous team development.  
• Engages in interactions at a higher level, handling crucial project kick-offs, communications, and escalations, with a focus on meeting and exceeding client expectations.  
• Focuses on guiding art teams across multiple studios to achieve broader project goals and maintain high-quality standards.  
• Play a key role in project planning and execution at a higher level, potentially handling multiple projects simultaneously, with a focus on achieving timelines, quality benchmarks, and budgetary allocations.  
• Engages in comprehensive artistic mentorship, leading and managing dedicated art teams across various domains or studios, contributing to the overall artistic direction.  
• Anticipate future project challenges, spearhead solutions, and set high-level goals for the team.
• Actively support, mentor, and manage the Art leads, Associate Art Directors, and their direct reports by communicating department initiatives, sharing best practices, elevating leadership, and contributing as a community member.
• 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.

• A Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Fine Arts, Digital Art, Game Design, or a related field is preferred. 

• Minimum of 15+ years in the gaming industry, with at least 5 years in an art leadership role such as Art Director or Associate Art Director, preferably within AAA game development.