Art Director, Lead Environment Artist, Lead Character Artist jobs in United States
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Forbidden Kemono Studio LLC · 3 days ago

Art Director, Lead Environment Artist, Lead Character Artist

positionUnited States
timeFull-time
remoteRemote
senioritySenior Level, Lead/Staff

Forbidden Kemono Studio LLC is a growing indie game studio focused on developing stylized, character-driven games using Unreal Engine. They are looking for experienced individuals to fill three key leadership roles in their art team: Art Director, Lead Character Artist, and Lead Environment Artist, each responsible for guiding and mentoring other artists while maintaining the visual style across projects.

Entertainment
badNo H1Bnote
Hiring Manager
America Hathman
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Responsibilities

Define and maintain the visual style for characters, environments, UI, and key art
Turn game pillars and narrative tone into clear visual direction and references
Work closely with the Lead Character Artist and Lead Environment Artist to keep everything consistent
Create and refine style guides, mood boards, and art bibles
Review work regularly and give structured, actionable feedback (not vague notes)
Help plan art milestones appropriate for a small, part-time indie team
Define and maintain the character art style across projects
Support and mentor 2D concept, 2D character, and 3D character artists
Help build style guides, character sheets, turnarounds, expression sheets, and proportion guides
Ensure a clean pipeline from concept → 2D → 3D → rig/animation
Review character work and give clear, constructive feedback
Jump in hands-on for key characters or to unblock the team
Define and maintain the environment art style for one or more projects
Support 2D concept, 2D environment, and 3D environment artists
Help create style guides, mood boards, paintovers, and environment callouts
Work with level designers to align layout, composition, and focal points with gameplay
Oversee the pipeline from concept → 2D → 3D → in-engine
Help define modular kits, tiling materials, and set dressing workflows

Qualification

Unreal EngineGame art portfolioArt direction2D/3D artCharacter artEnvironment artPhotoshopBlenderMentoringFeedback skillsRemote collaboration

Required

A strong game art portfolio showing clear style and taste
Experience making direction calls and leading or mentoring other artists
Familiarity with game art pipelines (concept → production → engine)
Comfort working in tools like Photoshop/Clip Studio/Krita and 3D/DCC tools (Blender/Maya/ZBrush/Substance, etc.)
A strong character-focused portfolio (2D, 3D, or both)
Experience working on game-ready characters (topology, UVs, textures, readability)
Comfort with tools like Photoshop/Clip Studio/Krita and Blender/Maya/ZBrush/Substance or similar
Some understanding of rigging/animation needs so characters are built for production
A strong environment art portfolio (2D, 3D, or both)
Familiarity with game-ready environment workflows (modularity, texel density, LODs, performance)
Experience with tools like Photoshop/Clip Studio/Krita and Blender/Maya/ZBrush/Substance tools
Some experience bringing environments into Unreal Engine or similar engines
Must be based in the USA or Canada
Comfortable with remote, Discord-based collaboration
Able to give and receive feedback like a teammate, not like a diva
Okay with revenue-share only, understanding this is a long-term indie grind, not a salaried studio job

Company

Forbidden Kemono Studio LLC

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Forbidden Kemono Studio is a game development company dedicated to crafting immersive and innovative gaming experiences.
dateFounded in 2023
location
Detroit, MI, US
people-size51-200 employees
web-link
https://forbiddenkemonostu.wixsite.com/forbidden-kemono-llc

Funding

Current Stage
Growth Stage
Company data provided by crunchbase