Art Lead

Art Lead / Art Director (Remote) We are hiring an Art Lead / Art Director for our client — a product-focused gaming company developing a new generation of engaging, skill-influenced game experiences. This is a hands-on leadership role for someone with a strong concept art background, exceptional visual taste, and the ability to move quickly without sacrificing quality. You will define the visual direction for multiple game concepts and productions, from early exploration and moodboards to production-ready art systems and implementation quality. The ideal candidate has experience building visually compelling game worlds, leading artists, and working closely with game designers, developers, animators, and UI/UX teams in fast-paced production environments. ## Responsibilities ### Art Direction & Visual Quality * Define and maintain the visual direction across multiple game projects * Set a high quality bar for concept art, characters, environments, UI direction, VFX, and key visuals * Create or guide style frames, moodboards, visual references, and art direction documentation * Ensure visual consistency, gameplay readability, and strong player appeal * Maintain cohesive visual identity across assets, features, and live updates ### Concept Art & Creative Exploration * Lead early-stage visual exploration for new game concepts, worlds, themes, and mechanics * Produce or supervise high-quality concept art and visual development * Rapidly explore multiple visual directions and identify the strongest commercial approach * Balance creativity, production feasibility, and market fit * Bring modern casual and midcore game quality into gameplay experiences ### Hands-On Leadership * Provide clear feedback and direction to artists, illustrators, animators, and outsourcing partners * Review work regularly and support fast iteration cycles * Create sketches, paint-overs, briefs, and visual examples when needed * Mentor artists and help raise the overall quality level across the team * Improve workflows for both concept exploration and production delivery ### Production & Engine Collaboration * Collaborate closely with developers to ensure clean implementation in game engines * Understand both 2D and 3D production pipelines and technical constraints * Work with technical artists and engineers on optimization, animation integration, VFX, and performance * Help define efficient art pipelines for prototyping and production ### Innovation & AI Workflows * Explore AI-assisted workflows for ideation, visual exploration, and production acceleration * Maintain a strong human-led artistic standard while leveraging modern tools * Help establish scalable creative workflows for rapid concepting and asset variation * Stay current with trends in casual gaming, mobile games, concept art, animation, and AI-assisted production ## Requirements * 7+ years of experience in game art, concept art, illustration, or art direction * Strong portfolio showcasing high-end concept art, characters, environments, props, and visual development * Proven experience defining and maintaining visual direction across game products * Excellent understanding of composition, anatomy, lighting, color, perspective, storytelling, and visual hierarchy * Strong artistic taste and ability to distinguish good art from exceptional art * Experience mentoring artists and managing quality across teams * Ability to work quickly, iterate fast, and adapt to changing priorities * Experience in mobile, casual, casino, social casino, or midcore games * Strong understanding of 2D production workflows * Familiarity with Unity, Cocos2D, or similar game engines * Proficiency with Photoshop, Illustrator, Figma, Blender, Spine, After Effects, or similar tools * Strong English communication skills ## Nice to Have * Experience as an Art Director, Lead Artist, Principal Concept Artist, or Senior Concept Artist on shipped games * Experience building visual direction from scratch for multiple projects * Background in gaming, social casino, or regulated gaming products * Knowledge of mobile game UX, readability, iconography, and player motivation * Experience with animation, VFX, motion design, or particle systems * Experience working with distributed or outsourcing art teams * Familiarity with AI creative tools and workflows * Ability to contribute hands-on production art when needed ## What Success Looks Like * Strong and memorable visual identity across the game portfolio * Consistently high-quality concept art and visual development * Fast and effective exploration of new game ideas * Efficient production workflows and clean implementation * Clear artistic direction and strong collaboration across teams * High-quality gameplay experiences with polished visuals and strong player appeal ## Portfolio Expectations Please include: * High-quality concept art * Character and environment design * Visual development process examples * Production-ready or shipped game art * Examples across multiple styles * Art direction, leadership, paint-overs, or before/after improvements * Nice to have: assets implemented in Unity, Cocos2D, or mobile game pipelines