Art Director
Job Location:
Los Angeles, CA - USA
Weekly Salary:
Posted:
Application Deadline:
Vacancies:
Job Summary
Skydance Animation is seeking an Art Director to help shape the visual identity of an upcoming animated feature film. This role is central to defining and executing the overall look and feel of the film ensuring a cohesive and compelling visual experience that supports both story and character.
The Art Director will report to the Production Designer and will work in close partnership with the Director and the rest of the creative leadership team to bring the films visual vision to life translating conceptual ideas into a clear and actionable visual direction for the broader art team. Throughout production they will collaborate across departments including environments characters lighting and effects to maintain artistic consistency and elevate the quality of every frame.
This position requires a strong artistic sensibility a deep understanding of visual storytelling and the ability to lead and inspire artists in a fast-paced highly collaborative environment. The ideal candidate is both a visionary and a problem-solver and someone who can balance creative ambition with production realities while pushing the films aesthetic to new heights.
Prior experience on an animated feature film is required.
- Champion and help execute the Directors creative vision for the films visual identity in close partnership with the Production Designer ensuring consistency and excellence from development through final delivery
- Define develop and clearly communicate the films artistic style with a particular focus on environments sets props and color design establishing a cohesive visual language across all departments
- Create and contribute high-quality concept art visual development materials and key imagery
- Collaborate with the Production Designer to lead and oversee the Los Angeles and Madrid based Art Departments fostering alignment consistency and a unified creative direction across global teams (including occasional travel as needed)
- Provide ongoing artistic direction feedback and mentorship to team members supporting their growth while maintaining high creative standards
- Work closely with studio leadership production and technical teams to align on creative goals production timelines tools and budget balancing artistic ambition with practical execution
- Prepare and deliver compelling presentations that communicate the films visual direction to studio executives stakeholders and external partners
- Partner with production leadership Talent Development and Talent Acquisition to identify evaluate and help secure top artistic talent for key roles across departments (both internally and externally)
- Facilitate clear and proactive communication across departments
- Other duties as assigned
- 6 years of experience working on animated feature productions; experience in leading or supervising an Art Department preferably within CG animated feature films a plus
- Demonstrated ability to develop visual ideas from initial concept through final execution with a strong sense of ownership and creative problem-solving
- Exceptional understanding of design fundamentals including composition color theory lighting shape language and visual storytelling
- Proven leadership and team management skills with the ability to guide motivate and develop artists in a collaborative production environment
- Strong organizational skills and the ability to prioritize across multiple demands while maintaining a high standard of artistic quality
- Excellent communication and interpersonal skills with a collaborative mindset and the ability to clearly articulate creative direction to diverse teams
- Ability to balance creative vision with production realities aligning the needs of the show department and studio
- Solid understanding of animation production pipelines workflows and tools with proficiency in industry standard software such as Adobe Photoshop
- Experience working across multiple locations or with distributed teams is a plus
Required Experience:
Director
About Company
Skydance is a diversified media company founded by David Ellison in 2010 to create high quality, event-level entertainment for global audiences. The Company brings to life stories of immersive worlds across its feature film, television, and interactive platforms.”
